Topsy Turvy Dolls

On this list of things I don't need but admit I always wanted: Fairy Tale Topsy Turvy Dolls.

I didn't play with many dolls as a child--once I learned to read, toys were mostly history--but I had a few favorites. One of the dolls I always wanted was a topsy turvy doll which for some reason I'm starting to see around again.


I didn't go searching for them, but they came up on a related Amazon search. I had to find all of the variations out of curiosity. I really appreciate that none of these are obvious offshoots of the Disney princess images. Sleeping Beauty comes closest, but more out of chance than design from the looks of it.


The only ones I remember as a kid are Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, obvious choices since they are arguably the most popular tales.


I probably would have put up a bigger campaign for one if I had ever seen the Beauty and the Beast version. I can't explain the fascination because I really AM NOT a doll person. (Puppets, on the other hand, don't get me started on puppets.) I know part of it is the magical element of transforming the dolls. Really, these are a clever way of rendering the characters from fairy tales.


I have a new niece due to arrive in late January and now I wonder if I need one of these for her....


Is anyone else nostalgic for toys they had or didn't have but wanted, especially fairy tale related ones?


The images are all clickable and take you to the Amazon pages for the individual dolls. I have also seen these in "smart" kid toy stores as I call them and a few puppet stores. I don't shop for toys often since all of the children in my life usually receive books as gifts, so they might be available in other places, too.

Rapunzel and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World

SurLaLune Fairy Tales presents a new collection of fairy tales: Rapunzel and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World. For now, this book is only available for the Kindle, but the priority now is for paper versions and other eformats. I plan to have this title as well as the previous two, The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World and The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, available in at least paper and PDFs by the end of the October.

Here's the official description which is not posted on Amazon yet--that takes a few more days to appear after the book is launched:

RAPUNZEL. Just the name conjures up images of long golden hair and tall stone towers. She remains part of our popular culture thanks to countless children's books, as well as advertising, movies, and merchandise. Rapunzel, far from falling into historical obscurity, is very much a part of modern culture. However, she is far from the only maiden in the tower to be found in folklore. Her tale and those of other imprisoned women reach back hundreds of years and come from many cultures from around the world.

This anthology of tales offers several stories similar to Rapunzel. A few more resemble the tale of Maid Maleen, another imprisoned daughter. Most are tales of other imprisoned maidens, princesses, and wives from around the world. Not all of the women are kept in literal towers, some are entombed instead, but all are unwilling captives.

Maidens are imprisoned by their parents for their own safety, as punishment, or to guard their virtue. Wives are imprisoned by jealous husbands hoping to avoid cuckolding. A few women are political prisoners. A surprising number of the tales come from France where tower prisons were popular devices of the French salon authors, especially Madame d’Aulnoy.

While it is impossible for this collection to be comprehensive, it contains over fifty tales and stories--some well-known, some mostly forgotten--reaching back to ancient myths and moving forward to some stories just reaching their hundredth birthdays, such as those by Edith Nesbit.

Also included are two tales newly translated into English from the original French, "Persinette" and "Parsillette," the latter a rare variant of the tale with an unusual ending.

Whether you are a student of folklore or an armchair enthusiast, this anthology offers a diverse array of tales with a unifying theme that both entertains and educates, all gathered for the first time in one helpful collection.

I gathered a wide range of tales, some obvious and many not. Most are European this time, or directly influenced by European tales, but the appearance of imprisoned maidens is pervasive to folklore. I also found a few obscure variants of tales, such as Saint Demetra, that are well-known tales told slant from the usual versions.

I thought I was finished with this collection a few weeks ago and then realized I wanted to add two French tales, Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, which is a direct ancestor of Rapunzel from France, and, Parsillette, an obscure tale that is quite surprising. I can translate French with painstaking care and time, so I did. I haven't found an English version of Parsillette anywhere else. Persinette is available in Jack Zipes' The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm. (And if you don't own that book, it's one of the absolute "must owns.")

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Heidi Anne Heiner

Rapunzel Tales

Rapunzel Germany
Petrosinella Italy
The Fair Angiola Italy
Filagranata Italy
Prunella Italy
Persinette France
Fragolette France
Parsillette France
The Maid and the Negress Portugal
Uzembeni; or, Usikulumi’s Courtship South Africa

Maid Maleen Tales

Maid Maleen Germany
Princess Who Was Hidden Underground Germany
Girl Clad in Mouseskin Denmark

More Maiden in the Tower Tales

The Prison of Danae Greece
Perseus the Savior Greece
Demeter and Persephone Greece
The Story of Saint Demetra and Her Daughter Greece
Hero and Leander Greece
Saint Barbara Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Saint
Solomon’s Daughter Jewish Tradition
Princess of the Tower Jewish Tradition
The Three Enchanted Princes Italy
The Story of Hugdietrich and Hildeburg Germany
The Lay of Yonec France
The Blue Bird France
The Princess Mayblossom France
Princess Rosette France
The White Cat France
The White Doe France
The Satin Surgeon France
The Discreet Princess France
Long, Broad, and Quickeye Czech Republic / Bohemia
The Grateful Beasts Hungary
The Maiden’s Tower Azerbaijan
Legend of the Maiden Tower Turkey
The Tower of Las Infantas Spain
Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses Spain
Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra Spain
The Slices of Fish Portugal
The Three Princes and the Maiden Portugal
Schmat-Razum Russia
The Tinder Box Denmark
The Flying Trunk Denmark
Punchkin India
Juan and Clotilde Philippines
The Three Brothers Philippines
An Impossible Enchantment Unknown
The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson England

Bonus Stories

“The Yellow Wall Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman United States
“Melisande or, Long and Short Division” by Edith Nesbit England
“The Princess and the Cat” by Edith Nesbit England
“The Imprisoned Princess” by Eleanor Farjeon England

So if you are interested in this title, please post or email with desired formats. I'm focusing on paper and PDF since they are the most popular, but I will consider others if I see a demand.

That said, I'm working on several other collections, too. Cinderella is a top priority since I am familiar with her popularity and know there is a higher demand for her stories. She's also high maintenance with all her variations and moods. I already have nearly 100 tales for a Cinderella collection and estimate the SurLaLune collection will be closer to 200. At some point I will just choose to abandon and publish since the possibilities of finding more of her tales are nearly infinite, it seems.

Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio

My post yesterday on the Snow White release was so long, but I wanted to share more from the interview from Lella Smith Takes Us Through the History of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It's long and I know most of you will probably not follow the link, but near the end are a few pertinent questions for the many, many Disney researchers, be they fans or not, out there.

First, here's more about the Dreams Come True, Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio exhibit opening in New Orleans in November in conjunction with the release of The Princess and the Frog.

What does your work at the Animation Research Library consist of on a kind of regular basis?

Lella Smith: Ooh it's so much fun. I work with all the creative projects that come out of the library. For example we're opening an exhibition on November 15 in New Orleans called Dreams Come True, Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio. And that is an exhibition that celebrates fairy tales, talks about how Walt Disney Studio changed them, some of the reasons they did, the elements of animation are represented in the exhibition and there will be about 800 works.

Here's also Disney's official release information about the exhibit from Disney Animation:

Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio
New Orleans Museum of Art
November 15, 2009 – March 14, 2010
http://www.noma.org/dreamfacts.html

Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from The Walt Disney Studios is a major exhibition featuring more than 600 original artworks from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library. The exhibition will explore the world of fairy tales as told by the Walt Disney Company, and will include artwork from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios’ newest fairy tale, The Princess and the Frog.

And here's more about Disney's approach to adapting fairy tales to film and the reasoning behind some of the decisions that were made.

Can you talk about a few of the differences from the Brothers Grimm? We talked a bit about it from the Brothers Grimm telling to the Disney telling.

Lella Smith: Sure, one of my favorite subjects. Well, you know, Snow White was a story that had been around for decades and decades in an oral tradition. And in many different countries there were subtle changes and not so subtle changes. In one of the stories I remember I think it was in an Italian version the huntsman was supposed to cut off Snow White's toe and use it as a stopper in a bottle of her blood. You know, there were lots of changes in the story. And Snow White who was seven years old and the daughter of the queen, that was pretty frightening to think about. So when Walt began to decide about his Snow White although she is young, I've seen his story note that says look, she has to be old enough to be able to consider marriage. So, you know, and they thought out those differences. The huntsman depending on which fairy tale you read sometimes he had to bring back the liver, sometimes the heart. So that changed with different tellings. And in some tellings the queen was to dance in the hot - shoes that had been put in the hot coals until she dropped dead. So, you know, Walt Disney said wait a minute, let's get rid of the queen earlier so that we can celebrate the happiness of the story. So in fact he had the witch fall off the cliff so that the prince and Snow White could then celebrate their happiness together in the forest. So there were lots of subtle changes but they were all done with a purpose. Another change was that in the original version you remember that the queen came three times to try to kill Snow White and each time - the first two times the dwarfs arrived home in plenty of time to save her but the third time they didn't. And so, you know, Walt said well one poison apple is enough, let's get it over with so that change was made. But there were - they were changes that were not made without a lot of thought because to him, he was taking well known stories and transferring them to a different kind of medium, the screen. And so he had to in some ways expand the story to full length film. In some ways he had to simplify the story so that it wouldn't be overcomplicated on screen. And when you think about it, these were changes that were no different from changes made in one telling to the next telling. Often when tellers told these fairy tales they would make little changes depending on how, you know, they felt the story should go. So it was continuation of the idea that fairy tales are oral tradition and until, you know, they were written down by the Grimms Brothers, you know, they were just pretty much all over the place.

Can you talk about the European influences on the artwork?

Lella Smith: Sure. Walt Disney went to Europe in I believe it was 1934 and was astounded at what he saw. He wasn't a particularly well educated man in terms of formal schooling because he of course had to work to support his family. And he had not been exposed to a lot of literature. But when he went to Europe and discovered the books, the artists, the illustrators, people like Arthur Rackham and Kay Neilson, he began to open up to the possibility of using all of this information to develop fairy tale films. You know, he had already established a tradition of using well known stories whether they be fables or nursery rhymes or folk tales. He already knew that was a good to do because they were familiar stories, you didn't have to spend a lot of time on character development and all that. But when he discovered the great illustrators of Europe and he discovered European architecture, art, and literature, he brought home many items, many, many books, set up a library at the Disney Studios that the artists could go and study in so that they could be inspired by these influences. And he also hired many artists to come to the studio from Europe. I even read once that he offered a job to Arthur Rackham because at that time Rackham was retired and living happily in the English countryside and declined his offer. So, you know, he knew that these people could bring an artistry to the film which was something he really wanted.

So that's more for paper-writers or the merely interested....

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on DVD & Blu-Ray

For a limited time, order one of the Snow White Blu-ray sets on Amazon.com, then use promotion code snowhite at checkout to receive a $10 instant discount. This makes the set $14.99 instead of $24.99. I don't know the expiration date on this but probably soon, very soon.

The one that started it all, at least for Disney, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released again tomorrow on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray, newly remastered with new extras.

This is not really news to anyone with any exposure to the medio--and it's rather frustrating in the world of "how many copies of any one movie does a person need?" (also called double-dipping by studios). So as you debate whether or not to buy another copy or one at all if you don't own it, I have links with reviews and one especially great article about the history of the film. Of course, this is the first Blu-ray edition for tech junkies.

First, I'm first to admit that Disney's Snow White is my least favorite of the Disney movies, partially because I've never been a fan of the original tale and partially because of personal annoyances with the film. And yet, I agree that it is an important part of film history and there are things I do enjoy, especially the dwarfs. And, no, this isn't about Disney bashing which I mostly refrain from. I enjoy the Disney movies for what they are and appreciate that they have kept fairy tales in the public consciousness. I don't like the way they dominate over all other versions, but that's the nature of a movie-watching public versus a reading one.

But then I read articles like Lella Smith Takes Us Through the History of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and I'm tempted to replace my copy of the DVD for the new one although I will watch it perhaps a few more times in my lifetime.

Walt Disney managed very early in the process to give a true believability - believable personality to the seven dwarfs which is the essence of Disney's art animation, personality. Can you tell me about that aspect of the creation of the seven dwarfs? So...the question is about the personality of the dwarfs and how that shaped the characters.

Yes, that was really determined by the name to start with. And in those story notes that I've read, and there's just - I can't believe how many hours the story men and artists sat around talking about well how would Dopey respond, how would Grumpy respond, how would they sit down, how would they move, how would they get up. All of those things were a matter of asking 'how would somebody who was sleepy for example get up from a chair or sit in a chair waiting for conversation to happen?' So they took a lot of the characteristics from the names and then they worked out how they felt that character would respond. And depending on who was talking, if it was for example Bill Tytla, one of the greatest animators who ever worked at the company, he would say 'well what was the character thinking?' ...and that will tell us what he's working on. If it was a technical cameraman, he would be talking about '...what does a sleepy character do?' So, they came at it with different angles but the whole thing was that the name helped define how the personality was developed. And without those individual personalities, the film just would not have been as charming.

And just to keep it more interesting, there are four different releases to choose from, all links go to Amazon:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + BD Live w/ Blu-ray packaging) (This is also the one that comes in the collector's set listed below and the most promoted edition.)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (DVD/Two-Disc Blu-ray + BD Live w/DVD packaging) (I understand that only the packaging is different from the one above, not the discs or the contents.)


Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Limited Edition Collector's Set)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs DVD Not to be released until November and cheaper but DVD only while you get both DVD and Blu-ray in the packages above.

Finally, the reviews for the DVD/Blu-rays are enthusiastic, such as these detailed Snow White reviews at High Disc Def News, Monsters and Critics, and Big Picture Sound.

And just in case you are interested in reading the original tale, too, here's an annotated version, courtesy of, well, SurLaLune!

Norsk Hstfest in North Dakota

My ancestry is a quarter Norwegian so this little news item caught my attention and held it long enough for me to share with you. (Also sort of fitting since today's other post about Sarah Beth Durst's Ice is based on a Norwegian fairy tale.)

From the article, Troll ‘beauty’ contest, parade, by Whitney Pandel-Eaton:

A troll 'beauty' contest, is there a more perfect oxymoron?

That was the name of the game Saturday evening at Norsk Hstfest, where a dozen local elementary and middle-school students donned grotesque masks, scary wigs and trashy threads as each vyed for such titles as "Longest nose", "Best horn", "Biggest wart", "Best eyebrows" and several other characteristics atypical of a traditional beauty contest.

I can imagine this was a blast of fun for all participants, especially in the grade school age group where this fits the humor perfectly.

Spanning elementary to high school, nearly 50 students participated in one of four camps where they learned about Scandinavian song and dance as well as the heritage and folklore of Norway and Sweden.

During the weekend-long camp, the Viking patrols, which consisted of fourth- through sixth-graders, made pouches, shields, chainmail and other crafts while the Troll camp, those in grades five through seven, created their troll costumes that they used in the Troll Beauty Contest and learned about troll folklore.

Then the entire event ended with the dramatization of a Scandinavian fairy tale, left unnamed in the article.

Norwegian fairy tales are available on SurLaLune, of course, with East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon by Gudrun Thorne-Thomsen and Popular Tales of the Norse by Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jørgen Moe. (Both are really Asbjornsen and Moe collections since they were the "Grimms" of Norway.)


But some of the best illustrations of trolls are by John Bauer who illustrated Swedish Folk Tales. As lovely as trolls can be...

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

I referenced Sarah Beth Durst's new book, Ice, a few months ago when highly recommending her fun commentaries on fairy tales available on her website at Obscure Fairy Tales.

Well, tomorrow is the official release date for Ice so now is the time to give it its own post. First of all, Ice is a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, a favorite fairy tale of many and very popular with authors since its length and content provides so much imagination fodder.

Unfortunately, I haven't read the book yet, although I am a big enough fan to have preordered it and it arrived late on Friday. My weekend did not accommodate getting a single book read despite my hopes otherwise. I have started it and can easily say this will be one of my favorite novelizations of the popular tale. (And, yes, there have been a few retellings of this tale in recent years.) The modern setting, the incorporation of science, the light touch of humor and a few other surprises along the way made the book highly readable.

Here's the official description from the publisher:

When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.
Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back -- if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her -- until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

Sarah has an excerpt for reading on her website.

The reviews from Booklist and Kirkus, as well as other authors and online reviewers, are positive. So what are you waiting for? Go find a copy to read.



Of course, if you haven't read them, I highly recommend Durst's clever and fun books, Into the Wild and Out of the Wild. Those use fairy tale tropes and storylines and star Rapunzel's daughter. (Out of the Wild is also temporarily bargain priced in hardcover for those wanting to try it.)

Jacklyn and the Beanstalk

Okay, fine, so I wanted to share another image. This photo is from Kolby Schnelli's Flickr album, part of the Fairy Tales Project on Flickr. I plan to write about the project more in the future, but this one just shouldn't be missed.

Overall, a lovely image from the subgenre of heroines and beanstalks, such as Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne. I really love the beanstalk image even if the model is a little overposed. :) Not a criticism because it works anyway.

Jack and the Beanstalk at the Beach

Today's the final day of Jack and the Beanstalk week. I have more to share in the future, but this week has been full of editing and writing so I will save my list for later.

The above image was found on the Flickr page of Daryl Sims. I saved it for Saturday. I know beach season is mostly over, but I always enjoy October weekends, this one is sunny and being outside is wonderful.

I'm always fascinated by artists who work in temporary mediums, especially sand and cake, since neither will last very long in the relative scheme of things. A friend who loves making cakes once explained to me that she finds the medium liberating since perfection is not necessary, she's knows its only temporary and thus she creates for the joy of creating instead of impressing or being burdened with another object to store.

But I still think: "All of that work! Gone!" Well, not so much when we have photos like this one.

And here's another bonus from the same album, featuring a fable this time:

Fairy Tale Ornament Giveaway

Did you realize that Christmas is twelve weeks from today?

Does anyone out there have a fairy tale themed Christmas tree? In recent years, I have. I don't have much fairy tale decor in my home--beyond my bookshelves and desk, my passion isn't very obvious--but a few years ago I decided to have my favorite illustrations made into ornaments on CafePress to add to my tree. So for about six weeks of the year, I see several of my favorite illustrations displayed in my house.



I've been pondering the next SurLaLune Giveaway and decided to have a twelve week giveaway up until the Christmas holiday. I will give away a different fairy tale ornament each week on Fridays for the next eleven weeks starting on October 9th. On the eleventh week, December 18th, I will give away two ornaments in hopes of them arriving in time for Christmas day (no guarantees, just the hope).



Now I know not everyone celebrates Christmas. I debated tiles instead of ornaments but I have a few of the ornaments hanging in my workspace. They are prettier than the magnets and in no way say "Christmas" unless they are actually hanging on a tree.

This time I've also included the question "What is your favorite fairy tale?" for the entry submission. All readers can see the responses--no emails though so privacy is protected--and hopefully I will have most of the fairy tales represented in the ornament giveaway.



Additional Giveaway Rules:

You may only enter once and your name will stay in the giveaway for the length of the giveaway unless you win. Winners are limited to winning one ornament.

If you win, I will contact you by email and ask for your mailing address. If I do not receive your mailing address within three days, I will pick another winner.

This SurLaLune giveaway is open to all readers, inside the United States and out. We will all cross our fingers that the ceramic will survive international mailing!

Beanstalk Sculpture

I have several things I hope to post here in the next few days--I'm always behind!--but I had to share this image for Jack and the Beanstalk week first. This one was gracefully shared by Gypsy at Once Upon a Blog. I had never seen it before and wish I could have seen it in person. The artist's website and information is in Spanish, a language I'm not adept with so I have nothing but the following description and a wonderful image to share. (Or is it Portuguese? See, really not adept.)

João Pedro Vale

"Beanstalk"

"Beanstalk", Sculpture made with nylon legs stockings, iron and wire scaffoldings, Variable dimensions
2004

Really quite magical, isn't it?

Halloween Costuming

October is here and will end with Halloween here in the states. Thus inspired, I did a search for fairy tale inspired costumes over the last few days in case you are needing your own inspiration for this month's festivities. I stuck with cute or fun and avoided naughty, so you're on your own for those. I also avoided the obvious Disney choices, especially the princess line. I don't think anyone will have a problem learning about those.

The first one pictured above is the Rubies Lil Frog Prince Costume w/ Sound Chip and one of my favorites, but there are plenty more.

Little Red Riding Hood Elite Collection Child Costume


Big Bad Wolf Costume

Little Pig Costume


And in keeping with Jack and the Beanstalk Week, wouldn't it be fun to wear a plaid shirt and jeans or a peasant style costume then add lots of vines for the beanstalk? Homemade is always fun for those who aren't time challenged. And greenery can often be found at the dollar store.

If anyone has any fun costume pictures to share, post below or send me an email. I hope to have a Halloween post of "real world" costumes to share at the end of the month.

I have to admit I've cheated over the years since I'm not much of a dress-up person. I usually stick with my Fairy Godmother t-shirt and blue jeans or something similar. I do have a pair of fairy wings, but they are very much a nuisance at a gathering, either getting damaged or damaging others. I should have chosen smaller ones, subtle ones, but no, I chose big, pretty blue ones instead. There had been plans for a traditional fairy godmother costume when the purchase was made, but that never happened.

The Jack Tales Wall by Charles Vess

Continuing Jack and the Beanstalk week, I offer a link to an article and images of The Jack Tales Wall by Charles Vess. The 30'x50' brick wall sculpture is part of a campus building at Southwest Virginia Community College in Richlands, Virginia. Many of you know Charles Vess as the illustrator of some of Neil Gaiman's work, such as Stardust, but his body of work is large and shouldn't be missed. Visit his website here. Or simply look at some of his other work such as Medicine Road by Charles de Lint and Charles Vess, The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess, and, coming soon, Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess.


From his explanation of the work:

Who better to represent the people of these four counties than young Jack, the hero of hundreds of lively tales, indigenous to the Appalachian mountains? These very tales that were brought by the Scots-Irish and German immigrants from Europe into the southwestern Virginia region during the mid 1700's. Much as the early pioneers adapted themselves to this mountain environment, so did their stories adapt along with them. Thus, tales that were first transmitted orally throughout the British Isles and written down by the Brothers Grimm in Germany, mutated here into stories with an intrinsically 'American' hero. A hero who possessed limitless optimism and a trust in his absolute ability to control his own destiny.

Be sure to click through to the full page to see several more images. I only used four of them here, but there are several more to demonstrate the scale of the project.