New Book: Cendrillon illustrated by Anna Griot

Cendrillon de Anna Griot (Illustrations) et Charles Perrault (Avec la contribution de) was released this month in France. It's not readily available in the United States. It is such a different take on the tale while still attributing it to Perrault that I wanted to be sure to share it here. It is set in New York and the heroine is decidedly not blonde. You can click on the images to see them a little larger. The fairy godmother particularly fascinates me, too.

Here are images from Anna Griot's website:

From France: Le Petit Chaperon rouge illustrated by Joanna Concejo

Le Petit Chaperon rouge illustrated by Joanna Concejo is a French picture book of Little Red Riding Hood. I've not seen the book itself, but I discovered some illustrations that may appear in the book on Concejo's blog here and here. The illustrations are interesting and I am curious as to how the tale is presented, but the description and reviews are for other editions of the tale.

Kongjwi, the Other Cinderella

I have another French picture book to share today. This time it is Kongjwi, l'autre Cendrillon (Kongjwi, the Other Cinderella) by Yeong-hee Lim (Auteur), Marie Caillou (Illustrations).

This is a Korean version of Cinderella, often known as Kongji and Patzzi. Another Korean Cinderella variant, Pigling and Her Proud Sister, appears in my Cinderella Tales From Around the World.

The following images from the book were found on Marie Caillou's site.

La Belle et la Bete by Delphine Bodet

LA BELLE ET LA BETE by Delphine Bodet is a picture book of Beauty and the Beast. It is out of print but that doesn't stop me from sharing images of the book. I have been looking at French picture books again--I say again because I spent the month of January 2012 sharing many French picture books on the blog. My inspiration this time was playing many rounds of Dixit with my niece and other family members over the holidays. I mention Leighton specifically since I gave the game to her for Christmas and she was the one relative who played the game with me every time--she loved it!--as we rotated through new victims/family members.

Anyway, Dixit perhaps best described as Balderdash or Apples to Apples with pictures instead of words and the French illustrations in the original set are very, very French. There's some darkness in them especially in the original set. Leighton's psychologist father--my brother--was fascinated by it and won every time he played. I will have to dig out some of my favorite cards from the game to share some images--some are from fairy tales although the game isn't really a fairy tale game. It could be but it is not just for fairy tale aficionados like us readers here.

So back to the book for today. Bodet's illustrations remind me somewhat of Elenore Vere Boyle since the Beast is vaguely similar in shape sans the tusks although it is obvious different animals inspired both. It's a stretch but it is there for me. Here are images from the book. Enjoy!

Peau du Bete by Les Néréides N2

I've not been to Europe many times, but every time I have been there so far in my life, part of the trip has included Paris. And somehow, every time I go, I end up at Galeries Lafayette PARIS HAUSSMANN for various reasons, not just visiting the Opera nearby. It is practically an inadvertent tradition to take some time to visit there now. I've also learned it's an excellent spot for finding gifts that say "Paris" but without being quite too tacky for words. But last year, at the end of my most recent trip, our last afternoon was spent there with extra time since a performance closed the Opera early despite my best planning.

So having sent everyone in my group to their various shopping areas, I wandered around the jewelry counters and discovered the Les Néréides N2 display. I was looking for it although I didn't know what it was at the time. But I had time to burn and had already used up the bookstore area. (A real France tradition is to pick up ONE fairy tale picture book in French as a personal souvenir. Narrowing to one, not easy, but my luggage thanks me.)

I didn't know the brand yet but remembered the Little Red Riding Hood Jewelry I had seen there before in 2008. I knew nothing else and didn't expect to see the same jewelry again. Then I turned a corner and saw it! N2 is a subbrand of Les Néréides, a costume jewelry maker in France. Part of their line includes fairy tales which they rotate through semi-regularly, although Little Red Riding Hood appears to be a mainstay. And last year they had a Peau d'Ane collection. Or in their naming Peau du Bete.

Now this is not jewelry that would normally attract me in any way. Although when you handle it you realize it is high end kitsch, it is still kitsch and looks like it belongs at Claire's Boutique here in the US. Not that I mind Claire's and buy my own share of their hair accessories from them. But that's the closest equivalent. This is not girl's jewelry in price. Or quality really. The parts that aren't plastic or enamel are much nicer than they appear at first. (Nicer than Claire's jewelry in heft and components.)

But it was on sale, a very good sale. And I was working on finishing Cinderella Tales From Around the World. And do you know how hard it is to find ANYTHING connected to Donkeyskin in the US? Virtually impossible. And I had money to burn having spent almost nothing during the trip on anything beyond food and admission tickets. I immediately gave myself a mental budget and started fingering pieces, trying to decide which ones were going home with me. Because wouldn't these make great conversation pieces, especially during any author talks or presentations I might make for the book? Yes, that's the internal conversation that was racing through my head.

After several minutes of choosing, I chatted using my poor conversational French with the saleswoman who showed me catalogs and made my decisions much harder. But I had to stick with what I could immediately carry away, what fit my predetermined budget, and what made the most Donkeyskin impact. So I did. And I have yet to wear it a year later, but I smile when I think of it. And now that Cinderella Tales From Around the World is out in the world, the necklace I composed that day just may meet the light of day again, too.

My necklace isn't as well-populated as the one above, but I got Peau d'Ane and her dresses and the book and I'm not sure what else, to be honest for those were the priority.

The line is obviously more inspired by the Donkeyskin film with Catherine Deneuve, an iconic film in France, but it was well-inspired by the tale, so no complaints. Yes, a star dress would increase impact but I can make do with the sun and moon dresses alone.

New Book: Long Ago and Far Away: Eight Traditional Fairy Tales

Eeep! I never posted this summer about Long Ago and Far Away: Eight Traditional Fairy Tales with an introduction by Marina Warner. It was released in June and I thought I posted but it was only ever in draft.

Book description:

Brand new translations of the earliest versions of best-known and most-loved fairy tales, with an introduction by renowned mythographer Marina Warner

Returning to some of the earliest written records of these stories, before the moralizing of the British Victorians and the sugarcoating of Walt Disney, unearths narratives that differ radically from those that children are told to this day. This collection contains brand new translations of "Beauty and the Beast," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella" in their original Pentamerone versions; the Grimms' "Hansel and Gretel;" Perrault's "Little Red Riding Hood;" and many others. Originally recorded orally and handed down through generations, early fairy tales were receptacles of sexual depravity (including incest, rape, and necrophilia) and murder. Marina Warner, one the finest of contemporary literary minds, explains in her introduction the reasons behind the tales' evolution from their original versions and the appeal they have today.

Now really, what more can be said? When a book description covers "sexual depravity (including incest, rape, and necrophilia) and murder" it just sells itself these days, doesn't it? Add this to my list with Grimm's Grimmest (which is out of print AGAIN!) and we're done with the horror seekers.

(And can I be just a little proud that the book recommendations from the book's product page mirror my Fairy Tale Nonfiction 2012 Listmania list? Yes, occasionally, I have a small impact because these were not grouped together previously. I've spent a year fleshing out that list! But then you readers look at all of these together and make it happen.)