More Fairy Tale Games

Today I offer more fairy tale themed games and activities, most aimed at younger children. The memory games look like fun and I'm tempted by the playing cards myself. I was surprised I didn't find a fairy tale bingo game. So then I went looking on the web and found this site but I wish the cards didn't include Disney images especially for classroom use. Now my brain is considering ways to make up some bingo cards with fairy tale themes and ones that would be easier to call out to wee ones.

But for now, here are some ready made games:


Fairytale Time Deck of Cards

Fairy-tale themed playing cards...


Fairy Tales Memory Game by Educa

Slightly different memory game where you use a game board and try to match all of the characters from each tale, but some bad characters can make you lose all you've won.


Fairy Tale Once Upon a Time Matching and Old Maid Playing Cards Game Set by eeBoo

Once Upon a Time Matching game pairs up 24 classic fairy tale characters.


Fairytale Spinner Game by eeBoo

In this game for two to four players, participants spin for a hero, treasure, rival, means of transport, helper, magical object or fairy tale places. The person to collect them all first wins and gets to use all the elements in a story.


Tell Me A Story - Fairy Tale Mix-Up by eeBoo

36 flash cards with 36 different images with instructions included for a variety of games and activities.


Write Me A Story - Fairy Tale Mix-Up by eeBoo

A variation of Tell Me a Story above but for older kids with more complex story cards and writing, not really a game but creative writing exercise. Essentially 50 perforated pages and 96 stickers in a nice notebook that encourages story creation using classic fairy tale elements and story cards. I think this one acts more as a book kit for one child, not a game for multiple players, so consider it as such.

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Net?

Who’s afraid of the big bad net? by Pat Kane

This is an article about the internet and safety for children (and the rest of us) while using it. It uses fairy tales quite a bit to make its point, rather belaboring the metaphor, even quoting Bettelheim, so I decided to link to it as an interesting usage of fairy tales.

Here's a passage:

The question in the mind is: have you sent her off to a virtual version of the local playpark – with good facilities, chatting to friends in the sunlight, in a well-run, somewhat monitored space? Or have you left her to wander into the gloomy, unpredictable woods of cyberspace, where duplicitous wolves, terrible visions and worse lie in wait?

There is no doubt that the latter metaphor describes most of the tabloid headlines about our children’s relationship to cyberspace. If recent surveys are to be believed, more than half of UK parents think the internet is a more dangerous place for children than the real world. In other words, it has replaced the deep, dark forest – where Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel confronted their demons – as the locus of our most visceral fears. And even as an evangelist for the networked world, I’d be the last to minimise the issues.

Even more interesting considering my post earlier this month about Little Red Hoodie by Adrianna Kruse.

More Princess and the Frog

Even though I know just about everyone is already sick of reading about it, here are two more articles with quotes about the upcoming movie. I will keep offering links to the most interesting or unusual ones. As for me, I'm ready to see it and make my own evaluations. Actually, this much hype makes me dread seeing it, but I'm difficult like that, just ask my family.

Q & A with 'Princess and the Frog' animators: Ron Clements and John Musker talk about their fairy tale 'valentine' to New Orleans by Susan King for The Los Angeles Times

Q: What is the genesis of "The Princess and the Frog?"

Ron Clements: Disney has actually been interested in the "Frog Prince" all the way back to "Beauty and the Beast." They never got a version they were totally happy with. Weirdly enough, Pixar had been developing versions and they never got quite a version they were happy with. Their version actually started in Chicago and then moved to New Orleans partly because that is John Lasseter's favorite city in the world.

Even more recently, Disney bought the rights to a book called 'The Frog Princess' by an author called E.D. Baker and that was a twist on the fairy tale. In that book, when the princess kissed the frog she became a frog.

We looked at multiple Disney versions and the Pixar version. We took elements actually from everything and came up with our version, which is basically an American fairy tale set in New Orleans in the 1920s. John Musker: Before we wrote the script, John said, 'You have to go down to New Orleans and experience it first hand.' Neither one of us had been in New Orleans.

Someday My Princess Will Come by Rachel Bertsche for Oprah.com

Efforts to affect change are never without controversy, even when they come from the purest, most magical land. In December, Walt Disney animation is returning to its hand-drawn roots to introduce someone little girls have never met before: an African-American princess. The Princess and the Frog revolves around Princess Tianna, a 1920s New Orleans waitress and aspiring restaurant owner who is persuaded to kiss a frog in order to turn him back into a human (Oprah voices the princess's mother). But in this rendition of the classic fairy tale, the amphibian doesn't become a prince. Instead, the princess becomes a frog.

The depiction of Princess Tianna is a landmark decision for The Mouse. There have been white, Asian, Native American and Arab heroines, so it seems the time for an African-American princess is long overdue. "[Princess Tianna] delivers affirmation to little girls who look like this girl," says Anika Noni Rose, who voices the barrier-breaking princess. "She delivers a sense of partnership between other little girls who have friends and family members who look like Tianna. I think in the world of fantasy, and I'm not just talking about Disney, the dark character has always been associated with evil—the black hat is the bad cowboy—and this is the flip. It's wonderful to see something different, and it will be effective on many fronts to many children, and consequently to many adults years from now."

Rumpelstiltskin by David Sawer

Recently on stage and getting its own post because it stands out from the holiday season of other fare: Rumpelstiltskin, CBSO Centre, Birmingham: The wordless reworking of a classic fairy tale makes its timeless message more alarming than ever reviewed by Anna Picard

In Rumpelstiltskin, Sawer's score is a rich broth of Petrushka-esque carnival music, Depression-era dance music and melancholy doynas, with 13 instruments providing the voices of the silent actors. It's a work that is hard to categorise, neither dance nor opera, but storytelling through music and movement.

With shades of Erich von Stroheim's silent film classic Greed in the lighting designs of Mimi Jordan Sherin, Richard Jones's tart, sharp production has Rumpelstiltskin (Sarah Fahie) as a tiny, gold-toothed vagabond. Crippled by debt and drink, the miller (Chris Harrison-Kerr) is hiding from two bailiffs whose pacing feet set the rhythm of the opening dance for double-bass, bassoon and tuba. Muted trumpet and horn announce the distraint of table, chair, even a cobweb, and, in one fantastical, desperate lie, the miller consigns his daughter (Bryony Perkins) to spin straw into gold for the king (Nicholas Lawson). Imprisoned in the wooden box that is Stewart Laing's set, Perkins weeps to a quartet of violin, viola, cello and harp (the players painted, like the actors, with the monochrome cosmetics of early cinema). Pale pizzicato figures cast a chilly spell as the box slides shut and Rumpelstiltskin sets to work, his fee the first-born child of the girl.

Fairy Tale Origami

Storytime Origami by John Montroll came out earlier this year and delights me no end.

Publisher's description:

Beginning to advanced folders can bring four classic children's stories to life with the origami models in this delightful new book from Dover's bestselling origami author. Thirty-seven different models re-create characters and scenes from "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "The Three Little Pigs," "Humpty-Dumpty," and "Cinderella."

I love this concept, especially since I love origami. My one sure-fire stand by, "always know it origami", is a swan which I have made hundreds of times over the years. Sometimes I have told a condensed version of The Ugly Duckling as I have folded it for an audience of one or more. This has saved many a melt-down moment for the children in my life since only a piece of paper is needed, nothing else. If I have a regular sheet of paper (8.5 x 11), I can make an entire swan family with the many squares I can derive from it.

Now this expands the concept for more fairy tales and is just fun by itself.

Another wonderful application would be an inexpensive display of the origami figures, especially in a school or library display case. I considered doing one long ago when I was in charge of a few displays...

And most of the kids I know are fascinated with paper folding so they should enjoy it, too. I haven't seen the book in person yet--just learned about it--but Dover site's sample pages show that the diagrams look easy enough to follow, unlike some other origami books I've used.

Fairy Tales, but Strictly Adults-Only

Here's a link to an article--Fairy Tales, but Strictly Adults-Only by Carol Kino--from The New York Times about Paul McCarthy's new "White Snow" exhibit. Be warned that the content is adults-only, albeit it is still media friendly since this is a newspaper article. Still the descriptions may be disturbing to some and I'm including this link as news. The following excerpt will give you an idea of what is described.

Then there were the drawings on the walls: storyboardlike groupings that play off the fairy tale “Snow White,” they are sexual and scatological, to be sure, but also gorgeously made, as though the ribald, pop-culture-obsessed provocateur had suddenly revealed himself to be an old master. Mr. McCarthy, although he is said to dislike interviews, proved to be surprisingly voluble about the works.

Not my taste in art--I'm not much for shock art and the feelings it portrays and incites--but after some personal debate I am linking here to show that once again fairy tales appear in many places.

Once Upon a Time Game

The Once Upon a Time card game, like Enchanted Forest, has been around for several years, first released in 1996. I have had many teachers and families tell me that they have enjoyed this game over the years. It's the one I've had the most feedback for so I didn't want to neglect it during my postings about games and toys with fairy tale themes this month. This game is for older children and up. It generally doesn't easily adapt well for the pre-reading set.

Here's the official description:

Once Upon A Time is a game in which the players create a story together, using cards that show typical elements from fairy tales. One player is the Storyteller, and creates a story using the ingredients on her cards. She tries to guide the plot towards her own ending. The other players try to use cards to interrupt her and become the new Storyteller. The winner is the first player to play out all her cards and end with her Happy Ever After card.

There are also two expansion packs, one with additional themes that are called "dark" by the producer, Atlas Games, but not generally considered as such by players. Several have complained that the elements aren't dark enough and expect different elements but still like having more cards to use all the same.

There is also a "draw your own" pack for those who like matching sets but want to add their own elements to the game.


Once Upon a Time: Dark Tales


Once Upon a Time: Create-Your-Own Storytelling Cards

Breton Storytelling Month

Found this short article:

Of Fairy Tales and Folklore by Elizabeth Dearnley: As the nights get longer and darker, Elizabeth Dearnley welcomes the return of folk legends and fairy tales told round the fire.

Here's the first paragraph, but as always, you have to click through to read it in full:

Once upon a time there was a girl living in a wood. Or a cowherd’s youngest son. Or a prince seeking adventure. Or a malevolent witch. The details may change, but the impulses guiding the telling of fairy tales remain the same. She will be beautiful, and he will be handsome, and evil will be vanquished and they will live happily ever after. But within this overarching narrative is a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Shake the tube, and a different glittering tale is formed. And this reforming has happened again and again; throughout human history, from neolithic campfires to the sugary technicolor of Disney, fairy and folk tales have formed an essential part of the way we see and understand the world.

Of course, for this blog's readers the article is preaching to the choir and such--and we don't need a specific time or season for folklore--but it's wonderful to see the sentiment spread to the masses...

Fairy Tale Feasts

This is not a new book--it came out in 2006--but it is one that I've been thinking about as the holidays of feasting come upon us over the next few months, especially here in the U.S. with Thanksgiving next week.

Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple is available in hardcover and paperback. Several smaller editions using one theme each (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert) were also released this past summer.

Review from School Library Journal:

This collection of 20 fairy tales, each accompanied by at least one recipe, is an oversized, glossy concoction. Most of the stories are European, told in a conversational tone mixing tradition with a dash of the modern (in Cinderella, for instance, …a fairy–with wings and a wand and who knew a wish when she heard it–appeared before her, wrapped in stars.) Toddlers will enjoy The Runaway Pancake, while fourth and fifth graders will appreciate Yolen's Snow White (this heroine doesn't pull any punches). The recipes include tasty-sounding dishes like Very French Toast (to go with the French folktale Diamonds and Toads). Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert are all represented. The dishes will be best for experienced cooks, as some judgment calls are in order (serves a family is stated several times). Sidebars throughout give interesting facts about the stories and the recipes. Yolen's knowledge of folklore shows in her tidbits about the tales and their origins. Many of the food facts are intriguing, too. For instance, alongside the Stone Soup recipe is a note that Al Capone set up Chicago's first soup kitchen. Beha's illustrations, with bright colors and bold, simple lines, are set off by lots of white space, adding to the appealing and accessible look. This is similar to Carol MacGregor's The Fairy Tale Cookbook (Macmillan, 1982; o.p.), but that book does not include complete stories. A fun book for family sharing.

Review from Booklist:

From prehistoric times, stories and food have been "close companions," say Yolen and her daughter, who contributed the recipes in this creative book, which folds fairy tales into a cookbook of kid-friendly recipes. The stories, with the exception of one original story by Yolen, represent mostly European folktales, and Yolen retells them with her usual verve and ease. The tales are divided into four sections (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert), and each story is paired with at least one recipe that connects with the story's themes or references. For example, "Cinderella" inspires a recipe for pumpkin tarts, and "The Runaway Pancake" is matched with instructions for, naturally, "Runaway Pancakes." Stemple's recipes require adult supervision, but the resulting dishes, as well as Beha's spare, whimsical spot illustrations, will capture children's fancy. Detailed marginalia greatly enhance both the folktales and the food sections of this charming offering, which the whole family will appreciate.

And they say it so much better than me. I bought this one for myself when it was released, especially after reading Jane's blog about writing it. The recipes are approachable for kids, usually not requiring very adventurous tastes, although "seaweed" stuffed shells might intimidate some until they realize it is spinach--unless spinach makes it worse. I've always adored spinach at every age so it's certainly not an issue for me.

And for the completist, here are two other fairy tale cookbooks, now out of print, but available used or perhaps through your local library.


The Fairy Tale Cookbook: Fun Recipes for Families to Create and Eat Together

The Fairy Tale Cookbook is a collection of clever and tasty recipes for families to enjoy together. All the foods and menus are based on creative thinking about characters and stories in fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and other children's literature. Recipes include Paul Bunyan's flapjacks, Stone Soup (sans geological ingredients) and the Three Bears' porridge (made with potatoes, condensed milk and an onion).

The Fairy Tale Cookbook by Carol MacGregor (1983)

A collection of recipes for a variety of dishes based on such well-known tales as "The Three Bears," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Stone soup." Each recipe is introduced by a brief summary of the original tale.

And I had to sneak in this one, already out of print. No fairy tales, but classic children's literature is the theme. Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats includes recipes related to Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women and several other books including some that are more popular in the UK than here. Here's the publisher's description:

If as a child you devoured Enid Blyton's classics like the Famous Five or Malory Towers, or loved to lose yourself in the adventures of Pippi Longstocking or What Katy Did, then CHERRY CAKE AND GINGER BEER is the book for you. A wonderfully nostalgic cookery book, it will take you straight back to your favourite children's books and show you how to cook the feel-good foods that feature so strongly in them. So, you'll find recipes for Swallows and Amazons Squashed-Fly Biscuits, the Famous Five's Gorgeous Ginger Beer, and Gloriously Sticky Marmalade Roll from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe amongst others. Divided into appropriate sections like Proper Elevenses, Picnic Treats and Lessons in the Kitchen each recipe is introduced with an evocative description of the book that inspired it. Guaranteed to take you straight back to your childhood, the book is an escapist treat for grown-ups and will encourage you to re-visit much-loved classics and share them with the next generation.

This one is also out of print and getting expensive, but it is cheaper to purchase it in the United Kingdom than the US even with the shipping costs.

Happy Birthday, Fractured Fairy Tales

My first awareness of fairy tale fracturing came from two sources at a very young age. The first was The Berenstain Bears' Nursery Tales which was written more for straight humor before the bears became so overwhelmingly didactic. And, no, it's not very fractured, but it used the bears for some of the retellings which was enough to be a revelation to my toddler brain.


But the most important source, and the true lesson in fracturing, came from watching Rocky and Bullwinkle and seeing the Fractured Fairy Tales segments. Well, this week is apparently the 50th anniversary of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show's tv debut, so I thought I'd celebrate Fractured Fairy Tales while I was here.

Here's a great article about the anniversary: Happy 50th Birthday, Rocky & Bullwinkle! Moose and Squirrel Through the Years

It's a great article about the entire show and mentions the fractured fairy tales unlike most of the shorter articles in the media celebration today.

Here's my own bit about the series from the Fairy Tale Timeline on SurLaLune:

Jay Ward's "Rocky and His Friends" premieres on November 19, 1959 at 6:30 PM on ABC. One of its popular "shows within a show" is the Fractured Fairy Tales segment. The fairy tale segments are replaced the second year but return later after viewers write to the network and request that Fractured Fairy Tales return. In 1961, the show moves to NBC and is renamed "The Bullwinkle Show." A total of 91 four and a half minute fairy tales are produced. Later syndicated, the show has remained a cult classic.

And really, these were such a nice balance to the Disney retellings and more readily seen before the advent of home video. Syndication kept these visible for a very long time to several generations of kids and their grown-ups.



Several of the fractured tales are available on YouTube in blurry versions, but many are available on DVD now. There is one volume of just the tales, not all 91, but some of the best ones anyway, and there are three seasons of Rocky and Bullwinkle available, too. (That link to the list shows which tales show up on which DVDs, by the way, if you are interested.)


The Best of Fractured Fairy Tales, Vol. 1 (This has 15 tales on it.)


Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends: The Complete First Season


Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends: The Complete Second Season


Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends: The Complete Third Season



I limited myself to embedding three of the videos in this post. I'm so proud.

I admit one of my favorite elements is Edward Everett Horton's narration. When I grew up, I discovered him as a character actor, especially in so many Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. But his voice always reminded me of fairy tales...


And because I will get emails otherwise, A. J. Jacobs wrote some of his own fractured fairy tales under the brand name and published a book of the tales ten years ago. I prefer the video shorts myself, but these are fun, too.

Russian Nesting Dolls

Red Riding Hood Nesting Doll

Russian matryoshkas otherwise known as nesting dolls have a wonderful history, albeit one that is only about 120 years old. For Europe, that's a short history!

During my fairy tale toy searches, I discovered these gems. They aren't priced for anyone but serious collectors, not really for toys, but I wanted to share these for their beauty alone.


Snow Queen Matryoshka Doll

Read the tale here.


The Firebird (This is one of my favorites.)

Read the tale here.


The Frog Princess Nesting Doll This one was another favorite, perhaps the top one.

Read the tale here.


Masha and The Bear Matryoshka

Read the tale here.


Silver Hoof Russian Nesting Doll (This is one of my favorite designs although I wasn't familiar with the tale.)

Read the tale here.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Recent Releases

Besides the Goldilocks and the Three Bears from Lauren Child I've posted about previously, 2009 has brought us two other Goldilocks by well-known illustrators.

The first, Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson, came out in October. Sanderson is no stranger to fairy tales, having had great success already with her Twelve Dancing Princesses, Snow White and Rose Red, and Cinderella among others. (Just look at the used prices on her out-of-print titles to gauge her popularity!)

I haven't seen any reviews for the book yet--it is perhaps too new, but I'm sure it is as lovely as her previous work. (No, I haven't seen a physical copy yet. My closest bookstore is a Books-a-Million ten miles away. Not very helpful for scouting the types of books I offer here.)


Earlier this year, before I started this blog, we also had Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Gennady Spirin. Spirin, too, has illustrated other fairy tales previously. One of my favorites of is The Tale of the Firebird.

A review from Publishers Weekly:

In his adaptation of the Goldilocks story, Spirin's (The Lord Is My Shepherd) lush colored pencil and watercolor spreads are as elaborate as the text is simple. Against white backdrops, Goldilocks and the bears are drawn in great realistic detail, along with judicious use of ornate setting details and delicate page ornamentation. These bears have fierce claws and teeth, but their apparel is nothing short of royal, dotted with jewels and pearls, and trimmed with feathers and gold. The text, conversely, is completely free of metaphors or complex sentences, the story stripped to its tag-line essence: "Who's been sitting in my chair?" asks each bear parent as Little Bear laments, "My chair's broken!" The suspenseful scene as the bears find Goldilocks asleep in Little Bear's well-appointed bed is followed by an abrupt illustration in which Goldilocks runs away, looking more gleeful than terrified, as each of the bears says, "Bye," and the narrator informs the reader, "And that's the end of the story!" Goldilocks' face doesn't always transmit her emotions clearly, but overall this is an enchanting-visually, at least-version. Ages 3-7.

A review from School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2—Spirin's version of this classic pairs a simple, straightforward retelling with lush Renaissance costumes and elegant page designs. The bears, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, are solid, realistic creatures, revealing sharp teeth and claws. Papa and Mama Bear, generally appearing together in their fur-trimmed garments, dominate their vertical space—in contrast to their diminutive son. The setting is created with richly realized essentials: solid porridge bowls, carved chairs, ornate beds, a massive stucco and wood-trimmed dwelling. Expansive white space surrounds the characters on most spreads, with embellished lines creating decorative, horizontal borders on selected pages. The creatures seem to regard their intruder more as a curiosity than a criminal; as the golden-haired child runs away down the path, they simply wave and call out their farewells. A source note concludes the text. The Goldilocks shelf is crowded; readers can turn to James Marshall for humor, Jan Brett for details, Valeri Gorbachev for whimsy, and Jim Aylesworth for Victorian, to name but a few. This newcomer will be embraced for its visual clarity and sumptuous style at storytimes and bedtimes alike. —Wendy Lukehart

I'd add Caralyn Buehner to the short list, too.

So there are quite a few Goldilocks to choose from with these three new ones this year, not including all of the other versions printed as throw-aways by other publishers.

Personally, I'm waiting for someone to do a Silverlocks version...