Cinderella Puzzles

One of the nieces is both princess crazy and enjoying puzzles these days so I've gone looking for interesting puzzles to share with her. One of those most interesting finds has been 3D Puzzle Jigsaw 44 pcs Crystal High Heels Cinderella Shoe Slipper CLEAR for christmas gift. 3D puzzles are really more like Legos than traditional puzzles, requiring more engineering than anything else, but this one looks especially challenging since there are no colors to guide you. If you prefer, it is also available in pink at 3D Puzzle Jigsaw 44 pcs Crystal High Heels Cinderella Shoe Slipper PINK for christmas gift.

I've also found other puzzles featuring Cinderella that do not have a Disney stamp on them. Thought I would share:

MasterPieces Cinderella Book Box Jigsaw Puzzle, 1000-Piece

Djeco Cinderella Silhouette Puzzle (36 pc)

Cinderella Puzzle in a Gift Box, 100-Piece

Ravensburger Enchanting Princess 108 Piece Children's Puzzleball is deceptive in the pictures. It is actually a 3D puzzle in globe shape.

Ravensburger Cinderella's Transformation - 500 Piece Puzzle

Cinderella and Prince at Ball, 500 Piece By Castorland Puzzle

White Mountain Puzzles Cinderella Puzzlebook featuring art by Ruth Sanderson

Cinderella Glitter and Glow Puzzle

Crocodile Creek Fairytale Shaped Box Floor Puzzle - 36 Piece

Cinderella 260 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle By Castorland

New Book: Happily Never After: Volume II of the Charming Tales by Jack Heckel

Happily Never After: Volume II of the Charming Tales by Jack Heckel is now available, the sequel to Once Upon a Rhyme: Volume I of the Charming Tales.

If you'd like to read more about the series, don't miss my previous posts, New Book: Once Upon a Rhyme: Volume I of the Charming Tales by Jack Heckel and Author Guest Post: The Charming Tales by Jack Heckel.

Book description:

Once upon, once again …

The dragon has been slain, but the problems have just begun for Prince Charming.

Disowned by his father, the King, and abandoned by his only friend, William Pickett, Charming must find a new path in life—but he's going to need a lot of help. His love, Liz, barely survived an assassination attempt; his former fling, Rapunzel, is in danger; and William is under an evil spell cast by Princess Gwendolyn.

The fate of Castle White hangs in the balance as Charming tries to find himself, while finding new allies along the way—including an odd number of dwarfs (or is it dwarves?) and a reformed beast. But he's running out of time to stop royally ruinous wedding bells from ringing …

New Fairy Tale Releases in 2015: Lists!

2015 promises many, many fairy tale related books and such for our entertainment. I've been working on these lists for 6 months and I am still amazed at how long they are already, considering that we are still almost a month away from 2015.

Fairy Tale Influenced Fiction 2015--6 more titles and I will already have to start a part 2 list. There is a limit of 40 titles per list.



Fairy Tale Picture Books 2015--I'm four titles away from needing a part 2 list.



Fairy Tale and Folklore Nonfiction 2015--and this is up to 37 titles, 3 away from a part 2 list.

Will 2015 be the first year that I need a 3 part list for fiction and picture book titles? Or even 4 parts? I've rarely needed two parts for nonfiction either, but that is a surety at this point since my latest date of a release is August 2015 on any of these lists--there will be plenty in September through December 2015.

If you know of any titles that are missing--please share! I rely mostly on my own searches while watching tv with the hubby since I can't just watch tv these days.

What titles are you most excited about coming to us in 2015?

Princess and Frog in Just Dance 2015

So one of our family activities during the holidays of late has been to play Just Dance. Thanksgiving night last week I cracked open the new Just Dance 2015 - Xbox 360 for the first time. The entire family--ages from 2 to 68--was entertained and many videos were filmed. There is a gag order in the family that NONE of those videos shall go beyond the family borders. With the exception of perhaps some adorable ones that don't have me in them.

One of the fun moments for me--in the I can't get away from fairy tales EVER vein--was that one of the songs on this release has dancers dressed as a princess and a frog. I'm embedding the teaser video above. It wasn't one of our favorite dances, I'll admit, but it was a fun one for the kids especially with all of the Rayman characters in the background distracting them.

Of course, this one also has Frozen's Let It Go on it, so our family's four-year-old took this one very seriously because she wants to be Elsa and regularly begs her mother to let her change her name to Elsa. Oh, the power of Elsa! Girls definitely need more superheros with powers. I loved Wonder Woman almost as much when I was that age.

Wickedly Wonderful (A Baba Yaga Novel) by Deborah Blake

Wickedly Wonderful (A Baba Yaga Novel) by Deborah Blake is released today, the second full book in her Baba Yaga series. The reader reviews for the first book--Wickedly Dangerous (A Baba Yaga Novel)--have been very strong. I've bought but haven't read it yet. Perhaps this weekend I should try these for some light fun.

Book description:

Known as the wicked witch of Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga is not one woman, but rather a title carried by a chosen few. They keep the balance of nature and guard the borders of our world, but don’t make the mistake of crossing one of them…

Though she looks like a typical California surfer girl, Beka Yancy is in fact a powerful yet inexperienced witch who’s struggling with her duties as a Baba Yaga. Luckily she has her faithful dragon-turned-dog for moral support, especially when faced with her biggest job yet…

A mysterious toxin is driving the Selkie and Mer from their homes deep in the trenches of Monterey Bay. To investigate, Beka buys her way onto the boat of Marcus Dermott, a battle-scarred former U.S. Marine, and his ailing fisherman father.

While diving for clues, Beka drives Marcus crazy with her flaky New Age ideas and dazzling blue eyes. She thinks he’s rigid and cranky (and way too attractive). Meanwhile, a charming Selkie prince has plans that include Beka. Only by trusting her powers can Beka save the underwater races, pick the right man, and choose the path she’ll follow for the rest of her life…

New Book: Classic Fairy Tales Paper Dolls in Historical Fashions by Brenda Sneathen Mattox

Classic Fairy Tales Paper Dolls in Historical Fashions by Brenda Sneathen Mattox was released last week and it is an intriguing paper doll concept. And it offers some lesser known fairy tales in the mix, too, which is always fun for me.

It's fairy tales reimagined in different periods of historical fashion. Which is especially fun for me after spending the last two evenings in a positive orgy of viewing Downton Abbey Series 5 (Masterpiece: Downton Abbey Season 5 here in the US) with the hubby and parents. I have a UK player although I live in the states and ordered it to watch now instead of in January a week at a time. Patience is not always one of my virtues. So my brain is filled with historical fashion images at the moment. And eager waiting for the Christmas Downton special but oh well.

I have some images here but I admit I am interested in the ones that are missing--The Golden Bird and a modern Sleeping Beauty--what does a modern Sleeping Beauty sleep in? Hmmm.... What do you think?

Book description:

Classic fairy tales are presented in historical fashions by famed artist and fashion historian Brenda Sneathen Mattox. She has reimagined eight beloved fairy tales and transported them into many different periods, each with timely costumes.

The Frog Prince is retold in glamorous 1930s fashion. The Little Mermaid is a fishy flapper and Snow White is transformed into a hoop-skirted Antebellum belle. The Tinderbox is retold in early Victorian Style while The Golden Bird reflects the glorious Gay '90s. Rapunzel turns back the clock to the late Victorian era, but Sleeping Beauty wakes up today with her prince in blue jeans. With this unique collection, these classic fairy tales will live happily ever after in the collections of paper doll enthusiasts.

New Book: Children into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination by Jan Beveridge

Children into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination by Jan Beveridge was released a few weeks ago. I ordered a copy since it may be helpful in the next SurLaLune compilation, but I haven't received it yet.

Book description:

A lucid exploration of fairy tales and the lore of ancient stories embedded in them.

Fairy tales are alive with the supernatural - elves, dwarfs, fairies, giants, and trolls, as well as witches with magic wands and sorcerers who cast spells and enchantments. Children into Swans examines these motifs in a range of ancient stories.

Moving from the rich period of nineteenth-century fairy tales back as far as the earliest folk literature of northern Europe, Jan Beveridge shows how long these supernatural features have been a part of storytelling, with ancient tales, many from Celtic and Norse mythology, that offer glimpses into a remote era and a pre-Christian sensibility. The earliest stories often show significant differences from what we might expect. Elves mingle with Norse gods, dwarfs belong to a proud clan of magician-smiths, and fairies are shape-shifters emerging from the hills and the sea mist. In story traditions with roots in a pre-Christian imagination, an invisible other world exists alongside our own.

From the lost cultures of a thousand years ago, Children into Swans opens the door on some of the most extraordinary worlds ever portrayed in literature - worlds that are both starkly beautiful and full of horrors.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments • ix
Preface • xi
A Note on Spelling • xiii
Pronunciation • xv

Part One: History
1 Early Storytellers • 3
2 The Oldest “Fairy” Tale • 13
3 The Manuscript • 19
4 Folk Tales and Fairy Tales • 28

Part Two: Characters
5 Fairies • 37
6 Elves • 50
7 Dwarfs • 60
8 Household Spirits • 71
9 Water Dwellers • 79
10 Giants • 90
11 Souls and Spirits • 103

Part Three: Stories from the Pagan Year
12 Festival Days • 115
13 Beltaine • 118
14 Samain • 127
15 Midwinter and Midsummer • 136

Part Four: Storytellers’ Themes
16 Wishing, or Dreams Come True • 149
17 The Triple Form • 158
18 Shape-Shifting • 167
19 Omens and Prophecies • 177
20 Between Two Worlds • 189
21 Spells • 198
22 Trees • 205
23 The Invisible World • 214
24 A Fairy Tale Almost Forgotten • 224

Notes • 239
Selected Bibliography • 257
Index • 271