Great Reading: Bookmark It!

Volume 28, No. 4, April, 2001

Fiction Based on Familiar Fairy Tales

Rosemary Chance

Spindles end. Robin McKinley.
G. P. Putnams Sons, 2000. $19.99. 0-399-23466-7. This beautifully expanded Sleeping Beauty story has strong fantasy elements that will appeal to fans of McKinleys Beauty and Rose Daughter.

Beast. Donna Jo Napoli.
Atheneum, 2000. $17.00. 0-689-83589-2. Once Orasmyn, a Persian prince, is changed into a lion, readers will recognize this familiar tale. The most intriguing aspect of the story is the detailed perspective of a lion trying to survive in a mans world.

Crazy Jack. Donna Jo Napoli.
Delacorte, 1999. $15.95. 0-385-32627-0. The simple story of Jack and the beanstalk is turned into a tale of adventure and love, as Jack follows his lost father into the clouds and eventually emerges with a clear vision for his life.

The Rumpelstiltskin problem. Vivian Vande Velde.
Houghton Mifflin, 2000. $15.00. 0-618-05523-1. Velde examines some unanswered questions in the familiar tale of Rumpelstiltskin and creates six short stories that provide logical but unusual solutions. "Ms. Rumpelstiltskin," about an ugly woman, and "As Good as Gold," about a brainless woman who tries to force a handsome king into marriage, are the most amusing versions.

Rosemary Chance is assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. She can be reached at rchance@student.necc.cc.ms.us.