A collection of stories, mostly original fairy tales, introducing the fly-by-night, the rainbow cat, the wonderful cake-horse, a dragon, and the king who wanted to fly.
Settle down for an enchanting storytime with this stunning collection of best-loved fairy tales. With retellings of 11 classic stories, little ones will want to climb the beanstalk with Jack, meet Cinderella at the ball, and much more over and over again. Includes: Beauty and the Beast Cinderella The Frog Prince The Gingerbread Man Goldilocks and the Three Bears Hansel and Gretel Jack and the Beanstalk The Little Mermaid Puss in Boots Rapunzel Snow White
In ten succinct chapters, Marina Warner guides us through the rich world of fairy tale, from Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel to Snow White and Pan's Labyrinth. Exploring pervasive themes of folklore, myth, the supernatural, imagination, and fantasy, Warner highlights the impact of the genre on human understanding, history, and culture.
From wicked queens, beautiful princesses, elves, monsters, and goblins, to giants, glass slippers, poisoned apples, magic keys, and mirrors, the characters and images of fairy tales have cast a spell over readers and audiences, both adults and children, for centuries. These fantastic stories have travelled across cultural borders, and been passed on from generation to generation, ever-changing, renewed with each re-telling. Few forms of literature have greater power to enchant us and rekindle our imagination than a fairy tale. But what is a fairy tale? Where do they come from and what do they mean? What do they try and communicate to us about morality, sexuality, and society? The range of fairy tales stretches across great distances and time; their history is entangled with folklore and myth, and their inspiration draws on ideas about nature and the supernatural, imagination and fantasy, psychoanalysis, and feminism. In this Very Short Introduction, Marina Warner digs into a rich hoard of fairy tales in all their brilliant and fantastical variations, in order to define a genre and evaluate a literary form that keeps shifting through time and history. Drawing on a glittering array of examples, from classics such as Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty, the Grimm Brothers' Hansel and Gretel, and Hans Andersen's The Little Mermaid, to modern-day realizations including Walt Disney's Snow White, Warner forms a persuasive case for fairy tale as a crucial repository of human understanding and culture. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
- Richly illustrated with beautiful lithographs - Beautifully packaged - hardback, foam filled, with gilt edging - From the highly successful The Little Book of... series with more than 535,000 copies sold With this little book of antique chromo prints, dive into the fascinating world of fairy tales. From fairies and witches, magicians and ogres, to fantastic creatures and childhood heroes, this pocket-sized encyclopedia delves into the most beloved stories from around the world.
In the first book of this full-color fantasy graphic novel series filled with humor and hijinks, the fate of the land of Nothing hinges on Nathan and an unlikely team of magical beings to save the day—perfect for fans of Amulet and Estranged. Welcome to Nothing! Despite its name, this is a fantastic land where humans and magical volken coexist peacefully—at least they try . . . This is the tale of Nathan, an ordinary human (or so he thinks) living an ordinary life (or so he wishes). Everything changes when he meets Haven, a mysterious creature who is neither human nor volken. Oh, and the two of them are being chased by volken mercenaries—a grumpy wolf named Bardou and a delightful crow named Sina. Nathan soon learns he has mysterious powers, even though humans aren’t supposed to have magic. But there’s no time to dwell on that because this discovery sets the group on a perilous quest across windswept terrain, through haunted forests, and in ancient tombs. Nathan and his unlikely friends must prevent an impending war and defeat a dark evil to save their land. No pressure, of course. If they fail, everything will turn into, well . . . nothing.
"Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher--for that world or ours." --
A deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a stunning new Australian talent. 'He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!' There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't. But when the girl appears at Isola's window, her every word a threat, Isola needs help. Her real-life friends - Grape, James and new boy Edgar - make her forget for a while. And her brother-princes - magical creatures seemingly lifted from the pages of the French fairytales Isola idolises - will protect her with all the fierce love they possess. It may not be enough. Isola needs to uncover the truth behind the dead girl's demise . . . before the ghost steals Isola's last breath.