Now I feel uneducated , but what is "Beauty" about? I've never heard of it before.

It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is well worth the read. Don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either until I saw my sister reading it. And then I read it, and well, .

To Disney's softening to the fairy tales, I agree when it applies to some, but I sort of liked Cinderella being sweet and simple and excluding out the two stepsisters cutting off parts of their foot. :S That part always creeped me out in the real tale. (Unless I wasn't reading the right one, but just some mildly gory retelling... )

So what are your favorite fairy tales?
My favorite fairytales would be: "Beauty & the Beast" and "The Ordinary Princess" by M.M. Kaye.
...such a fabulously cute fairytale with gorgeous illustrations!

How could I forget The Ordinary Princess? I love that story! That was pitiful of me.

Thank you everyone who responded to my question about the book of short stories. Now that you all mentioned it, I do believe that the name of the one was Light Princess. Now I will just have to look them up at the library!

Regarding the "Softening up" of the Disney fairy tales, I don't mind so much how Disney did their early movies, but I much prefer the original story of The Little Mermaid to the "New and improved" animated version. It was so much richer.

Speaking of The Little Mermaid... has anyone read Knife by R. J. Anderson? (Or, um... SpellHunter as it seems to be known here in the US. What can I say? I have an awesome library...)

Knife isn't a direct retelling of the story, and I don't know if the author intended it that way, but there are some interesting parallels between it and the original story. Y'all should read it.

My favourite fairytale... oh, it's too hard to choose! I really like most of the ones mentioned already, with special soft spots for Beauty by Robin McKinley and The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye (which not only has delightful pencil illustrations, but there are editions with 4count'em4 colour plates!!!). I have The Golden Story Book as illustrated by Felicitas Kuhn, and it has some wonderful stories I haven't seen anywhere else. I like the one about the boy who went to sleep and dreamed for seven years about learning to cook. I believe it's called 'Dwarf Longnose'. It also has such favourites as 'Why the Sea is Salt' and the one about the sultan who is turned into a stork. (lys, I'm still waiting for news of a retelling of 'The Travelling Companion'. )

has anyone else read any of the Andrew Lang Fairy Books?

I've read... Blue, Red, Green (notable for three variations on the same story), Yellow, Crimson, Brown (my favourite!), Orange, Pink, most of Lilac (I think I skipped a few that originated in the Mabinogan), and The Rainbow Fairy Book which is illustrated by Michael Hague instead of H. J. Ford and is a collection of famous tales from the other books. Like 'Dapplegrim' which is one of my other favourites.

Bella, I recall that my favorite of the Princess Tales was The Princess Test, although I liked Cinderellis and the Glass Hill too. For me, however, Ella Enchanted will always be head-and-shoulders over everything else Levine has written.

I do feel that Disney's fairy tales...have cheapened public perception. Victorian moralism and the child-cult may be more guilty of this than Disney, but Disney certainly hasn't helped. There was something dark, dangerous, and very real about the original tales; a beauty that has been diluted.

I definitely see what you're saying, and agree to some extent. But I hear this argument ever so often, and it irks me a little for some reason. Maybe it's because some modern authors use it as an excuse for their own darker, often ridiculously bad retellings. Maybe it's also because I was raised on the cheapened Disney versions and their ilk. I suppose I just enjoy both approaches.

Funnily enough, I did just finish reading a set of novels that illustrates this dichotomy in cultural perceptions of Faerie beautifully: Patricia McKillip's Winter Rose and Solstice Wood. The first is a retelling of "Tam Lin" and definitely paints a dark and beautiful picture of the supernatural, while the second is the other side of the coin, a modern story where Faerieland is strange and confusing but ultimately benevolent. In this case, I definitely preferred the first. So, I'm a bundle of contradictions. So what?

*reminds himself to check out Jessica Day George's books at some point*

220chrisTian, have you read Ella Enchanted before? I agree with the other posters: read the book, skip the movie. On another note, I loved the du Mornay Beauty and the Beast when I was a child, but haven't seen it in years. I watched a trailer recently and thought it looked a little corny, but on your recommendation I'll give it another try. Oh, and I'll also look for "Cap O'Reeds" and "King Turnip Counter." I don't recall hearing of either of them before, surprisingly enough.

Wow, Alyosha, your taste must run towards the more gruesome fairy tales. I read "The Juniper Tree" again recently and...wow....

I sort of liked Cinderella being sweet and simple and excluding out the two stepsisters cutting off parts of their foot.

That's only in the Grimm version. The Disney version is much closer to the Perrault.

I'll look out for the R. J. Anderson book, Mel. I've yet to read a decent novel-length retelling of "The Little Mermaid," though I do love Priscilla Galloway's short story "The Voice of Love." (Corny title, awesome story.) And maybe I'll start work on that Traveling Companion novel at some point soon. I actually know how that one would end, which is more than I can say for some of my current writing projects.

*reminds himself to check out Jessica Day George's books at some point*

Ah, you should. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow and Princess of the Midnight Ball are some of my favorite books ever.

Could someone explain what The Ordinary Princess is about? I've never heard of that story before.

I was not really amused by Cinderellis and the Glass Hill. It was... meh. It was more contrived than the original and I was very disappointed. And the illustrations couldn't compare with the ones in the original version of the tale I read. (Which is, of course, a very great and unforgivable fault. ) As I recall, the one about Princess Sonora and the long sleep was the first one I read and the one I liked the best.

*makes a note of the name Priscilla Galloway and the title, and hopes lys finds a copy of SpellHunter soon* How does Winter Rose compare with The Perilous Gard?

NG, The Ordinary Princess is about Princess Amy. At her christening, her fairy godmother says she shall be ordinary--instead of being the perfect princess with a lovely complexion and long blond hair etc. etc. Her parents despair of every marrying her off, and Amy runs away to live in the forest. It is short and very, very charming. Since you like Jessica Day George, you'll probably like it.

Mel, thanks for explaining about The Ordinary Princess! That sounds really interesting - I'll definitely have to check it out sometime.

How does Winter Rose compare with The Perilous Gard?

Very different in approach. Many of the tropes and events that are used literally in The Perilous Gard are used symbolically in Winter Rose, and where Kate and Christopher are very practical and bound to our world, Rois and Corbett are haunted, fay, and unsure of reality. I'd say Winter Rose is a more "advanced" read, although not necessarily better—I like them both about the same. Still, I'd be more likely to recommend The Perilous Gard to other readers, as it's much more accessible.

I hope that answers your question. ww, care to weigh in?

So what are your favorite fairy tales? Oh, most of the 'popular' ones. But also 'rarer' ones like The Hag's Old Leather Bag (or something), King Thrushbeard, The Black Bull of Norroway, Katherine Crackernuts (such an odd tale ), Molly Whuppie, Longshanks, Girth, and Keen and a zillion and one other tales I have forgotten the names of.
Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics? Sort of. I like them now better than I did when I was little and first saw them...
What are your favorite retellings? I'd have to join most of you in mentioning Beauty and Ella Enchanted. I also love The Perilous Gard and I quite like Regina Doman's books as well. Oh, and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.
If you were only able to have read one fairy tale in your life, which one would it have been? Oooh, tough. But maybe King Thrushbeard.

I'm a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the Once Upon a Time series yet. I do think the publishers got a bit confused about what constitutes a fairy tale, though---Mulan? Anastasia? The Last of the Mohicans? (Either that or wikipedia got it wrong...either way doesn't surprise me.) At any rate, though they're all light and fluffy reads, some I liked better than others (Love at first sight is a genetic condition?). They certainly don't have anything on my favourite books. But some were clever ideas (Red Riding Hood=werewolves, the Crusades, and a female blacksmith; Princess and the Frog=WWI Belgium, British heiress, and Louisianan soldier), even if they didn't have the greatest execution always...

I'm not ww, but I agree with lys' thoughts on Perilous Gard vs. Winter Rose. I, eh, however like the former more than the latter. I should probably go back and reread WR, though, and see if I get less confused the second time around. But I think nothing in Winter Rose can ever beat the conversation about the tithes in Perilous Gard.

Agreed about Katie Crackernuts.

Oh, now you're making me feel bad about not mentioning the Once Upon a Time series, since I'm your main co-conspirator when it comes to those books. I suppose I was just too ashamed to bring them up. I too think that they are more interesting in terms of concept than execution, but it's been so long. I'd like to reread The Storyteller's Daughter and the Debbie Viguie entries at some point, and also try some of the newer ones. But there are so many great books out there, and I'm not sure I want to spend so much time on the merely "okay." By the way, Spirited is not a retelling of The Last of the Mohicans, but is "Beauty and the Beast" transplanted to the new world. (And inspired this awesome review. )

Good points on Winter Rose vs. The Perilous Gard. While the first gave me things to think about, the second definitely gave me more.

I just got a big books of Grimm's fairy tales at my local book swap. I've never actually read any so maybe this will get me in to them...

It's been awhile since I've read Winter Rose... I really liked it and it's next on my list of McKillips to reread, but there is something about The Perilous Gard that has made me revisit it sooner. Maybe it's the accessibility of it.

And yes, the conversation about the teind is fantastic — all the more because it's so unexpected. I wonder if non-Christians find it jarring or if it flows logically within the story for them.

I'm jealous of all you peeps talking about Regina Doman's books. My library doesn't have them and they stubbornly refuse to pop up on my various wishlists. One of these days I will find one...

Speaking of The Little Mermaid, yeah, I recall the original story with a sadder note than the movie captured. I'm stuck between the two, sort of. Although, I think I'm more inclined to choose the movie 1.) It was the source that showed me the story 2.) Evil doesn't win. (

Lys, right, I had forgotten The Princess Test. That one was nicely written, yes. Mhm, ditto, Ella Enchanted is the topper of her stories.

That's only in the Grimm version. The Disney version is much closer to the Perrault.

Oh, that's good to know. *plans to skip that one in the big Grimm's fairytale book borrowed*. Thanks! =]

Mel- Princess Sonora's story was nice, but some ejaculations bothered me in it. Or...well, like...I don't know how to put it. But it's around 3rd favourite. (By ejaculations, I mean that the fairies said juvenile things, or that was what I saw in the rest of the stories. Maybe I need a reread....)

*grabs a paper to make a list on all the fairytales/retellings to get* I feel so behind! Goodness, in our library, they have around 10 different versions of one book and it never specifies which is the original, or oldest... And Wiki didn't help either, but bless you who write the author's name along with the book.

You're the littlest bit off on "The Little Mermaid," Bella.