Straw into Gold
Fairy Tales Re-spun
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
“Ten old yarns cleverly ‘re-spun.’” —The Wall Street Journal
“Abundantly magical.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Award-winning author Hilary McKay reimagines classic fairy tales with humorous and heartfelt twists in this illustrated collection of short stories that Booklist calls “a real delight.”
Imagine Hansel and Gretel’s story from their teacher’s point of view, when Gretel submits her report of, “What I Did in the Holidays, and Why Hansel’s Jacket Is So Tight.” Learn the story of how Rumpelstiltskin was used by a greedy girl who wanted to marry a prince in “Straw into Gold.” Find out what was really underneath all those mattresses the unlucky princess had to sleep on—and who the prince was really in love with—in “The Prince and the Problem.”
Award-winning author Hilary McKay brings a modern sensibility and inventive quirkiness to this beautiful collection of ten classic fairy tales, reimagining them with emotional depth and lighthearted humor. Each story is also accompanied by delicate black and white illustrations.
This sure-to-be treasured collection includes:
Rapunzel
Cinderella
The Princess and the Pea
Rumpelstiltskin
The Pied Piper
The Swan Brothers
Snow White
Red Riding Hood
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Hansel and Gretel
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stepping assuredly into fantasy, McKay (the Casson Family series) displays ingenuity and wit in these 10 cunningly reconfigured tales, illustrated with Gibb's stunning silhouette artwork. The inventive array of narrators includes classic fairy tale characters as adults (whose identities are initially ambiguous), sharing their stories with subsequent generations. The present-day adventures of Rapunzel's two children frame her tale; Snow White reaches into her past to tell her granddaughter the story of a girl who escapes from her wicked stepmother to live with dwarfs (and offers to take her to visit the seven, still living in the forest); and the eldest of 12 dancing princesses, while recounting her girlhood nocturnal escapades, reassures her skeptical daughter that there "was a lot more magic about" in bygone days. Abundantly magical, the anthology also features new characters, among them the prim Fraulein, who teaches Hansel and Gretel and their off-puttingly "sticky" schoolmates, including Jack of beanstalk fame. In her introduction, McKay notes, "If ever I wrote a book with love, it is this one!" That is wonderfully apparent, and kids will read it in kind. Ages 8 12.
