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Fairy Tales Retold

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Fairy tales have been retold through various cultures and mediums for generations. Contemporary retellers of fairy tales mix fantasy and realism, fleshing out characters and exposing new ideas. These tales build on traditional fairy tales to create new works of fantasy. This list is organized by tale, including stories with a variety of fairy tale references.

Retellings of Multiple Fairy Tales

Beck, Ian.
The Secret History of Tom Trueheart. 2007.
When young Tom Trueheart’s seven older brothers all go missing during their adventures in the Land of Stories, he embarks on a perilous mission to save them and to capture the rogue story-writer who wants to do away with the heroes. Their adventures involve Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and more.
[SSHEL S Collection S. B3884s]

Blubaugh, Penny.
Serendipity Market. 2009.
When the world begins to seem unbalanced, Mama Inez calls ten storytellers to the Serendipity Market and, through the power of their magical tales, the balance of the world is corrected once again. The tales include re-tellings of The Princess and the Pea, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and more.
[SSHEL S Collection S. B624s]

Buckley, Michael.
The Fairy-Tale Detectives. 2005.
Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead. They solve crimes involving the Everafters, the magical creatures and people of fairy tales and fantasy, who are trapped in their town. The Sisters Grimm appear in many sequels: book two is titled The Unusual Suspects.
[SSHEL S Collection S. B856s]

Durst, Sarah Beth.
Into the Wild. 2007.
Having escaped from the Wild and the preordained fairy tale plots it imposes, Rapunzel, along with her daughter Julie Marchen, tries to live a fairly normal life, but when the Wild breaks free and takes over their town, it is Julie who has to prevent everyone from being trapped in the events of a story. In sequel Out of the Wild, Julie again protects her world from a dark force using her naïve father for evil.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. D939i]

Gruber, Michael.
The Witch’s Boy. 2005.
Lump is a foundling, raised by a witch and her strange friends. But when he is cruelly treated by the people of the outside world, he turns against his mother. Only through tragedy and pain does he come to accept himself and learn his heart’s desire. Elements of fairy tales, including Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel are incorporated throughout the story.
[SSHEL S Collection S. G921w]

Maguire, Gregory.
The Dream Stealer. 1983.
This fantasy combines elements from several Russian fairy tales, including the magical Firebird, Baba Yaga the witch, and the beautiful Vasilissa.
[SSHEL S Collection S. M276d]

Beauty and the Beast

Baratz-Logsted, Lauren.
Crazy Beautiful. 2009.
In this contemporary retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” a teenaged boy whose hands were amputated in an explosion and a gorgeous girl whose mother has recently died form an instant connection when they meet on their first day as new students.
[SSHEL S Collection S. B2319c]

Jay, Stacey.
Of Beast and Beauty. 2013.
When nineteen-year-old Gem of the Desert People, called “Monstrous” by the Smooth Skins, becomes the prisoner of the seventeen-year-old Smooth Skin queen, Isra, age-old prejudices begin to fall aside as the two begin to understand each other.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. J333o]

McKinley, Robin.
Rose Daughter. 1997.
McKinley’s second retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a very different ending from the traditional story.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. M2152r]

McKinley, Robin.
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast. 1978.
This retelling follows the traditional plot while fleshing out the characters and bringing new life to the fairy tale.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S.M2152B]

Napoli, Donna Jo.
Beast. 2000.
Set in Persia, this is the story of the Beast before Beauty arrives as well as the traditional plot of their tale.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. N162be]

Cinderella

Ensor, Barbara.
Cinderella (as if you didn’t already know the story). 2006.
In this updated version of the Cinderella story, Cinderella writes letters to her dead mother apologizing for not being more assertive, which she remedies soon after marrying the prince. Readers will delight in following Cinderella through all the usual happenings, presented in a most unusual way.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S.398.2 En79c]

Farjeon, Eleanor.
The Glass Slipper. 1956.
This novel length retelling of Cinderella adds new elements while retaining the classic plot of a young girl who dreams of attending a ball.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F228G]

Haddix, Margaret Peterson.
Just Ella. 1999.
Ella has gotten her fairy tale ending and her prince; but is that truly what she wants? A continuation of the story of Cinderella.
[SSHEL S Collection S. H1172j]

Levine, Gail Carson.
Ella Enchanted. 1997.
Why was Cinderella so good and obedient? In Levine’s retelling, Ella is under a curse, forcing her to be obedient to everyone; even her wicked stepmother and her nasty stepsisters. Will the prince rescue her from her miserable family? Or will Ella rescue herself from the curse of obedience?
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. L5788E]

Lo, Malinda.
Ash. 2009.
In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. L7804a]

Marriott, Zoe.
Shadows on the Moon. 2012.
Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume, who is able to re-create herself in any form, is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. M349sm]

Meyer, Marissa.
Cinder. 2012.
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story. The Lunar Chronicles also include Scarlet, Cress, and Winter.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. M57572c]

Napoli, Donna Jo.
Bound. 2004.
This retelling is based on Chinese Cinderella stories. When Xing Xing’s stepmother binds only her own daughter’s feet, she cuts Xing Xing off from a suitable marriage. Bound to a life of servitude, Xing Xing must eventually break free of her stepmother’s power and make a new life for herself.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. N162b]

Pullman, Philip.
I Was a Rat! 2000.
When Cinderella flees from the castle, she leaves one of her transformed page boys behind. He and the princess must both adjust to their new worlds.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. N162b 2000]

East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Durst, Sarah Beth.
Ice. 2009.
A modern-day retelling of “East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon” in which eighteen-year-old Cassie learns that her grandmother’s fairy tale is true when a Polar Bear King comes to claim her for his bride and she must decide whether to go with him and save her long-lost mother, or continue helping her father with his research.
[SSHEL S Collection S. D939ic]

George, Jessica Day.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. 2008.
A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. G2935s]

Pattou, Edith.
East. 2003.
This retelling is based on the Norse tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon but also includes elements of the better-known Beauty and the Beast. Set in the Arctic lands, this is a fantastical epic with strong characters.
[SSHEL S Collection S. P2784e]

Little Red Riding Hood

Vande Velde, Vivian.
Cloaked in Red. 2010.
Presents eight twists on the traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood, exploring such issues as why most characters seem dim-witted and what, exactly, is the theme.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. V28cl]

Weston, Robert Paul.
Dust City. 2010.
Henry Whelp, son of the Big Bad Wolf, investigates what happened to the fairies that used to protect humans and animalia, and what role the corporation that manufactures synthetic fairy dust played in his father’s crime.
[SSHEL S Collection S. W5283d]

Sleeping Beauty

Baker, E.D.
The Wide-Awake Princess. 2010.
Annie, younger sister of the princess who would be known as Sleeping Beauty, is immune to magic and stays awake when the rest of the castle falls into an enchanted sleep, then sets out to find a way to break the spell.
[SSHEL S Collection S. B1712w]

Hale, Bruce.
Snoring Beauty. 2008.
An adaptation of the traditional tale, featuring a sleeping, snoring princess who is rescued by a prince after being cursed by a bad fairy.
[SSHEL S Collection Q. S. 398.2H13s]

Lowe, Helen.
Thornspell. 2008.
In this elaboration of “Sleeping Beauty,” Prince Sigismund, having grown up in a remote castle dreaming of going on knightly quests, has had only a passing interest in the forbidden wood lying beyond the castle gates until a brief encounter with a beautiful and mysterious lady changes his life forever.
[SSHEL S Collection S. L95142t]

McKinley, Robin.
Spindle’s End. 2000.
When Briar Rose is cursed by the evil Pernicia, a young fairy takes her away to be raised safely in the country. When she learns of her true heritage, she must not only defeat the evil fairy, but choose how she will live; as a princess or as simple Rosie.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. M2152sp]

Yolen, Jane.
Briar Rose. 2002.
Becca has always loved her grandmother, Gemma, and treasures her telling of Sleeping Beauty. When Becca begins to trace her grandmother’s history, Gemma’s constant retelling of Sleeping Beauty takes on a new, tragic significance.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Y78br2002]

Yolen, Jane.
Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: The True Tale of Sleeping Beauty. 2012.
Accident-prone, thirteen-year-old Gorse, the youngest fairy in her family, falls into a trap while on her way to the palace to bless the newborn princess, Talia, but arrives in time to give a gift which, although seemingly horrific, may prove to be a real blessing in this take-off on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. Y78cu]

Snow White

Harrison, Mette Ivie.
Mira, Mirror. 2004.
This is the story of the magic mirror used by Snow White’s stepmother. Trapped in the mirror by the woman she had thought her sister, Mira’s quest for freedom eventually leads her to true freedom and understanding of her sister.
[SSHEL S Collection S. H247m]

Levine, Gail Carson.
Fairest. 2006.
Aza has hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood, and skin as white as snow; and everyone thinks she’s ugly. In a land where conventional beauty and singing are highly valued, her looks make her an outcast until she learns to control and accept her magical voice and her unique appearance.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. L5788fa]

Yolen, Jane.
Snow in Summer. 2011.
Recasts the tale of Snow White, setting it in West Virginia in the 1940s with a stepmother who is a snake-handler.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. Y78sn]

Funny Fairy Tales: Not Your Typical Tale

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It’s January, and depending on how you feel about winter weather, the sun setting at 4 p.m., and going back to work or school after having some time off with family and friends, it can be a tough month. All the more reason why we (young and old) should be discovering and sharing stories that make us laugh, are entertaining, and are enjoyably familiar. The following list of resources seeks to provide just that: these funny fairy tales take the traditional stories we know and turn them on their heads or poke fun at them. To find more titles like these, try searching the subject phrase “juvenile fiction” along with phrases like “fairy tales,” “humor,” and any other distinguishing characters or topics you’d like, such as princes, princesses, fairies, witches, trolls, goblins, etc.

Picture Books

Bar-el, Dan.
Such a Prince. 2007.
Libby Gaborchik, a highly unusual fairy, helps Marvin, a poor peasant, win the hand of the beautiful but love-starved Princess Vera.
[SSHEL S Collection Q. SE. B23s]

Codell, Esme Raji.
Fairly Fairy Tales. 2011.
Offers a different look at some classic stories, as a parent and child read before bedtime.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books SE. C648f]

Conway, David.
The Great Fairy Tale Disaster. 2012.
When an old Big Bad Wolf, who no longer has enough huff and puff to blow down a house, tries to find a nice relaxing fairy tale for a change, he winds up making a big mess for Cinderella, Rapunzel, and other well-known characters.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. C7697gr]

Hodgkinson, Leigh.
Goldilocks and Just One Bear. 2012.
Little Bear, all grown up, finds himself lost in a noisy, busy city where he happens to bump into someone with golden hair who remembers exactly how he likes his porridge.
[SSHEL S Collection Q. SE. H6678g2012]

Holub, Joan.
Knuckleheads. 2008.
From Handsel and Gretel nibbling on a house made of finger food to Handerella trying to win over the handsome Finger Prints, Knuckleheads is hands down fun! Earburt and Toeper give it two thumbs up! The combination of Joan Holub’s pun-filled humor and Michael Slack’s on-the-nose pictures make this a must-read for all ages.
[SSHEL S Collection Q. SE. H7472k]

Lendler, Ian.
An Undone Fairy Tale. 2005.
“Now, Ned and I admire how well you read. But the story will be ruined if you turn the page right now. So please don’t.” A beautiful pie-making princess is trapped in a tower. Can Sir Wilbur rescue her? And more importantly, can he do it while wearing a tutu? He’s going to try! But if you read the story too quickly, Ned won’t be able to make the pictures or costumes in time. And happily-ever-after may start to go a bit haywire.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. L546a]

O’Malley, Kevin.
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. 2005.
Cooperatively writing a fairy tale for school, a girl imagines a beautiful princess whose beloved ponies are being stolen by a giant, and a boy conjures up the muscular biker who will guard the last pony in exchange for gold.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. Om13o]

Scieszka, Jon.
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. 1992.
Madcap revisions of familiar fairy tales.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books SE.SCI27S]

Intermediate and Young Adult Fiction

Ferris, Jean.
Once Upon a Marigold. 2002.
A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S.F417o]
Twice Upon a Marigold. 2008.
After a quiet, happy year in a small town, Queen Olympia regains her memory and initiates new plots and manipulations, as the residents of Zandelphia and Beaurivage, now ruled by Christian, Marigold, and Swithbert, feel the effects of her bad energy.
[The Center for Children’s Books S. F417t]
Thrice Upon a Marigold. 2013.
When Princess Poppy, the daughter of Queen Marigold and King Christian of Zandelphia-Beaurivage, is kidnapped by the kingdom’s former torturer-in-chief and poisoner-in-chief, a ragtag group sets out to rescue her.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F417th]

French, Vivian.
The Robe of Skulls. 2008
The sorceress Lady Lamorna has her heart set on a very expensive new robe, and she will stop at nothing–including kidnapping and black magic–to get the money to pay for it.
[The Center for Children’s Books S. F889r]
The Bag of Bones. 2009.
When the quill writes “Go Go Go” frantically on the wall, and the House of the Ancient Crones heaves Gracie Gillypot outside onto the path, it can mean only one thing: there’s Trouble in the Five Kingdoms. This time it’s in the form of a beady-eyed, green-tongued witch named Truda Hangnail.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F889b]
The Heart of Glass. 2010.
Gracie Gillypott and Prince Marcus embark on a dwarf-watching outing, not knowing that the dwarves are working frantically making crowns for a royal wedding and that they have enlisted some unreliable trolls to help them, thus putting the humans’ expedition in peril.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F889he]
The Flight of Dragons: The Fourth Tales from the Five Kingdoms. 2011.
On Gracie Gillypot’s birthday, greedy, chocolate-hungry twins awaken the banished Old Malignant One, and unless Gracie can find a powerful, long-forgotten dragon’s egg, the Five Kingdoms may succumb to evil magic and Total Oblivion.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F889f]
The Music of Zombies. 2013.
Prince Albion expects a unique occasion when he starts planning Cockenzie Rood Day to celebrate his kingdom — and himself. What he doesn’t expect is boppings on the head and kidnapping, all because a zombie wants to play his fiddle in the talent contest. With a misbehaving path, a romantic bat, and a greedy butler to set them on their way, Gracie Gillypot and Prince Marcus are off on their fifth adventure.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F889m]

Gidwitz, Adam.
A Tale Dark & Grimm. 2010.
Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering such wicked creatures as witches, along with kindly strangers and other helpful folk. Based in part on the Grimms’ fairy tales Faithful Johannes, Hansel and Gretel, The seven ravens, Brother and sister, The robber bridegroom, and The devil and his three golden hairs.
[The Center for Children’s Books S. G3611t]
In a Glass Grimmly. 2012.
Frog joins cousins Jack and Jill in leaving their own stories to seek a magic mirror, encountering such creatures as giants, mermaids, and goblins along the way. Based in part on fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen.
[SSHEL S Collection S. G3611i]
The Grimm Conclusion. 2013.
Sister and brother Jorinda and Joringel fight to keep their promise to stay together throughout a new series of gruesome, twisted, Grimm-inspired stories
[SSHEL S Collection S. G3611g]

Healy, Christopher.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. 2012.
The four princes erroneously dubbed Prince Charming and rudely marginalized in their respective fairy tales form an unlikely team when a witch threatens the whole kingdom.
[The Center for Children’s Books S. H3498h]
The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle. 2013.
The four princes erroneously dubbed Prince Charming and rudely marginalized in their respective fairy tales have to once again save the kingdom from a great threat.
[SSHEL S Collection S. H3498he]
The Hero’s Guide to Being an Outlaw. 2014.
Posters plastered across the thirteen kingdoms are saying that Briar Rose has been murdered — and the four Princes Charming (Prince Liam, Prince Frederic, Prince Duncan, and Prince Gustav) are the prime suspects. In a desperate attempt to clear their names, they discover that Briar’s murder is just one part of a nefarious plot to take control of all thirteen kingdoms — a plot that will lead to the doorstep of an eerily familiar fortress for a final showdown with an eerily familiar enemy.
[SSHEL S Collection S. H3498her]

Jones, Noah.
Moldylocks and the Three Beards. 2014.
After falling through the refrigerator into the Land of Fake Believe, Princess meets a girl named Moldylocks who takes her to the home of the Three Beards for chili — but when the Beards capture her friend, Princess must come up with a plan to save her.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. J722m]

Petty, J. T.
Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer. 2005.
Clever and resourceful Clemency must travel the world to reanimate fairies she has accidentally killed.
[SSHEL S Collection S. P456c]
Clemency Pogue: The Hobgoblin Proxy. 2006.
Clemency Pogue and the hobgoblin Chaphesmeeso begin a quest to rescue lost fairies, find a boy-goblin’s changeling, and restore equilibrium to the Make-Believe.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. P456ch]
The Scrivener Bees. 2007.
When the rogue changeling Inky Mess tries to take over the Make Believe using the Forgetting Book, feisty fairy-killer Clemency Pogue must put aside worries about her parents and learn to communicate with some frightening bees in order to stop him.
[SSHEL S Collection S. P456sc]

Riley, James.
Half Upon a Time. 2010.
In the village of Giant’s Hand Jack’s grandfather has been pushing him to find a princess and get married, so when a young lady falls out of the sky wearing a shirt that says “Punk Princess,” and she tells Jack that her grandmother, who looks suspiciously like the long-missing Snow White, has been kidnapped, Jack decides to help her.
[SSHEL S Collection S. R4534h]
Twice Upon a Time. 2012.
Jack, of the village of Giant’s Hand, is now accompanied by a prince as he continues trying to help a reluctant princess find her family, while also attempting to save a city full of fairies from a nameless curse.
[SSHEL S Collection S. R4534t]
Once Upon the End. 2013.
Knights, fairy godmothers, giants and beanstalks — all of these and more fill the pages of the conclusion to the Half Upon a Time trilogy
[SSHEL S Collection S. R4534o]

Fairy Tale Adaptations

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Do you remember the first time that you heard the story of Cinderella? Climbed up Rapunzel’s tower? Cheered three little pigs to victory over the Big Bad Wolf? These stories have remained popular for hundreds of years after their original publications. Since then, many authors have created their own editions of these classic tales. The Education Library at the University of Saskatchewan has created a guide to Fairy Tales which offers the following definitions to help classify these new renditions:*

“Adaptation: Any translation nor re-telling of a folk or fairy tale. The original story is usually altered to some degree. For example, characters may be changed, the ending may be softened, the language may be simplified, dialogue may be added or subtracted, and new illustrations may create a different mood.”

“Fractured Fairy Tale: A re-working of a traditional fairy tale that retains familiar elements such as characters and plot, but alters the story in unexpected ways, often with a contemporary “spin” or ironic twist.”

“Version: A distinct rendering of an original story. Different versions of the same tale are usually associated with a particular author and country of origin. For example, the original French version of Cinderella, Cendrillon, was published by Charles Perrault in 1697; the German version by the Brothers Grimm, Aschenputtel, was first published in 1812. Most modern-day English language translations of the Cinderella story are adapted from one of these versions.”

“Variant: A tale bearing resemblance in theme, motifs, or tale type to another, but which has its origin in another culture.”

*”Fairy Tales and Folk Tales” University of Saskatchewan Library (http://library.usask.ca/education/files/Guides/fairy.pdf)
The following award-winning authors have created a number of fractured fairy tales, versions, and adaptations:

Robin McKinley. This award winning science fiction/fantasy author has written a number of adaptations of stories such as Beauty and the Beast (Beauty; Rose Daughter), Sleeping Beauty (Spindle’s End), and collections of shorter adaptations (A Door in the Hedge). Additional titles can be found by searching for this author in the UIUC online catalog.

Gail Carson Levine. Best known for her fractured Cinderella story Ella Enchanted (a Newberry Honor book) Levine, has also written many other fractured stories and adaptations including Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep (Sleeping Beauty), The Fairy’s Mistake (Toads and Diamonds), and The Princess Test (The Princess and the Pea). Titles can be found by searching for this author in the UIUC catalog.

Donna Jo Napoli has set several of her adaptations in exotic locales. These include a version of Beauty and the Beast set in Persia (Beast), and an adaptation of the Chinese variation of Cinderella (Bound). Other works include Prince of the Pond (The Frog Prince), Spinners (Rumplestiltskin), and Ugly (The Ugly Duckling). Additional titles can be found by searching for this author in the UIUC catalog.

Roald Dahl has created two collections of traditional fairy tales adapted and set to verse. Vile Verses and Revolting Rhymes can be located using a title search in the UIUC catalog.

Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles is a series of four novels following the adventures of Princess Cimorene, a young woman who doesn’t always play by traditional fairy tale rules. While not an adaptation or fractured retelling of traditional fairy tales, Wrede pokes plenty of fun at a number of fairy tale “stereotypes” (who ever heard of a witch that didn’t melt in water, or a magic carpet covered in pink teddy bears?). The books in the series, Dealing With Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, and Talking to Dragons, along with other titles by this author, can be located using the UIUC catalog.

Looking for more? Follow the links below to find additional titles of adapted and fractured fairy tales:

Fractured Fairy Tales (Longwood Public Library, New York)

Fairy Tales Retold for Teens (Evanston Public Library, Illinois)
(Information compiled by graduate assistant Jennifer Erbach; updated links 12.20.2010)