October is the perfect time for fairy tales. Check out our feature list for some of the newest books in Howe Library on the topic of fairy tales! Visit the Howe Library Lobby display to borrow a book and check out even more titles like these. And on Thursday, October 23rd from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM, be sure to attend our author talk below!

 

UVM Libraries’ Chats in the Stacks: Once Upon a Tale -  

Join three UVM faculty (Maria Hummel, Eve Alexandra, and Cristina Mazzoni), for a discussion on the enduring power and possibilities of folk and fairy tales. A scholar, poet, and novelist will each introduce a figure in a tale that is thematically impactful to their work and talk about how it reverberates with an age-old story. Authors will share some of their own writing and then invite the audience into a dialogue about the pleasures, challenges, and wishes in revisiting and reimagining fairy tales. You can find and borrow their books on the Howe Library Lobby display table. 

 

Cover Art East of the sun and west of the moon : old tales from the North by Daniel, Noel (Editor) 

The fifteen tales in this reprint are replications of those that appeared in the original 1914 East of the sun and west of the moon with minor corrections and updates. Thirteen come from the first English translation of the Norwegian tales, Popular tales from the Norse from 1859 by Sir George Webbe Dasent. Two additional tales, not translated by Dasent, were added: "Prince Lindworm" (a Danish folktale collected by Danish historian Svend Grundtvig in 1855 and translated into English in 1914 by an unknown translator) and "The three princesses in the blue mountain" (by Asbjørnsen and Moe, translated by H.L. Brœkstad, and published in 1897 by publisher David Nutt).
 
 
 

Cover Art Women writing wonder : an anthology of subversive nineteenth-century British, French, and German fairy tales 

Women Writing Wonder: An Anthology of Subversive Nineteenth-Century British, French, and German Fairy Tales is a translation and critical edition that fills a current gap in fairy-tale scholarship by making accessible texts written by nineteenth-century British, French, and German women authors who used the genre of the fairy tale to address issues such as class, race, and female agency. These shared themes crossed national borders are due to both communication among these writers and changes in nineteenth-century European societies that similarly affected women in Western Europe. In effect, the combined texts reveal a common, transnational tradition of fairy tales by women writers who grapple with gender, sexual, social, and racial issues in a post-French Revolution Europe. The anthology provides insight into the ways the fairy tale served as a vehicle for women writers-often marginalized and excluded from more official or public genres-to engage in very serious debates. Women Writing Wonder, divided into three parts by country, features tales that depict relationships that cross class and racial divides, thus challenging normative marriage practices; critically examine traditional fairy-tale tropes, such as happily ever after and the need for a woman to marry; challenge the perception that fairy-tale collecting, editing, and creation was male work, associated particularly with the Grimms; and demonstrate the role of women in the development of the emerging field of children's literature and moral tales. Through their tales, these women question, among other issues, the genre of the fairy tale itself, playing with the conventional fairy-tale narrative to compose their proto-feminist tales. By bringing these tales together, editors and translators Julie L.J. Koehler, Shandi Lynne Wagner, Anne E. Duggan, and Adrion Dula hope both to foreground women writers' important contributions to the genre and to challenge common assumptions about what a fairy tale is for scholars, students, and general readers.
 

Cover Art Buried treasures: the power of political fairy tales by Zipes, Jack 

Fascinating profiles of modern writers and artists who tapped the political potential of fairy tales Jack Zipes has spent decades as a "scholarly scavenger," discovering forgotten fairy tales in libraries, flea markets, used bookstores, and internet searches, and he has introduced countless readers to these remarkable works and their authors. In Buried Treasures , Zipes describes his special passion for uncovering political fairy tales of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, offers fascinating profiles of more than a dozen of their writers and illustrators, and shows why they deserve greater attention and appreciation. These writers and artists used their remarkable talents to confront political oppression and economic exploitation by creating alternative, imaginative worlds that test the ethics and morals of the real world and expose hidden truths. Among the figures we meet here are Édouard Laboulaye, a jurist who wrote acute fairy tales about justice; Charles Godfrey Leland, a folklorist who found other worlds in tales of Native Americans, witches, and Roma; Kurt Schwitters, an artist who wrote satirical, antiauthoritarian stories; Mariette Lydis, a painter who depicted lost-and-found souls; Lisa Tetzner, who dramatized exploitation by elites; Felix Salten, who unveiled the real meaning of Bambi's dangerous life in the forest; and Gianni Rodari, whose work showed just how political and insightful fantasy stories can be. Demonstrating the uncanny power of political fairy tales, Buried Treasures also shows how their fictional realities not only enrich our understanding of the world but even give us tools to help us survive.
 

Cover Art Fairy tales of Appalachia by Sivinski, Stacy (Editor) 

This new collection of fairy tales, drawn from the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University and the special collections at Berea College, celebrates a lively current of storytelling going back centuries in Appalachia. The volume's editor, Stacy Sivinski, has written an introduction contextualizing the regional oral tradition that produced these adaptations and retellings of well-known tales. She explains what makes the stories distinctively Appalachian, and, indeed, readers will find traces of "Cinderella," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Snow White," all with a distinctly Appalachian flavor. The brave and clever women characters, so strong in Sivinski's selection, are given additional emphasis in specially commissioned photographs by local artist Jamie Sivinski. In contrast to a previous era of skeptical folklore criticism, this volume encourages readers to enter the fairy tale with a sense of wonder that is not less contemporary for being fantastic.
 
 
 

Cover Art A calabash of cowries : ancient wisdom for modern times by Teish, Luisah 

A Calabash of Cowries: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times is a collection of tales featuring the Orishas and the wonders of the natural world. Suitable for adults and children, artists and teachers, readers of all cultures will discover in these retellings of traditional tales a resource that illuminates the mythic and the real, the ancient past and the emerging present. An offering of spiritual wisdom and cultural celebration through stories that have and will continue to endure the test of time.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cover Art The pomegranates and other modern Italian fairy tales by Mazzoni, Cristina (Edited and Translated by) 

A collection of magical Italian folk and fairy tales-most appearing here in English for the first time The Pomegranates and Other Modern Italian Fairy Tales presents twenty magical stories published between 1875 and 1914, following Italy's political unification. In those decades of political and social change, folklorists collected fairy tales from many regions of the country while influential writers invented original narratives in standard Italian, drawing on traditional tales in local dialects, and translated others from France. This collection features a range of these entertaining jewels from such authors as Carlo Collodi, most celebrated for the novel Pinocchio, and Domenico Comparetti, regarded as the Italian Grimm, to Grazia Deledda, the only Italian woman to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. With one exception, all of these tales are appearing in English for the first time.The stories in this volume are linked by themes of metamorphosis: a man turns into a lion, a dove, and an ant; a handsome youth emerges from a pig's body; and three lovely women rise out of the rinds of pomegranates. There are also more introspective transformations: a self-absorbed princess learns about manners, a melancholy prince finds joy again, and a complacent young woman discovers gratitude. Cristina Mazzoni provides a comprehensive introduction that situates the tales in their cultural and historical context. The collection also includes period illustrations and biographical notes about the authors.Filled with adventures, supernatural and fantastic events, and brave and flawed protagonists, The Pomegranates and Other Modern Italian Fairy Tales will delight, surprise, and astonish.
 
 

Cover Art Roman folktales by Mazzoni, Cristina (Editor); Jackson, J. K. (General Editor) 

The fables, folklore and fairy tales of Rome are definitely not the more familiar myths and legends with their pantheon of gods. Within these pages you'll find stories and fears of the everyday, observations on the world around us, often poking fun at those in authority, and laughing at the proud and haughty including, The King Who Goes Out to Dinner, The Enchanted Rose Tree, The Wooing Of Cassandro, The Beggar and the Chick-Pea, The Bad-Tempered Queen, The Old Miser, Why Cats and Dogs Always Quarrel and The Value of Salt. Tricksters and simpletons, animal tales, food stories, tales of love and marriage, and narratives imbued with religion and magic are accompanied by a complementary selection of classical tales from antiquity and the middle ages, such as Cupid and Psyche, that reveal the ancient roots of these stories that have passed down orally over the ages. FLAME TREE 451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.
 
 

Cover Art The original folk & fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm : the complete first edition by Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm; Zipes, Jack (Edited and Translated by); Dezsö, Andrea (Illustrator) 

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their 'Children's and Household Tales' in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as 'Rapunzel, ' 'Hansel and Gretel, ' and 'Cinderella' would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style. For the very first time, 'The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm' makes available in English all 156 stories from the 1812 and 1815 editions. These narrative gems, newly translated and brought together in one beautiful book, are accompanied by sumptuous new illustrations from award-winning artist Andrea Dezsö. From 'The Frog King' to 'The Golden Key, ' wondrous worlds unfold--heroes and heroines are rewarded, weaker animals triumph over the strong, and simple bumpkins prove themselves not so simple after all. Esteemed fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes offers accessible translations that retain the spare description and engaging storytelling style of the originals. Indeed, this is what makes the tales from the 1812 and 1815 editions unique--they reflect diverse voices, rooted in oral traditions, that are absent from the Grimms' later, more embellished collections of tales. Zipes's introduction gives important historical context, and the book includes the Grimms' prefaces and notes. A delight to read, 'The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm' presents these peerless stories to a whole new generation of readers.
 

Cover Art Classic fairy tales and modern retellings : a guide for librarians, teachers, and readers 

Drawing on the popularity of fairy-tale literature and its retellings, this guide provides insightful annotations to all the major picture books and novels for children and teens.

Although popular fairy tales such as "Cinderella" are familiar, the broader genre of fairy-tale literature is less well known. This genre includes traditional fairy tales (often compiled in book collections), picture-book retellings of single fairy tales, fractured fairy tales, and fairy-tale-inspired novels for both children and teens.

Designed to help librarians, teachers, and reading partners feel more confident in selecting and suggesting fairy-tale books for children and teens, this comprehensive guide offers themes, read-alikes, reading levels, awards, and curricular tie-ins for each book. Readers will learn about the distinguishing characteristics of fairy tales, key authors (contemporary and historical), major trends, and significant changes in the genre. They will also discover the therapeutic power of fairy tales, their empowering impact on children and teens, and the reasons that fairy tales continue to attract young readers. Insightful and engaging annotations of each book will increase their knowledge of the riches of the genre.
 

Cover Art The lost princess : women writers and the history of classic fairy tales by Duggan, Anne E. 

People often associate fairy tales with Disney films, and with the male authors from whom Disney often drew inspiration -- notably Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. In these portrayals the princess is a passive, compliant figure. By contrast, "The Lost Princess" shows that classic fairy tales such as 'Cinderella', "Rapunzel" and "Beauty and the Beast" have a much richer, more complex history than Disney's saccharine depictions. Anne E. Duggan recovers the voices of women writers such as Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy, Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier and Charlotte-Rose de La Force, who penned popular tales about ogre-killing, pregnant, cross-dressing, dynamic heroines who saved the day. This new history will appeal to anyone who wants to know more about the lost, plucky heroines of historic fairy tales.
 
 
 
 

Cover Art A cultural history of fairy tales by Duggan, Anne E. 

How have the fairy tales of different cultures changed over the centuries? What do they tell us about our fears and hopes? In a work that spans 2,500 years these ambitious questions are addressed by over 50 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the fairy tale in Western culture from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. The six volumes cover: 1 - Antiquity (500 BCE to 800 CE); 2 - Medieval Age (800 to 1450); 3 - The Age of the Marvelous (1450 to 1650); 4 - The Long Eighteenth Century (1650 to 1800); 5 - The Long Nineteenth Century (1800 to 1920); 6 - The Modern Age (1920 to the present). Themes (and chapter titles) are: Forms of the Marvelous; Adaptation; Gender and Sexuality; Humans and Non-Humans; Monsters and the Monstrous; Spaces; Socialization; and Power. 
 
 

Cover Art Needle at the bottom of the sea : Bengali tales from the land of the eighteen tides 

What would you do if that white fly buzzing around your head landed on the wall and started giving you marriage advice? Or what could possibly be your response if the mendicant Sufi you often see at prayers should in the blink of an eye shapeshift into a giant ogre, enormous fangs bulging from a bloody maw? These events, and many more like them are not uncommon in the stories (kathās) of miracle-working Sufi saints (pīrs) that have circulated in the Bangla-speaking world for most of the last millennium. The stories are romances filled with wondrous marvels where tigers talk, rocks float and waters part, and færies carry a sleeping Sufi holy man into the bedroom of a Hindu princess with whom the god of fate, Bidhātā, has ordained marriage. Each of the five stories in this anthology feature unlikely heroes and heroines, intrepid ocean-going traders, fickle gods and goddesses, prophets and holy men, and the royal whimsy of kings and zamindars. The protagonists encounter predicaments faced by every human being, but the presence of marvels beyond the ordinary signal creative solutions that are magnified to heroic scale. They revel in the skillful navigation of the quirks of everyday life, adroitly maneuvering through the obligations of pressing kinship, juggling the tensions of conflicting allegiances, cleverly satisfying competing social and religious demands which are inevitably political. While the protagonists are nominally religious, Sufi saints, both men and women, the texts are in no way sectarian statements or theology. They are literature, adventure stories of survival that underscore the necessity of people from all social and religious ranks to work together in hostile environments. They explore ways to overcome the physical challenges of living in the Sundarban mangrove swamps of southern Bengal which are rife with natural resources but teeming with myriad tigers, crocodiles, and dread diseases; and to ameliorate the occasional hostilities born of social differences of caste and economic class.
 
 

Cover Art How the hedgehog married : and other Croatian fairy tales 

The fairy tale occurs both in oral and in literary form. The focus in the book has been on preserving the elemental structure of oral tradition without embellishment. But this is a distinctive literary collection that gathers a dozen fairy tales which come from the Croatian national folklore tradition, and in this bilingual edition the Croatian and English-in-translation are presented together - accompanied by a dozen original colour artworks by the cover artist, Josip Botteri Dini. And, as these are oral-come-literary tales, they freely derive plots, motifs, and elements so that the fairy tale itself is its own best explanation; that is, its meaning is contained in the totality of its motifs connected by the thread of the story. And these are 12 great stories! The book also includes a detailed introduction to Croatian fairy tales, and, in a historical and cultural sense, to the wider genre of fairy tales.
 
 

Cover Art The midnight washerwoman and other tales of lower Brittany by Luzel, François-Marie 

The French folklorist and Breton-language poet François-Marie Luzel (1826-1895) published several volumes of Breton tales that he collected in Brittany and translated into French. Unlike many nineteenth-century folklorists, including the Brothers Grimm, who relied on correspondents to conduct much of their scholarly research, Luzel and his sister Perrine transcribed nearly all of the tales they collected by spending many winter nights at Breton veillees, social gatherings that took place in houses and cottages throughout Brittany during the winter months of darkness, where communities of family and neighbors would come together to tell traditional stories and share news, gossip, and songs. The folklorist Michael Wilson has translated 29 of Luzel's French tales into English for this volume. Many of these tales have never appeared in English; others have not been translated into English for nearly a century. The tales are organized into a series of five veillees to capture the full context of the tales' original performance at these gatherings. Introductory material provides historical and literary context about Luzel, his surprisingly modern approach to collecting and publishing folk tales, and the Breton culture he worked throughout his life to preserve.