Christensen's Faery Tales Week: Day 8

This is an image heavy post, so I'll keep the rest brief. Here are the answers to the puzzle. Well, at least the ones I know!


Fairy Tale 1: Unknown... This one appears to flummox everyone. It doesn't appear to be Hop O' My Thumb or Tom Thumb which was my first instinct. All the tales represented here are supposed to be "well known" and I can't think of one that fits.


Fairy Tale 2: Cinderella


Fairy Tale 3: Jack and the Beanstalk


Fairy Tale 4: Sleeping Beauty


Fairy Tale 5: Beauty and the Beast


Fairy Tale 6: The Six Swans


Fairy Tale 7: The Brave Little Tailor (Someone guess Puss in Boots on this one thanks to my blurry picture, I think, because I can totally see that. In a better picture it's easier to see that the little figure is a man, not a cat, and that the giant is trying to squeeze a rock like a sponge.)


Fairy Tale 8: Little Red Riding Hood


Fairy Tale 9: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs


Fairy Tale 10: Rapunzel


Fairy Tale 11: The Frog Prince


Fairy Tale 12: Hansel and Gretel


Fairy Tale 13: Goldilocks and the Three Bears


Fairy Tale 14: Rumpelstiltskin


Fairy Tale 15: The Golden Goose


Fairy Tale 16: Little Mermaid


Fairy Tale 17: The Fisherman and His Wife


Fairy Tale 19: The Firebird


Fairy Tale 20: The Seven Ravens


Fairy Tale 21: Puss in Boots


Fairy Tale 22: Diamonds and Toads


Fairy Tale 23: The Emperor's New Clothes


Fairy Tale 24: This is the other fairy tale I'm unsure of. I've debated whether it's one of the tailors from Emperor's New Clothes, but I think not since there is one instead of two tailors and he is still somewhat separated from the action. He must be another tale, unless I've missed a reference to another fairy tale elsewhere in the puzzle. If anyone else sees one I've missed, let me know!

And either way, I'm not sure which fairy tale he would represent which just adds to the mystery... Perhaps someday someone will solve the mysteries for us...

Princess Stories: A Classic Illustrated Edition by Cooper Edens

Bargain book alert: Princess Stories: A Classic Illustrated Edition by Cooper Edens is temporarily bargain priced at $8.00 on Amazon.com, 60% off list price. There are 4 copies left in stock and the price may change after they are sold. These bargains never last long.

I already own the book and it is another fine entry in the series of stories with classic illustrations (usually Golden Age illustrators) by Cooper Edens.

Product description from the publisher:

The classic tales in this lavishly illustrated collection have enchanted generations of readers. Here, among others, is the fair Snow White, Rapunzel with her golden tresses, and the princess so delicate that even just a small pea hidden under 20 mattresses keeps her awake at night. The stories are paired with magnificent artwork by some of the most renowned children's book illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From Arthur Rackham to Millicent Sowerby to Kay Nielsen, each brought a unique artistic vision to these timeless tales. This beautifully designed edition is equally at home on a child's bedside table as it is on a collector's bookshelf.

And my original review from when it was released:

In 1991, Cooper Edens published "The Three Princesses: The Ultimate Illustrated Edition," a book containing three princess fairy tales (Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty) with 172 illustrations from the Golden Age of illustration. The book has since gone out of print and has become popular among collectors with some editions selling for well over $100 in the used book market.

Now Edens has produced a similar book, "Princess Stories," which may become just as sought after by collectors in the years to come. This time he includes eight tales, including Cinderella, The Frog Prince, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Beauty and the Beast. Edens has included over 150 illustrations to accompany the tales by such masters as Kay Nielsen, Walter Crane, Edmund Dulac, Charles Robinson, W. Heath Robinson, Honor Appleton, Jesse Wilcox Smith, and Arthur Rackham. More obscure and anonymous illustrations by these illustrators' contemporaries are also included. Thus results a feast of fairy tale illustrations in color and black and white for all ages.

The hardcover book is printed on fine paper and new illustrations appear with every turn of the page. Readers will enjoy comparing the different visions by the illustrators of the same tales. The texts are also rich and reflect earlier versions of the tales. My only regret is that there wasn't room for even more illustrations although plenty are provided here.

Unfortunately, the cover of the book is deceptive due to its design. With the last two letters of "Princess" appearing over the glowing candle, the book appears to be "Prince Stories" at first glance of the cover. Never fear, the interior of the book is much better designed with no loss of illustration or textual integrity.

Princess phase is OK

I read more controversy about Princess worship by little girls than almost any other topic when it comes to fairy tales these days. Much of it is mashed up with Disney bashing, but there is also concern with feminism and realism interests. Still, it appears to happen and ultimately parents tend to give in whatever their personal belief systems... :)

Here was a different take on the topic that I decided to share. Princess phase is OK by NIESHA LOFING

Part of me wants to indulge this innocent adoration, but could doing so lead to an unhappily ever after?

Kristen Lagattuta, a psychology professor who specializes in child development at University of California, Davis, says the concern is common among mothers, but there's no need to worry.

A fascination with princesses is typical in children ages 2 to 4, although children as old as 7 may remain interested, she says.

"Part of it is related to gender identity," Lagattuta says. "Children that age have very stereotypical views of what a man is and what a woman is, and they are trying to establish that and let everyone know that they are either a boy or a girl."

Furthering the fascination is the sparkly, fun princess merchandise — something that young girls find appealing — that's marketed to girls.

The Disney Princess franchise hauls in a good chunk of change for the company — $4 billion in global retail sales in fiscal 2007, according to Disney Consumer Products' Web site.

Looks like I'm not the only parent indulging a daughter's fantasy.

Yet letting a little girl enjoy fairy tales and pretend to be Belle or Snow White won't warp her sense of reality, Lagattuta says.

"It doesn't mean that they are limiting themselves for the rest of their life and going to expect to be rescued," she says.

So there you have it at least from one mother and one psychologist...

I didn't have much of a princess phase. Yes, I was more tomboy than princess. Still, I enjoyed dress up. And I have to admit that most of the imaginative play was being Charlie's Angels, dressing up princess-style sometimes to be Sabrina with my friends playing other characters.

But really, I always wanted to be Nancy Drew...or Princess Leia... I loved fairy tales, obviously, but I never really wanted to be Cinderella or Beauty. Even at an early age, I was aware that their lives were rather dreary until the end of the story. And the Disney influence was at a minimum since my early childhood predated VCRs and DVD players just enough to keep them out of the home.

Stone Soup

I have always loved soup--opening a can of Campbell's was one of my first independent acts of feeding myself as a child. I am often tempted to just order two or three soups off a menu and have them as a meal instead of an entree when eating out. I eat soups year round, but as the weather turns colder, I crave soups even more if that is possible.

Then days like today when we are quite snowed in make me think of soup making, too.

So I was amused to find this recent article with a recipe for stone soup and a short description of the tale: Green Eyes On: Stone Soup - Making Something Out of Nothing by Sara Snow.

Stone Soup is one of my all time favorite folktales. I have used it regularly for storytelling with a few different methods for making it interactive depending on the size of my audience (a set of 50+ cards with pictured vegetables vs. a set of plastic vegetables for smaller groups). I always remind kids at the end that Stone Soup is really vegetable soup, stones optional. I know several enterprising parents who have made stone soup with their children. They rarely forget the experience. So many have rushed to tell me later that they made stone soup after participating in one of my storytimes. It's really a wonderful tale...

I actually have an entire soup themed story time and have posted it in the SurLaLune Storytime section of the website. One of my favorite picture books is Mean Soup which was always a hit with kids and parents, but is out of print but hopefully still at your local library or you can find it used. It's worth hunting down. A few kids have told me they've made mean soup, too...


That said, inspired by the article and the weather, I thought I would share Stone Soup picture books today. There are many wonderful versions and I believe any library should have a few versions of it on hand, be it public or your own private one. I'm going to cheat and just add an Amazon widget of book covers (links included) since I don't have the images readily available.

I created a list on Amazon of several Stone Soup variations, too: Stone Soup. Some are represented below but there are more on the list, so click through to explore Button Soup and Nail Soup and others.

Christensen's Faery Tales Week: Day 7

Today is the seventh and final day of identifying the fairy tales in James Christensen's Faery Tales. I plan to post the answers tomorrow or Monday to give everyone some extra time to see all the images and post their answers.

Well, I'll post answers to at least 22 of them since I'm unsure about two of them still myself as I mentioned on the first day. So far, no one including me knows which fairy tale is represented by the little boy carring the bundle, Fairy Tale 1 in my list.

And so I give you the final three fairy tale images:



Fairy Tale 22


Fairy Tale 23


Fairy Tale 24: This is the other fairy tale I'm unsure of. I've debated whether it's one of the tailors from Emperor's New Clothes, but I think not since there is one instead of two tailors and he is still somewhat separated from the action. He must be another tale, unless I've missed a reference elsewhere in the puzzle. If anyone else sees one I've missed, let me know!

This was easy in so many ways, but challenging with those final two tales!

For your convenience in copying and pasting into comments:

Fairy Tale 22:
Fairy Tale 23:
Fairy Tale 24:

Once again, the puzzle is quite affordable at Amazon and other retailers. It also comes in a 1,000 piece version from what I've seen online, but I preferred the 1,500. Alas, prints of the painting are much more expensive, but readily available at the James Christensen site among others. (I am an Amazon affiliate, as we all know by now, but am not affiliated with any of the other sites linked in this post.)

Christensen's Faery Tales Week: Day 6

Today is the sixth day of identifying the fairy tales in James Christensen's Faery Tales. I give you three new images:


Fairy Tale 19


Fairy Tale 20: Big hint: There are seven of these birds in the painting although only five appear in the image here. Two more are flying above these.


Fairy Tale 21


For your convenience in copying and pasting into comments:

Fairy Tale 19:
Fairy Tale 20:
Fairy Tale 21:

Once again, the puzzle is quite affordable at Amazon and other retailers. It also comes in a 1,000 piece version from what I've seen online, but I preferred the 1,500. Alas, prints of the painting are much more expensive, but readily available at the James Christensen site among others. (I am an Amazon affiliate, as we all know by now, but am not affiliated with any of the other sites linked in this post.)

Three Bears Fashion

A model presents a creation from the Manuel Bolano collection at the 080 Barcelona fashion show, January 27, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Found this on the Oddly Enough Blog: News, but not the serious kind on Reuters. The blog entry, Once upon a time, in a blog like this…, of course references Goldilocks.

And as for myself, I find myself just rather speechless. All I know is that if the designer wanted publicity, well, this piece may certainly generate some of it. After all, it made it onto this blog. And the rest of the clothes I saw in the collection were tame and 'normal' after this one.

Now I'm thinking of a new Project Runway challenge--use stuffed animals for the materials to create a design....

Christensen's Faery Tales Week: Day 5

Today is the fifth day of identifying the fairy tales in James Christensen's Faery Tales. I give you four new images:


Fairy Tale 15


Fairy Tale 16


Fairy Tale 17


Fairy Tale 18

For your convenience in copying and pasting into comments:

Fairy Tale 15:
Fairy Tale 16:
Fairy Tale 17:
Fairy Tale 18:

Once again, the puzzle is quite affordable at Amazon and other retailers. It also comes in a 1,000 piece version from what I've seen online, but I preferred the 1,500. Alas, prints of the painting are much more expensive, but readily available at the James Christensen site among others. (I am an Amazon affiliate, as we all know by now, but am not affiliated with any of the other sites linked in this post.)

New Book: Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder

Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder will be released this coming Tuesday, February 2.

Product Description: From award winning authors Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder comes a tale of two worlds-and one destiny...

Sisters Serana and Meteora were once proud members of the high court of the Fairy Queen--until they played a prank that angered her highness. Separated and banished to the mortal realm of Earth, they must find a way to survive in a strange world in which they have no power. But there is more to their new home than they first suspect...

A sympathetic Meteora bonds with a troubled young girl with an ornate tattoo on her neck. Meteora recognizes it as a magic symbol that will surely bring danger down on them all. Serana, meanwhile, takes in a tortured homeless boy whose mind is plagued by dark visions. The signs point to a rising power that threatens to tear asunder both fairy and human worlds.

And the sisters realize that perhaps the queen cast them from their homes not out of anger or spite--but because they were the only ones who could do what must be done...

I am sentimentally attached to this new release because I witnessed its birth almost nine years ago on the SurLaLune Discussion Boards.

During a discussion in May 2001, this book began with a small post by Jane:

Maybe, Midori, you and I should write some kind of braided novel about two middle age fairies who have moved to the city, close to good transportation and daily newspapers that are delivered on time, looking back on their lives and what they have accomplished and how well or not well, they have been regarded. Call it OUT OF THE WOODS.

He he he.

Jane

Then a few days later, Jane wrote:

My dearest Meteora:

The view from my window is nothing like the deep woods: a few spindly trees sending out fervant prayers for a spring that never quite comes. The pigeons crowding my windowsill hoping for a blessing of crumbs. How I wish they could understand that with middle age has come a loss of magic, something I have never quite understood but feel full well. In my head I am more powerful than ever, making swift connections, understanding life as never before. But evidently the body is the source of fey energies.

Except for the queen.

Always except for the queen.

Who knew that bitch would go on forever?

My fondest wishes (oh that I could really grant them still)

Serana

You can see where the book's title came from...

Midori and Jane wrote back and forth on the board, writing a few letters between two fairy godmothers of greater experience, but quickly took the rest of their brainstorming and writing offline. A few years later, they published a short story using the concept in The Fair Folk edited by Marvin Kaye. It, too, was titled "Except the Queen."

Now the short story has been expanded into a novel and I'm excited to read it. I have already preordered it and can't wait to read the adventures of Meteora and Serana next week when it arrives on my doorstep.

The concept is reminiscent of a cult classic, Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, which I mention because you must read that one if you haven't yet. And you'll appreciate their homage to Georgette Heyer, too, if you've read any Heyer... Not to say these are the first two epistolary novels in existence either, but they are quite entertaining and made lovelier with the thought that two authors collaborated on them.

Christensen's Faery Tales Week: Day 4

Today is the fourth day of identifying the fairy tales in James Christensen's Faery Tales. I give you four new images:


Fairy Tale 11


Fairy Tale 12


Fairy Tale 13


Fairy Tale 14

For your convenience in copying and pasting into comments:

Fairy Tale 11:
Fairy Tale 12:
Fairy Tale 13:
Fairy Tale 14:

Once again, the puzzle is quite affordable at Amazon and other retailers. It also comes in a 1,000 piece version from what I've seen online, but I preferred the 1,500. Alas, prints of the painting are much more expensive, but readily available at the James Christensen site among others. (I am an Amazon affiliate, as we all know by now, but am not affiliated with any of the other sites linked in this post.)

Goldilocks Sighting on Castle

So last night John and I sat down to veg in front of the tv and decided to watch Castle on ABC. If you're not aware Castle is a highly improbable cop show about a crime novelist who shadows an NYPD detective for inspiration. It plays cute with character repartee more than grit and stars Nathan Fillion (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Firefly) and Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace).

Anyway, the show started out with a family returning home to their apartment after vacation, two parents and their young daughter. They discover someone has been squatting in their apartment during their absence, Goldilocks style and the dialogue purposely mirrors much of the fairy tale up to finding a dead body in the little girl's bed. "Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too, and he's still there!" Don't worry, she just thinks someone is sleeping there and is quickly removed from the crime scene, oblivious to the death.

When the cops investigate, more Goldilocks references are thrown in, too. The story moves away from the fairy tale during the course of the show, but it was one of the most overt references to a fairy tale with several references that I've seen in a while on tv. Even before you know what is going on, the mother says she'll make hot cereal for the daughter since she's hungry. Porridge anyone? The writers had fun with this one.

John turned to me and said, "You'll have to blog about this one..." He's right, I had to. It was a clever and rather plausible use of the fairy tale in a murder mystery. Fun!

For those in the U.S. (and perhaps Canada) the episode is currently available on ABC.com for viewing. The episode title is "The Third Man" if you search for it elsewhere or outside the U.S. and have to wait until a later date. I didn't check Hulu or elsewhere to see if it is available for viewing.

Overall it was fun and provided 40 minutes of entertainment after a long day...it's an hour long drama but we fast forwarded commercials per usual.

Christensen's Faery Tales Week: Day 3

Today is the third day of identifying the fairy tales in James Christensen's Faery Tales. I give you three new images:


Fairy Tale 8


Fairy Tale 9


Fairy Tale 10

For your convenience in copying and pasting into comments:

Fairy Tale 8:
Fairy Tale 9:
Fairy Tale 10:

Once again, the puzzle is quite affordable at Amazon and other retailers. It also comes in a 1,000 piece version from what I've seen online, but I preferred the 1,500. Alas, prints of the painting are much more expensive, but readily available at the James Christensen site among others. (I am an Amazon affiliate, as we all know by now, but am not affiliated with any of the other sites linked in this post.)