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erectionpants
Registered User
(6/18/01 1:49:07 pm)
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Fairy Tales for Young Adults
This summer, I'm taking a class in adolescent literature -- yay PhD coursework! For my final project, I want to compile an annotated bibliography of fairy tale novels/story collections aimed at young adults. I have a preliminary list of works by the most famous authors in the genre (Yolen, Napoli, McKinley), upon which to expand; I'd like to make this as comprehensive as possible So here I am, trolling for suggestions: what are some of your favorite books and authors in this area? Which works/authors do you feel are the most important or innovative? And don't be shy about recommending your own work! (The fact that so many fantastic writers frequent this board is one of my favorite things about this page.)
Since there is such a vast amount of material, I'm trying to limit my list to those works based upon specific stories; whether the link is explicit (i.e., Napoli's _Zel_ with "Rapunzel"), or implicit (Block's _The Hanged Man_ with "Donkeyskin"). I'm trying to stay away from simple retellings of the stories, but rather focus upon writers who are creatively reinterpreting specific fairy tales and myths. I'm also trying to stay away from Arthurian material -- that would require a separate bibliography of its own. However, if you know of any stories/novels based upon non-Western material, that would be greatly appreciated: my academic specialty is the classic fairy tales of Europe, and I'm really feeling a gap in my knowledge when it comes to African and Asian stories. Midori, can you help here? Also, stories about the fairies themselves, as long as they're based on some kind of folk narrative, are good too.
Anyway, here is what I have so far:
Jane Yolen (_Boots and the Seven Leaguers_, _12 Impossible Things Before Breakfast_, _The Wild Hunt_, Sherwood_)
Robin McKinley (_Beauty_, _Rose Daughter_, _Deerskin_, _The Door in the Hedge_, The Outlaws of Sherwood_)
Donna Jo Napoli (_Zel_, _Spinners_, _Sirena_, _The Magic Circle_)
Vivian Vande Velde (_The Rumpelstiltskin Problem_, _A Hidden Magic_)
Francesca Lia Block (_The Rose and the Beast_, _The Hanged Man_, _I Was a Teenage Fairy_)
Alan Garner (_The Owl Service_)
Margaret Mahy (_The Other Side of Silence_, _The Tricksters_)
William Brooke (_Teller of Tales_, _A Telling of the Tales_, _Untold Tales_)
So, any suggestions?
~Catja
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(6/18/01 8:24:50 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tales for Young Adults
Catja,
Don't miss Gail's wonderful "New Tales for Old: Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults," for a few titles with discussions.
Also, you might want to consider Eleanor Farjeon's "The Glass Slipper" and "The Silver Curlew," which are Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin respectively. They are from the 1950s and quite interesting as predecessors to McKinley, Napoli, Yolen, etc.
Also remember Terri Windling's (with Ellen Datlow) "Wolf at the Door" and Jane Yolen's "Briar Rose" (my personal favorite of her work). I run across "Briar Rose" on many school reading lists now. It should be on more!
Vande Velde also has "Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird."
Gail Carson Levine's "Ella Enchanted" has fast become a favorite 'classic' with the preteen and teen set, too.
I believe most of these are on my site, btw, excluding Farjeon. I need to add her books soon. I am reading "Glass Slipper" now for the first time.
Heidi
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Puck
Unregistered User
(6/19/01 6:46:15 am)
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Chinese Tale
Try the Chinese story of the Monkey King. I read it in highschool (on my own of course) and found it very enjoyable. The version that I read was titled "Monkey", but the book is more commonly published under the title "Journey to the West". There was a cartoon series done based on this story and the character also appears as Son Son in the latest Marvel vs. Streetfighter 2 video game. It appears that the Stone Monkey has been gaining some popularity.
There are a few good internet resources out there. Try looking up keywords such as Tripitaka, Journey to the West, Monkey King, Stone Monkey, or Monkey Magic in the search engines (sorry, I don't have any links on hand for you).
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Laura
Registered User
(6/19/01 8:50:20 pm)
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a little clarification first
For my sake, could you be a little clearer about what you mean by "aimed at young adults"? I haven't gotten far enough into my studies yet to know how to draw the line. For example, Kij Johnson's novel _The Fox-Woman_ is simple enough to be basically read and understood by young teens, I think, but I wouldn't call it a "YA novel". And what about material from the 1900s through perhaps the 1950s, or whenever YA lit as its own type came into being?
You asked specifically about Asian tales. I'm working on my thesis regarding a strain of the Japanese fox-spirit tales and their modern Japanese and American adaptations -- so I have quite a few things I could name! However, I don't want to bury you if they aren't relevant, since I'm not working with an age limit in mind.
Laura
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janeyolen
Unregistered User
(6/19/01 11:17:57 pm)
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Kara
For nonWestern fairy tale novels you simply MUST read Kara Dalkey's two YAs: LITTLE SISTER and its sequel. Brilliant medeival Japanese fantasy using folk creatures.
Jane
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Laura
McCaffrey
Registered User
(6/21/01 3:30:29 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tales for Young Adults
_Shadow Spinner_ by Susan Fletcher is a novel about a girl brought into the harem to teach Shahrazad new tales to tell the sultan. It would appeal to middle graders and some YA readers. Didn't know if a novel based on the tales of the Arabian Nights would fit the bill, but thought I would mention it. Laura Mc
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Gail
Unregistered User
(6/22/01 5:34:24 am)
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new volume
It will probabaly be too late for your summer class but our new volume of research on reworkings of fairy/folktales for young adult readers, Tales Now and Then, will be out this fall. It includes discussions on "Beauty and the Beast," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Tam Lin," "Thomas the Rhymer," "The Little Mermaid," "The Wild Swans" plus an annotated updating for the tales discussed in New Tales for Old. We have also included a bibliography of other examples of reworkings of tales not discussed in either book. Do not hesitate to contact me, if you want to discuss my listings. I do have to admit that I am basically just dropping in sporatically these days as I have several looming deadlines and my daughter's wedding to keep me occupied for the near future. email address: storyteller.devos@telusplanet.net
And since this is an ongoing labour of love, any titles we have missed will be gladly recieved as well. Gail
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Jane
Harrison
Registered User
(6/23/01 8:24:20 am)
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Re: new volume
I feel you ought to add the work of Tanith Lee to your list of stories. I find her work intriguing myself. It's dark at times,
and yes, grim, but there is an honesty to it. But she does some remarkable things with old tales and such. Just think of her Silver Metal Lover. What a retake that was! And I absolutely love her latest novel, White as Snow. No, not YA, but it is surely important for those readers. All the young girls on the street are reading it. It is my opinion that much of the fiction connected to our board crosses age and gender borders. There is a web site for her work. I'll look it up.
Janie
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Heidi
Unregistered User
(6/23/01 9:56:25 am)
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Tanith Lee
Thanks, Jane,
I did mean to include Lee's "Red As Blood" on my list, but somehow I neglected to add it. I especially like her short story "Beauty" in that anthology.
"Shadow Spinners" is also a good one.
I am not a huge fan of the books, but Adele Geras has her trilogy aimed at young adults, "Watching the Roses," "The Tower Room," and "Pictures of the Night." She has a new book out that interests me about about City of Troy and the Iliad, too. It is titled "Troy" if I remember correctly. I will have to pick it up somewhere but maybe not until it hits paperback.
There is also Margaret Peterson Haddix's "Just Ella." It is marketed at YA. It's not a personal favorite, but it is a decent read.
Heidi
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erectionpants
Registered User
(6/23/01 10:40:49 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tales for Young Adults
Thanks so much to everyone. Y'all have been a great help -- I've compiled a list of over 80 works so far, and am still amssing more, so keep the suggestions coming!
Heidi: Thanks! I checked out your reading list, and it's terrific. I pulled an enormous number of titles from it. And i just started "The Silver Curlew" -- it's lovely.
Laura: The problem with defining YAL is that it's such a fluid category. One definition is that it's any literature that teenagers read, which I feel is too broad -- I wouldn't class Stephen King or V.C. Andrews, for example, as YA authors. Another definition is that YAL are books specifically marketed to teenagers, which is probably too narrow. I've noticed that, especially with fantasy and sci-fi, many books that are listed as "Best Teen Reads" or whatever are found in the adult section, and occaionally vice versa. Since these distinctions are so arbitrary, I'm going on a case-by-case basis. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated.
Puck: Still searching! It sounds really interesting.
Jane: The Dalkey books are wonderful -- thank you for steering me to them! BTW, I loved "Briar Rose." Just. wow. Okay, a trifle inarticulate with admiration, here. Sorry!
Laura Mc: Thanks! Yes, Arabian Nights stories are great.
Gail: Thanks for the notice! I have "New Tales for Old" in front of me as we speak, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I'll definitely get in touch with you soon, if you wouldn't mind.
Jane: I adore Tanith Lee! I actually have several of her works (mainly short stories) on my list already, and I'm searching for "White as Snow" as we speak. You make an excellent point about age and gender borders; the fact that the young girls are reading a book not specifically marketed to them proves the difficulty of even beginning to define YAL. Let me know when you find the website!
Heidi: I just picked up the Geras books and "Just Ella" recently. Thanks!
~Catja
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Puck
Unregistered User
(6/25/01 12:40:43 pm)
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Monkey Links
Here's a couple links:
www.chinapage.com/monkey/monkey.html
www.britannica.com/seo/h/hsi-yu-chi/
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La
Reine Noire
Registered User
(6/27/01 7:04:43 am)
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More Books...
I'm not entirely sure about the "young adult" context, but I suppose I'm still considered one, so I'll throw in a few I've read recently.
Definitely the anthology series by Terry Windling and Ellen Datlow ("Black Swan, White Raven" et al)
"Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card
"Possession" by A.S. Byatt (not quite faery-tales, but it has the Melusine legend worked in beautifully)
"The Wild Swans" by Peg Kerr
And don't yell at me for this, but maybe the Harry Potter books? There's just so much *in* them, and I love them quite dearly.
~Kavita
P.S. You're *lucky*!! I'd love to take a class on adolescent faery-tales!!
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claudiac3aolcom
Unregistered User
(7/24/01 2:59:37 pm)
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Other titles
Did anyone mention Maguire's Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister? Or is it too adult... and did Charles de Lint write one...?
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janeyolen
Unregistered User
(7/25/01 8:11:53 am)
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Others
Ugly Stepsister is not at all too old, though in fact it is an adult book. As is DeLint's Jack the Giant Killer, one of Terri's fairy tale series. Both easily read by good YA fantasy readers.
That crossover line is very thin in fantasy, and youngsters as young as 12 and 13 often read adult fantasy. In fact, Tor is very smartly (imho) putting out a new line of sf/fantasy reprints from their adult backlist, especially meant for YAs and called StarScape (I think that's it.) Briar Rose will be on it, with a new and astonishing cover, very related to the earlier one.
Jane
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Gail
Unregistered User
(7/25/01 9:26:34 am)
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great news
Jane, glad to hear that Briar Rose is coming out with an "appeal" to young adults -- this is one of the favourite titles in the series with many of the readers I know. de Lint's Jack was rereleased a year or so (his two novels in one package), is it coming out again with a new cover as well? Gail
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Terri
Unregistered User
(7/25/01 9:24:02 pm)
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YA fairy tales
I'd add Patricia McKillip's Winter Rose, if a book inspired by a ballad (Tam Lin) counts. And Peter Rushford's brilliant YA novel Kindergarten -- have other people here read that? And David Henry Wilson's Coachman Rat. And Nicholas Stuart Gray's The Seventh Swan.
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Terri
Unregistered User
(7/25/01 9:25:27 pm)
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again...
Oh yes, and Midori's books too -- particularly The Flight of Michael McBride.
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Benjamin
Registered User
(7/26/01 2:47:28 am)
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Maybe...
It's not aimed at young adults really but you could try Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca for it's interesting take on Bluebeard. I read it as a teenager & really enjoyed it. Failing that there's always the Hitchcock movie in lieu of the book...
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Gail
Unregistered User
(7/26/01 5:17:48 am)
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sort of off-topic
I am in the midst of revising my book on "Storytelling for Young Adults: Techniques and Treasury" (Libraries Unlimited) which was published in 1991. It is basically an annotated bibliography of stories suitable for telling to the teenage audience. I am looking for stories/tales that have been published since the first volume was published and will be including some literary tales or excerpts from novels (last time I included a couple from Jane Yolen's work). All the tales I use need to be published so that they are readily available to librarians and educators. I would welcome any suggestions this group may have for me. Please reply to me directly at storyteller.devos@telusplanet.net if you wish.
Jane, I do have your Mirror, Mirror and Not One Damsel in Distress. Actually, I just realized I have many tales with strong female characters. I just may need a balance here.
Thanks in advance.
Yours in stories, Gail
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Heidi
Unregistered User
(7/27/01 6:03:23 pm)
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Briar Rose
I do have titles at home, Gail, that I will run by you when I return from Florida in a few days. (My brother got married today, so I am away from home this week.)
Jane, I am also happy to hear about the new YA marketing of the books, especially Briar Rose. It mostly goes out of my library to the YA readers and I am tempted to add a copy specifically to my small YA collection.
Heidi
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Gail
Unregistered User
(7/30/01 5:32:42 am)
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Thanks
Thanks Heidi, I look forward to hearing from you. It is wedding season, is it not. My daughter is getting married this upcoming weekend -- so things are a little fragmented around here. We have two storytellers as part of the service and the reception so I know things will be grand. Gail
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