Fairy Tale and Folklore
New Releases 2008

Here are new releases due in 2008 using popular fairy tale and folklore themes, including fiction and nonfiction as well as films and music.

You can view these lists summarized on Amazon at Fairy Tale Influenced Fiction 2008 and Fairy Tale and Folklore Nonfiction 2008.

Also review New Releases 2007.

December 2008

Willingham, Bill. Jack of Fables Vol. 4: Americana. New York: Vertigo, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: Read more about Jack of Fables on the Graphic Novels Page.

November 2008

Legrand, Michael. Peau d'Ane. Playtime, 1994, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in MP3 album

MUSIC: While not technically a new release, a downloadable MP3 version of the Peau d'Ane (Donkey Skin) soundtrack by Michael Legrand has been released this month. Since the out of print CD versions often sell for over $100, a downloadable version for $7.99 is a treasure.

Dokey, Cameron. Belle: A Retelling of "Beauty and the Beast". New York: Simon Pulse, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast."

Willingham, Bill. War and Pieces (Fables #11). New York: Vertigo, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: Read more about Fables on the Graphic Novels Page.

Willingham, Bill and James Jean. Fables Covers: The Art of James Jean Vol. 1. New York: Vertigo, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: Read more about Fables on the Graphic Novels Page.

Cebulski, C. B.; Joao Lemos; Nuno Plati; Takeshi Miyazawa; Ricardo Tercio. Avengers Fairy Tales. New York: Marvel Comics, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: In the tradition of the critically acclaimed X-Men and Spider-Man Fairy Tales, Marvel makes its move on melding more modern myths - this time starring Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Featuring all-new interpretations of Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, and the Wizard of Oz, see Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the rest of the Avengers as you've never seen them before! Collects Avengers Fairy Tales #1-4.

October 2008

September 2008

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Palace of Mirrors. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Cecilia knows that she is not just another peasant girl; she is actually the true princess, in hiding until the evil forces that killed her parents are vanquished. A commoner named Desmia is on the throne as a decoy. As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day. Cecilia knows that it is time to take charge. Along with her best friend, Harper, she flees to the capital city, determined to reclaim her throne and face the danger head on. When Harper and Cecilia reach the famed Palace of Mirrors, they discover complications: Princess Desmia believes an entirely different version of the story. Acclaimed author Margaret Peterson Haddix returns to the charmed world of Just Ella, where a princess-in-hiding and a pretender to the throne discover that nothing is as it appears."

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre. Koch Vision, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the complete series set on DVD.

DVD SET OF COMPLETE SERIES: This set includes the long lost episode "The Best Moments of Faerie Tale Theatre", most often referred to as "Grimm Party."

August 2008

Hale, Shannon and Dean Hale. Rapunzel's Revenge. New York: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: From the publisher: "Once upon a time, in a land you only think you know, lived a little girl and her mother . . . or the woman she thought was her mother.

"Every day, when the little girl played in her pretty garden, she grew more curious about what lay on the other side of the garden wall . . . a rather enormous garden wall.

"And every year, as she grew older, things seemed weirder and weirder, until the day she finally climbed to the top of the wall and looked over into the mines and desert beyond."

July 2008

Zipes, Jack and Joseph Russo, editors and translators. The Collected Sicilian Folk and Fairy Tales of Giuseppe Pitrè. 2 Volumes New York: Routledge, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the set in hardcover.

NONFICTION: Giuseppe Pitrè, a nineteenth-century Sicilian physician, gathered an enormous wealth of folk and fairy tales as he traveled and treated the poor throughout Palermo. He also received tales from friends and scholars throughout the island of Sicily. A dedicated folklorist, whose significance ranks alongside the Brothers Grimm, he published a 25-volume collection of Sicilian folk tales, legends, songs, and customs between 1871 and 1914. Though first published in their original Sicilian dialect, these tales have never before been translated, collected, and published in English until now.

This historic two-volume set collects 300 and 100 variants of his most entertaining and most important folk and fairy tales, along with lively, vivid illustrations by Carmelo Lettere. In stark contrast to the more literary ambitions of the Grimms' tales, Pitré’s possess a charming, earthy quality that reflect the customs, beliefs, and superstitions of the common people more clearly than any other European folklore collection of the nineteenth century.

Edited, translated, and with a critical introduction by world-renowned folk and fairy tale experts Jack Zipes and Joseph Russo, this collection will firmly establish Pitrè’s importance as a folklorist.

Willingham, Bill. Jack of Fables Vol. 03. New York: Vertigo, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: Read more about Jack of Fables on the Graphic Novels Page.

June 2008

Durst, Sarah. Out of the Wild. New York: Razorbill, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Beware the Wild—it bites. Ever since Julie Marchen helped defeat the fairytale world of the Wild, life’s been pretty much back to normal. That is, as normal as life can be for a girl whose mom is Rapunzel. Yes, that Rapunzel. Then the Wild mysteriously releases Zel’s prince (Julie’s dad!)—a rescue-minded hero who crashes full-speed ahead into the 21st century! (YOU try teaching a 500-year-old prince to use a seatbelt.) Julie’s over the moon, but when a wicked Fairy Godmother kidnaps Sleeping Beauty and reawakens the Wild, Julie and her dad set off on an action-packed adventure to save the distressed damsel… and the world. If they can’t, they’ll spend eternity in a fairytale." Sequel to Into the Wild.

Weyn, Suzanne. The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin". New York: Simon Pulse, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: A Retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. The year is 1880, and Bertie, having just arrived in New York with her family, is grateful to be given work as a seamstress in the home of textile tycoon J. P. Wellington. When the Wellington family fortune is threatened, Bertie's father boasts that Bertie will save the business, that she is so skillful she can "practically spin straw into gold." Amazingly, in the course of one night, Bertie creates exquisite evening gowns -- with the help of Ray Stalls, a man from her tenement who uses an old spinning wheel to create dresses that are woven with crimson thread and look as though they are spun with real gold. Indebted to Ray, Bertie asks how she can repay him. When Ray asks for her firstborn child, Bertie agrees, never dreaming that he is serious...."

Lackey, Mercedes. The Snow Queen: Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Book 4. New York: Luna, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Aleksia, Queen of the Northern Lights, is mysterious, beautiful and widely known to have a heart of ice. No one would seek her wisdom except as a last resort. But when she's falsely accused of unleashing evil on nearby villages, she realizes there's an impostor out there far more heartless than she could ever be. And when a young warrior following the Tradition disappears, leaving his sweetheart and mother to fear the worst, Aleksia's powers are needed as never before. Now, on a journey through a realm of perpetual winter, it will take all her skills, a mother's faith and a little magic to face down an enemy more formidable than any she has ever known.…"

Willingham, Bill. The Good Prince (Fables #10). New York: Vertigo, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: From the publisher: "This 10th volume in the best-selling, award-winning series collects the epochal "Good Prince" storyline. Flycatcher, a background player in the FABLES series, is drawn into the spotlight as he discovers the startling truth about his own past as the Frog Prince. At the same time, he learns that the Adversary -- Gepetto, the manipulative Fable who forced the Fables community into exile -- plans to destoy his foes once and for all. Only Flycatcher and his army of ghosts has a chance of stopping the Adversary from wiping out his home. But how can the meek Flycatcher undertake this deadly task?"

Read more about Fables on the Graphic Novels Page.

Sumpter, Caroline. The Victorian Press and the Fairy Tale. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

May 2008

Levine, Gail Carson. Ever. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Falling in love is never easy, but falling in love with an immortal god while your days on earth are numbered is almost more than a young girl can bear.

Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus -- the god of wind and loneliness -- embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests."

Ensor, Barbara. Thumbelina: Tiny Runaway Bride. New York: Schwartz & Wade, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "A retelling of Andersen’s tale, revamped and fleshed out for today’s hip tweens. As she did in Cinderella (As If You Didn’t Already Know the Tale), Ensor re-imagines this classic, adding her own inimitable humor, flair, and stylish black-and-white silhouette spot illustrations. Thumbelina is that story most of us can’t quite remember. Okay, sure, it’s about a tiny girl just the size of your thumb. But did you know that her troubles (or adventures, if you prefer) begin when she begs her mother to let her sleep outside on the porch? And that in no time she is engaged to a frog, and then a mole, and even receives a proposal from a miniature king?"

Hawes, Louise. Black Pearls: A Faerie Strand. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

SHORT STORY COLLECTION: From the publisher: ". . . and they lived happily ever after. Remember the fairy tales you put away after you found that no princess is as beautiful as common sense and happy endings are just the beginning? Well, the old tales are back, and theyve grown up! Black Pearls brings you the stories of your childhood, told in a way youve never heard before. Instead of lulling you to sleep, theyll wake you upto the haunting sadness that waits just inside the windows of a gingerbread cottage, the passion that fuels a witchs flight, and the heartache that comes, again and again, at the stroke of midnight. Make no mistake: these stories are as dark as human nature itself. But they shine, too, lit with the fire of our dreams and our hunger for magic. "

Ferris, Jean. Twice Upon a Marigold. New York: Harcourt Children's Books, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Since Queen Olympia's fateful fall into the river, newlyweds Christian and Marigold have been living happily ever after. And they had every intention of keeping it that way--until they find out that Olympia may not be as gone as they thought. Turns out Olympia is alive and well in a faraway village, having lost her memory after her ill-timed tumble. But one day she awakes and remembers her previous glory as queen. Accompanied by Lazy Susan (Sleeping Beauty's slacker sister) and Stan Lucasa (a gentleman with a surprising destiny), Olympia returns, determined to take back the kingdom. Yet, thanks to a cast of familiar characters, grabbing the throne may not be as easy as Olympia thinks! "

April 2008

Swendson, Shanna. Don't Hex with Texas (Katie Chandler, Book 4). New York: Ballantine, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

NOVEL: Latest book in the light-hearted Enchanted, Inc. series by Swendson that plays with many fairy tale tropes and characters.

March 2008

Bunce, Elizabeth C. A Curse Dark as Gold. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "If you'll allow me to demonstrate, I do think I could be of some help to you here."

I smiled tightly. "You'd have to be able to make gold appear from thin air to be much help to us now, I'm afraid."

"Gold, you say?" he said quietly. "Well, not out of the air, maybe, but--" He reached toward Rosie and drew a length of straw free from her hat. From out of a pocket in his jacket appeared an old-fashioned handheld drop spindle, the kind no one uses anymore, and he sent it spinning with a turn of his hand. Slowly, as we watched, he drew out the straw and spun it--spun it!

As if it were a roving of wool! Rosie and I stood there and watched him, moment by moment, as the spindle bobbed and twirled. Something pulled out from the brown straw and through his knobby fingers, and where it should have gone onto the spindle, the finest strands of gleaming gold threads appeared. Round and round the spindle went, and the gleaming of gold turned with it. I don't know how long we watched it, turning and turning, flashing gold with every revolution. I could not take my eyes away."

Marriott, Zöe. The Swan Kingdom. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Shadows fall across the beautiful, lush kingdom after the queen is attacked by an unnatural beast, and the healing skills of her daughter, Alexandra, cannot save her. Too soon the widowed king is spellbound by a frightening stranger, a woman whose eyes reflect no light. In a terrifying moment, all Alexandra knows disappears, including her beloved brothers, leaving her banished to a barren land. But Alexandra has more gifts than she realizes as she confronts magic, murder, and the strongest of evil forces, and is unflinchingly brave as she struggles to reclaim what is rightfully hers."

Buckley, Michael. The Sisters Grimm Book 6: Tales From the Hood. New York: Amulet, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "The Grimms defend Mr. Canis in Ferryport Landing’s trial of the century! This book sees Mr. Canis, dear friend and protector of the Grimm family, put on trial for past crimes. Considering that he’s really the Big Bad Wolf, he has a lot to answer for. Is there any truth to the story told by Little Red Riding Hood? What’s the deal with all that huffing and puffing? Will Mr. Canis be forced to answer for his crimes? A kangaroo court of Everafters, led by the cruel Queen of Hearts, is determined to find Canis guilty and force the Grimms out of Ferryport Landing. Meanwhile, Puck has decided to focus more on his mischievous ways, making a few new troublemaker friends. So it’s up to Sabrina and Daphne to find evidence to save Canis—and their investigation may reveal more than they hoped. Readers have embraced the first five books in the series, and this gripping courtroom drama won’t disappoint."

Read more about the Sisters Grimm series.

February 2008

Palmer, Robin. Cindy Ella. New York: Puffin, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Prom fever has infected LA—especially Cindy’s two annoying stepsisters, and her overly Botoxed stepmother. Cindy seems to be the only one immune to it all. But her anti-prom letter in the school newspaper does more to turn Cindy into Queen of the Freaks than close the gap between the popular kids and the rest of the students. Everyone thinks she’s committed social suicide, except for her two best friends, the yoga goddess India and John Hughes–worshipping Malcolm, and shockingly, the most popular senior at Castle Heights High and Cindy’s crush, Adam Silver. Suddenly Cindy starts to think that maybe her social life could have a happily ever after. But there’s still the rest of the school to deal with. With a little bit of help from an unexpected source and a fabulous pair of heels, Cindy realizes that she still has a chance at a happily ever after."

January 2008

George, Jessica Day. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Blessed—or cursed—with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she’s known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn’t hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servents. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who’s been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he’s forced to marry a troll princess. "

December 2007

Haase, Donald; editor. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. Three volumes. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NONFICTION: From the publisher: "Folk and fairy tales exist in all cultures and are at the heart of civilization. The most comprehensive work of its kind, this massive Encyclopedia gives students and general readers a broad, accessible, multicultural survey of folk and fairy tales from around the world. Edited by one of the foremost authorities on the subject, the Encyclopedia draws on the work of numerous expert contributors and covers a broad range of themes and motifs, characters and character types, genres, individuals, national traditions, and other topics."

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