Title: The Fairy's Return
Series: The Princess Tales
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: October 8, 2002
Format: Paperback
Pages: 112

WrensReads Review:

Do you like retelling of fairy-tales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairy-tales all the while making you love the story even more.

“King Harrumphrey tapped the scroll. “Not that ‘any harrumph.’”
The scribe wrote noble in tiny letters to the left of man.
The king was getting annoyed. “Not ‘any harrumphman.’ ‘Any harrumph.’”
– For Biddle’s Sake by Gail Carson Levine

Just by this part of the book, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words. Her use of run-on sentences leaves you out of breath and laughing from the repetitiveness. Her objective to point out the obvious will keep you entertained. In this instance, she has a king that replaces words with harrumph and expects people to know what he means.

The Fairy’s Return, a fairy-tale based on the German fairy-tale The Goose Girl by Brothers Grimm, is about a little princess and a baker’s son who fall in love. The baker’s son [Robin] never gets to finish a job with his two word-inventing brothers and rhymer father. The Princess [Lark] never gets to play a game fairly because everyone is afraid to let her fail at one.

King Harrumphrey will not let her marry Robin when he finally treats her like a real person. The baker will not let Robin marry Lark when she listens and laughs at all his jokes.

The king decided to hold a contest for all the princes to come make her laugh! So Princess Lark thinks of sad things to make herself cry for days because of her love for Robin.

Fairy Ethelinda [remember her from ‘The Fairy’s Mistake?!] gifts Robin with a golden goose after a series of events. That won’t accomplish his dream to marry the princess, but it is a start…

Will Fairy Ethelinda get over her fear of gifting/curing people? Will Robin have to marry the innkeeper’s third daughter Golly? Will Lark laugh at an unexpected prince and be forced to marry him? Will Robin ever finish a joke with his family? Will Lark ever be treated as a normal person? Will the end up happily ever after? Will the goose ever get a break?

Levine has a splash of humor you will not find anyone else. Using plays on words and awkward humor, this is perfect for a story for a young girl or for a grown woman who can’t get enough of fairy-tales (cough me). I will always be a fan of Levine’s writing and I am so happy I picked them up first on my own quest to reread all my favorite books.

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Title: For Biddle's Sake
Series: The Princess Tales
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: October 8, 2002
Format: Paperback
Pages: 112

WrensReads Review:

Do you like retelling of fairy-tales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairy-tales all the while making you love the story even more.

“Meanwhile, Parsley grew into a plump, happy child with a lovely smile, in spite of teeth that were stained pale green [from only eating Parsley].”
– For Biddle’s Sake by Gail Carson Levine

Just by the first chapter, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words. Her use of run-on sentences leaves you out of breath and laughing from the repetitiveness. Her objective to point out the obvious will keep you entertained.

For Biddle’s Sake, a fairy-tale based on the German fairy-tale Puddocky by Brothers Grimm, is about a little girl who goes to live with a fairy that has pale-green teeth. The fairy she lives with has a very short temper, and ends up turning Parsley into a toad [the fairy’s favorite thing to turn people into].

Tansy is the king’s son. He has two older brothers [twins] that always blame him for destroying precious kingdom items. They never agree and never listen to poor Tansy.

The king decided to hold a contest for the two older sons to decide who gets the crown. Tansy is sympathetically thrown into the mix. He meets a nice toad that helps him with the contest.

Will Parsley always be a toad? Will she master her magic? Will the fairy ever see Parsley smile again? Will Tansy ever get his brother’s to listen? Will he get the crown?

Levine has a splash of humor you will not find anyone else. Using plays on words and awkward humor, this is perfect for a story for a young girl or for a grown woman who can’t get enough of fairy-tales (cough me). I will always be a fan of Levine’s writing and I am so happy I picked them up first on my own quest to reread all my favorite books.

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Title: Cinderellis and the Glass Hill
Series: The Princess Tales
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: February 2, 2000
Format: Paperback
Pages: 112

WrensReads Review:

Do you like retelling of fairy-tales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairy-tales all the while making you love the story even more.

“When he was six years old, Ellis invented flying powder. He sprinkled the powder on his tin cup, and the cup began to rise up the chimney. He stuck his head into the fireplace to see how far up it would go. (The fire was out, of course.)”
– Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine

Just by the first page, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words. Her use of run-on sentences leaves you out of breath and laughing from the repetitiveness. Her objective to point out the obvious will keep you entertained.

In Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, a retelling of a Norwegian fairy-tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr, the youngest of three brothers obtains a series of magical horses. He has a special gift for making special powders to help the farm, but the brother’s don’t bother giving him any attention. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, after all. This story also weaves in the classic Italian fairy tale called Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper. I say this because of the name she gives the main guy character, two siblings that are rude and mean to the other, and a contest that takes three days that ends in marriage. Now we have two stories in one book? It’s our lucky day folks.

Cinderellis and Marigold have two things in common: their family doesn’t pay much attention to them, and their best friends are animals (horses and a cat). They are terribly lonely and only want their family to love them and spend time with them. But, alas, that isn’t how things happen for them.

Marigold’s father goes on crazy quest to find crazy things and ends up with even crazier findings. He comes up with an idea to find the perfect husband for his lovely daughter. In order to marry her, a suitor must have armor, a horse, be courageous, brave and be able to ride a horse very well. Climbing up a very slippery, shiny glass hill is the logical solution!

Will Marigold end up marrying a scary man? Will Cinderellis win the affections of his brothers? Will Cinderellis’ crops stop disappearing? Will Marigold’s father find something actually useful on his quest?

Levine has a splash of humor you will not find anyone else. Using plays on words and awkward humor, this is perfect for a story for a young girl or for a grown woman who can’t get enough of fairy-tales (cough me). I will always be a fan of Levine’s writing and I am so happy I picked them up first on my own quest to reread all my favorite books.

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