The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Kodoku by Michiru Oshima [Fullmetal Alchemist first series soundtrack].

So you want to be the biggest fairy tale buff ever? Want to geek out in way that you never thought possible? You are going to want to be friends with Antti Aarne, Stith Thompson, and Hans-Jörg Uther.

Aarne was a Finnish folklorist. Here is  blip from Wikipedia:

"He was a student of Kaarle Krohn, the son of the folklorist Julius Krohn. He further developed their historic-geographic method of comparative folkloristics, and developed the initial version of what became the Aarne-Thompson classification system of classifying folktales, first published in 1910 and extended by Stith Thompson first in 1927 and again in 1961."

So Thompson was not his partner but his successor. He was an American folklorist born in 1885, and actually taught high school in the beginning. I thought that was cute. :) He wrote several books and articles on folklore, but his dualed contribution to the Aarne-Thompson Classification System is his most famous work.

But this system is now known as the Aarne-Thompson-Uther classification system since 2004, due to Hans-Jörg Uther. He noted that the existing system did not allow for expansion (quite important in any kind of database). So he developed the ATU number system and included international folktales in this new and expanded listing. Which is awesome.













So under this system you can find similar fairy tales based on common motifs. This is where my geeking out became hardcore. Want some examples? :)



How about Type 510 for the "Persecuted Heroine"
Type 990 is "Revived from Apparent Death by a Grave-Robber"



Do you see what I mean? This is the ULTIMATE place of gold for fairy tale lovers anywhere.

Type 303 - The Twin Brothers
Type 311 - Rescue by the Sister
Type 402 - The Animal Bride
One of my favorites: Type 425 - The Search for the Lost Husband
Type 516 - The Petrified Friend

(Look at the numbers. Are you beginning to see just how big this list is? (It's actually in the thousands)



Just a few more. :)

Type 610 - The Healing Fruit
Type 611 - True Love (Princess Bride totally gets an ATU!) :D
Type 756B - Deal with the Devil
Type 1415 - Trading Away One's Fortune
Type 924 - Discussion by Sign Language
Type 898 - Daughter of the Sun


and one of my favorites...

Type 570 - The Rabbit Herd. Oh yes. You read that right. :)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Oraanu Pi by E.S. Posthumus.








Here's a post to anyone who ever wondered if or thought the Grimms brothers and Hans Christian Anders were all the fairy tales that ever were.


Happily I can tell you, there are more. So much more than you ever dreamed. If you have a penchant for fairy tales or want to write a retelling to something just a little off kilter and different, this post is for you. Ever heard of Andrew Lang? Maybe (and bravo!). But have you heard of Karl Haupt or Henry Carnoy? No? Excellent. :) Let's begin. Here is a list to introduce you to a much wider world of fairy tales and fairy tale collectors. And once done here, you can also look through this Wikipedia article. Seriously, Wikipedia has to be the eighth wonder of the world.


Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm - You know these guys. Most famous Western set of compilers to date. The Frog Prince, **, you name it. But let's delve deeper now.

Charles Perrault - Now here is a name you really should know. This guy not only preceded the Grimms, but also could be considered as the mistaken Grimms. Cinderella? Little Red Riding Hood? Puss in Boots? Sleeping Beauty? Yeah, all Perrault. Poor guy is like the stunt double that doesn't get any credit for tons of heavy lifting.

Hans Christian Anderson - Good ole' Anderson, writer of modern classics such as The Little Mermaid, The Matchstick Girl, and the Nightingale. And they all have such happy endings, too.

Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (with a good deal credit given to the latter Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont) - Now who is this, you might ask? Oh, just the woman credited for writing Beauty and the Beast. Yep, back in the 1700s. The closest thing Grimms has to this is The Singing, Soaring Lark (which is actually in my opinion a much cooler version of this story).

Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy, or "Madame d'Aulnoy" -
an early french writer of less-known fairy tales, including The White Cat.

Andrew Lang - Compiler of the famous (or not-so-famous depending on the person) "color" fairy tale books. Beginning with the Blue Fairy Book, it features many well-known tales, but get progressively obscure with such titles as the Pink, Grey, Olive, Orange, and Violet fairy books come out. And there's more than just those.

Pu Songling - A Chinese fairy tale collector way back in the 1600s.

Lafcadio Hearn, or Koizumi Yakumo - collector of Japanese folk tales and ghost stories.

Franz Xaver von Schönwerth - You know him from the "rediscovered" fairy tales post. :)

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen - a collector of Norwegian folk tales, including East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Jack Zipes - A modern translator and collector of fairy tales.


And here are some more for you to delve into, but by no means complete. This is just the tip of the iceberg, people. Dive in. It's an ocean out there. :)


Fletcher S. Bassett
Sophia Morrison
James Halliwell-Phllipps
Alexander Afanasyev
Theodor Vernaleken
Karl Haupt
Ignaz and Joseph Zingerele
François-Marie Luzel

and so many more. Don't disclude our contemporary folklorists, either.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): All Tomorrow's Parties by Icehouse.



My reviews are a bit different than most. As an undercover superhero (ordinary girl extraordinaire), my purpose is to try and uncover hidden gems lost from the familiar radar. Because of this, I have set up some guidelines for myself (just like the pirate code). :)

I will focus on YA and Children's literature (with very rare exceptions).
I will not review any book that is one of the top 25,000 bestselling books (based on Amazon ranks).
I will try and aim for books 100,000 or larger.
I will review recent books or books of great merit (preferably both).

An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler and Whitney Martin
Published: August 30, 2005
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 32
Current Amazon Rank: #228,825
Author's Website:
Want it? Find it here.




The First Line:

Once upon a time there lived a princess who was famous throughout the land.




My Take:

This book is a RIOT!

Seriously, I have not had this much fun reading a picture book (especially a fairy tale book) in a long LONG time. It has all the things I love. Humor, an unconventional retelling, reversals of all kinds, and a painter hero you can really root for! And I have it on good authority that boys like it just as much as girls. Little boy tests and approval And you know, ignore that starred review from Kirkus and all.

Okay, so here's the scoop. It is your run-of-the-mill princess locked in a tower with suitors coming to rescue her story. But then something extraordinary happens. We meet Ned, the illustrator of our illustrious fairy tale, finishing the last touches on a bit of paint. Then we're warned not turn the pages too fast so he has time to finish the story. In the scramble to keep up with disobedient readers the catastrophe that follows is maelstrom of hilarity. Let's just say there are tutus and fish and princesses riding snails by the end. The kids love it. Remember my little boy test subject? He couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

The illustrations are vibrant, comical and such fun to fall into. And the storytelling is clever and engaging as the two stories meld into one. This is one I am adding to my collection without a doubt.



The Final Word:

Memorable, fun, and hilarious, this is one that should be added to any collection.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): No Light No Light by Florence + the Machine.




I could not be more delighted than I am to have Heather Dixon is doing a guest post on this blog today. She perfect for this because she is the author of Entwined, a fairy tale retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. So, she's legit. Annnnd she's a Disney fanatic ANNNNND she's an artist. Who works for Disney. This girl, she is great for this. Plus her blog his hilarious beyond reason. So I was skipping across clouds when she agreed to do a guest post. I let her have free reign on any topic on fairy tale art. And here she is!

Definitely I'm at the feet of giants.  Heather thanks for letting me be a part of this--and for being patient with me too! :D


Oh!  I should have added, here's youtube clip of Lotte Reiniger's Cinderella (1922). Isn't it just lovely?

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): With You by Simon Caby/Cécile Corbel [The Secret World of Arrietty soundtrack].





Ten Fantastic Unknown/Forgotten Fairy Tales - Grimm's Edition
Fantastic Unknown/Forgotten Fairy Tales - Part 1
Fantastic Unknown/Forgotten Fairy Tales - Part 2

The Prince and the Princess in the Forest - Dude, a lot happens in this story. If you could even include pieces of it, it would make for a rich tale.


The Gold-Children - Similar to the Two Brothers, but there is enough here that the brothers could have very different personalities and their own stories to tell. And I feel bad for that little fish.


The Enchanted Doe - Now here is one where the King has a fascinating story to tell. Almost more than his sons.


‪Jūratė and Kastytis‬ - could be considered more of a legend. But it is still really neat.


The White Duck - I just see potential in this story.


The Two Caskets - The first Alice in Wonderland? Plus, talk about a jack-in-the-box at the end.


The Magic Swan Geese - Now this one is interesting just for the fact of the reversal of the scorned=punished scenario.


Prunella - This girl's got personality. This just demands for a retelling somewhere.


The Mermaid and the Boy - Is it strange that two things stuck out the most to me in this fairy tale? 1 - that the princess plays the violin, and 2. if she hates all men at the beginning, does that mean her guards are women?


The Wounded Lion - A simple, but rather sweet story with a fun little twist on how the young woman gets the prince instead of the princess.


The White Dove - There are quite a few fairy tales about forgetting promises, but the princess's initiative makes this one stand out. They both seem to be clever in this one. Plus I love the imagery in their escape.


What Came of Picking Flowers - This one you'll just have to see for yourself. :)