Favorite Fairy Tale Reimaginings
If you love classic fairy tales but always want to try something new, consider these titles. They’re available in your local library and digital library! Each of these books is an inspired and unique retelling of a well-known fairy tale (or a combination of fairy tales).
Jordan’s Favorite Fairy Tale Reimaginings
The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice by Lisa DeSelm
The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice by Lisa DeSelm
This retelling combines the stories of The Adventures of Pinocchio and Frankenstein. Pirouette, the protagonist, is a girl magically brought to life from wood. She puts on marionette shows for the people of her village and apprentices under her father. When their expertise is chosen to meet a menacing goal by the royals, Pirouette begins to question her responsibility as a craftsperson with the magic she can wield:
“Impressed by the work of the puppetmaster and his apprentice, Tavia’s ruler, The Margrave, has ordered dozens of life-size marionette soldiers to be sent to Wolfspire Hall. When the orders for more soldiers come in with increasingly urgent deadlines, the puppetmaster’s health suffers and Pirouette, his daughter and protégé, is left to build in his stead. But there is something far more twisted brewing at Wolfspire—the Margrave’s son wants Pirouette to create an assassin. And he wants her to give it life.”
The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is available as a:
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
This novella by Neil Gaiman is a dark retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” particularly the period of the story when the princess and the kingdom are under an enchanted sleep:
“A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.”
The Sleeper and the Spindle is available as a:
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in the widely-loved series by Sarah J. Maas. This volume features inspiration from the story of “Beauty and the Beast.” Any reader familiar with the tale will notice the similarities in this story:
“Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.”
A Court of Thorns and Roses is available as a:
Hook’s Tale by John Leonard Pielmeier
Hook’s Tale: Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself by John Leonard Pielmeier
Told from the nefarious Captain James Hook’s perspective, this novel shares the pirate’s life and how he came to be in Neverland. If you are a fan of Wicked by Gregory Maguire or the Twisted Tale books by various authors, you will enjoy this take on Peter Pan:
“Long defamed as a vicious pirate, Captain James Cook (a.k.a. Hook) was in fact a dazzling wordsmith who left behind a vibrant, wildly entertaining, and entirely truthful memoir.”
Hook’s Tale: Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself is available as a:
In conclusion about fairy tale reimaginings
I hope you enjoy these inspired and unique retelling books; they’re some of my favorite fairy tale reimaginings.
Happy reading!
