What to Read Next If You Love Into the Woods
Fairy tales get complicated in these twists on tradition. You’ll never read “happily ever after” the same way again.
Interrupting Chicken
Interrupting Chicken just wants everybody to get a truly happy ending — which they would, if they would just listen to his very good advice! This is a fun read aloud for anyone who’s ever wanted to interrupt the story to steer its characters in a better direction. (All Ages)
Egg and Spoon
A case of mistaken identity lies at the center of Egg and Spoon: Elena, a peasant living in the Russian countryside, changes places with wealthy Ekaterina who is on her way to see the Tsar in Saint Petersburg. Along the way, the two girls match wits with Baba Yaga, uncover a prince in disguise, and explore a world full of Russian folklore. (Middle Grades)
Rumaysa: A Fairytale
What would traditional western fairy tales look like through the lens of another culture? Radiya Hafiza retells the stories of Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty in the surprisingly delightful Rumaysa: A Fairytale, which begins when imprisoned Rumsaya lowers her hijab out a tower window to escape to freedom. (Middle Grades)
Spinning Silver
In Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver, a moneylender’s savvy daughter gains a reputation for turning silver into gold — bringing her to the unwanted attention of the king of the Staryk. It’s a brave new Rumpelstiltskin. She’s not the only young woman who sees an opportunity to rewrite her life for the better in this layered story. (High School)
Cinder
In futuristic New Beijing, Cinderella is a cyborg mechanic who gets caught up in struggle for the crown. Cinder lives with discrimination against cyborgs from her society, but her stepmother never misses a chance to remind her that she’s not a real person. When she’s caught up in a power struggle around Prince Kai, Cinder has to decide what her own happy ending might look like. (High School)
Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins
I’m always recommending Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins because it’s one of my favorite books from high school. Emma Donoghue reimagines 13 fairy tales in new, feminist queer retellings, including one in which (finally!) a Beauty realizes that she cannot change the beast. (High School)
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