Fairy Tales on the Big Screen

And for those of you who feel the current Hollywood adoration of Snow White is overkill, take a look at this clip from Alberto Bell and Genevieve Farrell...

Fairy Tales on the Small Screen

2012 is most definitely the year of the fairy tale. We have the discovery of von Schonwerth's 500 new tales. We have Philip Pullman's rewriting of the Grimm tales coming out in September. We have several fairy tale films on the big screen for Summer, including Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. Exactly two hundred years on from the Brothers Grimm's publication of Children's and Household Tales, the fairy tale business is booming.

And now we can add two new fairy tale based television series to the list: Grimm and Once Upon a Time. 

Three Step Trilogy: The Crowded Shadows [2]

At the end of The Poison Throne, we saw our three friends Wynter, Razi and Christopher part ways for what seems to be the last time. Razi has left for Padua to continue his medical training. Before departing, he secures Christopher's escape from the kingdom and safe passage to the Moroccos. Wynter has lied to everyone. She has promised Razi and Christopher that she will stay by her dying father's side; she has sworn to a fearful Lorcan that she will escape the increasingly dangerous palace and throw herself under the protection of Razi in Padua. But Wynter has her own mission. She journeys alone through treacherous woods in an effort to seek out the camp of the Rebel Prince Alberon.

This book sees an expansion of the Moorehawke world. Coming from the oppressively choreographed posturing of court life and backdoor diplomacy of Jonathon's kingdom, the broad stretch of forest land seems to offer a welcome respite. But danger lurks in the crowded shadows and Wynter faces greater peril than ever before. Forced to face her demons without the aid of her father and friends, her quest hangs by a thread.

Into the Grey wins CBI Book of the Year Award

Well, we sure know a thing or two about a thing or two here at Yellow Brick Reads. Celine Kiernan (featured author for this months Three Step Trilogy) has just been awarded the 2012 CBI Book of the Year Award, and is the first author to win both the Book of the Year Award and the Children’s Choice Award for her novel Into the Grey (aka Taken Away). The judges comments read: 

Following the lives of two fifteen-year-old twins, this imaginative and empathetic supernatural thriller coalesces past and present to explore the complexities of fraternal love and the pain of loss.

If you still haven't read any of Kiernan's books after all my coaxing, shame on you! But fret not, you still have time to get up to speed before Resonance hits the bookshops in 2013. To read the Yellow Brick Reads interview click here and for the review of The Poison Throne, click here. 

Three Step Trilogy: The Poison Throne [1]

Damn. It happened again. 

I sat down to finally write my review of this book. My laptop was on and raring to go and I had fresh supplies of tea on hand. But, it's been a year since I read The Poison Throne, Book One of Celine Kiernan's Moorehawke Trilogy and I thought to myself, I better have a quick read over the first few pages, just to make sure I remember it right. 

I ended up reading the lot. Again. All 468 pages of it. Which tells you a lot about this book, I think; quite simply, it's gripping stuff. 

Toy Factory

This is a quick post today. I've just come across the wonderful Child's Own Studio in Vancouver and had to showcase some of the toys being made there. The concept is simple: you send in your child's drawings and Wendy turns them into toys. Take a look at some of the results below.

Interview with Celine Kiernan

I have to admit, I am very excited about today's post. Recently I had the opportunity to interview author Celine Kiernan. She is probably best-known for the award winning and critically acclaimed Moorehawke series, a stunning trilogy comprising of The Poison Throne, The Crowded Shadows and The Rebel Prince. Her book Into the Grey (aka Taken Away) is currently nominated for the CBI  2012 Book of the Year Award (more details here). And if this all wasn't keeping her busy enough, her fifth novel Resonance is due to hit the shops in 2013. If you like what you read here and would like to find out more about Celine's books, this month's Three Step Trilogy will be looking at each of the books from the Moorehawke Trilogy in turn so do stay tuned.

Roald Dahl's Magical Story workshop

If you haven't yet got a chance to watch David Walliam's documentary on Roald Dahl, you can find the YouTube link to The Genius of Dahl here (UK residents can watch it on ITV Player here). There are wonderful contributions from Quentin Blake, Joanna Lumley, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Michael Rosen and Anthony Horowitz.

7 lessons we can all learn from Pippi Longstocking

2012 edition, illustrated
by Lauren Child

When Astrid Lindgren's daughter Karin asked her mother for a bedtime story, it is unlikely that either of them could have suspected how influential that story would become. Pippi Longstocking was born. Pippi, or Pillilotta Comestibles Windowshade Curlymint Ephraimsdaughter Longstocking to give her her full title, has been teaching children to believe in themselves for decades. First published in 1945, the books have since then been translated into over 70 languages and adapted into numerous films and television series. Like Huckleberry Finn (a character Lindgren admired greatly) Pippi appeals to the fantasy of freedom that many children experience. Pippi is financially independent, possessed of superhuman strength (she can easily lift a horse with one arm) and lives in a house on her own. She is naturally kind-hearted and lives according to her own instinctive preferences, making her a figure that children both relate to and aspire to be.