One of my students loaned me a book called The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. You might recognize the author name as one of the Glee actors (yes, the TV show). The book sat on my nightstand for over a month before I finally picked it up. The student was starting to ask questions, and I was getting embarrassed. I judged the book by its cover– or rather the actor/author name and had pretty low expectations, but I needed to be able to make a few comments to my sweet student about the story. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a fun spin on the “ever after” of all of the best fairy tale characters.
Throw a library card, and you will hit a fairy tale spin off book. The books are everywhere right now, and I am hooked. Here is my suggested list. I have read only a few and most are on my “to read” list. Which one should I read next?
Upper Elementary
- Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
- Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (Enchanted series)
- The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm series)
- Happily Ever After by Anna Quindlen
- The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
- Rapunzel, The One With All the Hair by Wendy Mass (Twice Upon a Time series)
- A Tale Dark and Grimm series by Adam Gidwitz
- The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker (and others by this author)
Middle School
- Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (Woodcutter series, mixed reviews)
- Entwined by Heather Dixon
- The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
- The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
And a picture book that I thought looked fun…
- Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten by Trisha Speed Shaskan (and others in this series)
My 6th grader is into these books and has read all on your list. She loves them!
Does she have a favorite? Any book titles I can add? My students need some new recommendations!
Entwined is the best book I read last year! It’s a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses and is truly magical. It’s marketed for young adult but could easily be enjoyed by a 10 year old or a 40 year old. I’m kind of embarrassed to say I’m stalking Heather Dixon to see what she comes up with next.
Entwined is on my to-read list because of your Good Reads review. I am sponsoring our middle school book club this semester, and it is one I am pushing for a “fantasy” book choice.
Excellent choice! Can’t wait to hear what you and the club thinks!
Sisters Grimm series! They are written by the husband of one of my good friends from college. Great series (as is his other, non-fairy tale-related series N.E.R.D.S.)
Entwined sounds great. Can’t wait to add it to the shelf.
We listened to the first 3 Sisters Grimm on a road trip and love them. How fun that you know the author! I should add him to my author letter project.
He’s great. He has a picture book out too: Kel Gilligan’s daredevil stunt show.
Thank you for liking my post. Your wonderful lists make me want to run out and buy the ones I haven’t read yet! Thanks for sharing.