Pan’s Labyrinth – Novel – Review and Musings about Anticipation of Adaptations - Guillermo Del Toro - Cornelia Funke

Many people experience excitement and a certain amount of anxiety when they hear that one of their favourite books is coming to the silver screen. Concern whether the adaptation is sympathetic and close to the source text. Worry that they may get the characters wrong. Anxiety that the image on the screen won’t marry with the image you have carried in your mind since reading the book.

This phenomenon has been played out in Armageddon-esk proportions with the recent release of the TV adaption of Pratchett and Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens.’ After almost thirty years in print, with an army of devoted fan’s the anticipation and anxiety was at a max, with one question very much on everyone’s twitter feeds – would it work? In fact one of my friends tweeted comments ahead of its release on the small screen saying that one character ‘didn’t look right’.

I have to confess, I didn’t quite have the same reservations about Good Omens, as I only read the novel in January AFTER the character publicity photos had already hit the web, so I wasn’t quite as invested as other fans who’ve loved the book for decades.

However, I know exactly how they felt. As this is what I experienced when I heard that a novelised version of one of my all-time favourite films, Pan’s Labyrinth was in the works. The excitement was there, after all I love fairy tales, I love books and I adore the movie. However there were bucket loads of anxiety too. Some of the worries included…

Concerns that with the film such an exquisite visual feast, and with a picture worth a thousand words then surely the novel would become a monster rivalling War and Peace just to stand a chance of evoking the same imaginary in the readers mind that the movie does with its cinematography.

Worries about whether it would emulate the same excitement reading the story as it did watching it the first time? After all you can only experience the same story once for a first time. Will it retain the same poignant messages or will they be lost in translation?

All in all I was worried. The Pan’s Labyrinth film is the ultimate fairy tale movie, the benchmark that others are compared; it is not a far cry from perfection. So how could the novel ever live up to the movie?

My concerns, however, were totally unfounded, and with Guillermo Del Toro the visionary director behind the original movie and master wordsmith Cornelia Funke author of the Inkheart series at the helm the novel is quite simply; beautiful.

It delivers a true adaptation of the film and yet adds layers that make it an even more intricate tapestry if storytelling. In the novel you get to delve into the minds of the key characters, their innermost thoughts and physiques laid bare, making the line between good and evil blur. As for imaginary, I can honestly say I have never before read a book where I’ve stopped reading so many times just to admire and dwell on a sentence or description. Funke’s penmanship is awe inspiring and economic. With minimum words she evokes intricate images and complex emotions, that really does rival the film.

In addition this book is scattered with beautiful illustrations by Andy Williams, which both capture the story in the novel and replicate the imagery of the film. The spacing of the illustrations throughout the book and the monotone style emulates the style of traditional fairy tale anthologies further endorsing its fairy-tale credentials. 

All in all the Pan’s Labyrinth novel is a beautiful and poignant fairy tale which is exquisitely told and produced. So I urge any fan of film, fairy tale enthusiasts, of lover of fantasy to go read the book.

A time to CELEBRATE Fairy Tales & Hell Hounds!

A TIME TO CELEBRATE FAIRY TALES!

So last week Richard Dawkins, managed to upset almost everyone I know by doing a talk at the Cheltenham Science fair where he allegedly (and now stringently denies) said that ‘fairy tales are harmful to children’. What Mr Dawkins exactly said or implied make little difference the real thing of note to me was the masses of people jumping in to defend the centuries old tales. What more of testament and validation can fairy tales have? The sheer quantity of people who came forward to defend them proved that Fairy Tales are love adored by millions of people. Millions of sane people, who know that they are factious, yet are happy to defend them against any slander.

Maria Warner defends fairy tales, equating them to Wonder Tales, that promote thought experiments read more press here:

Of head over to the BBC News for a interesting debate with many professors who discuss the merits of all things Once upon a time, press here.

Then Philippa Francis talks about the love of fairy tales over on her blog in way of celebration and support to visit press here.

All in all whether Richard Dawkins intended to or not, he unleashed a wide spread debate about fair tales, and a mass declaration of love for them. This I think should be celebrated!

A TIME TO CELEBRATE HELL HOUNDS!

Hell Hounds, and my most favourite of the un-dead critters, there’s something rather wonderful about the Jungian primeval fear that wolves evoke in human kind, whether they are actual wolves, werewolves or dog-headed-people but Hell Hounds are the Daddy of wolf like critters.

Hell hounds, seem to be less unitised in fiction though, after racking my brain the only one I can think of is Miss Lupescu in Neil Gaiman’s, The Graveyard Book. But Hell Hound stories are plentiful and far stranger than fiction in history. One of the most fascinating is that of Thiess who in his werewolf trial in 1692 Livonian, admitted to being a werewolf, who descended into Hell to take back and release God’s Harvest that had been stolen by Saturn’s sorcerer Skeistan. Theiss’s own evidence that he was detested by the Devil, and that he was working with his fellow brotherhood of werewolves on god missions was enough to secure the old man life. to read more about Thiess, and translations of the trial read, Witches Werewolves and Fairies by Claude Lecoutex.

Large black wolves with burning fire-like eyes, pop up all over Europe in the Middle Ages, one of the most famous being The Beast of Gavaudin, who In the summer of 1764 terrorized the region in France slaughtering many people. After many attempts to kill or capture the beast, on orders from the King Louis XV a troop of his cavalry was sent to help with the mission. Eventually in June 1767 on a hunt involving 300 men the beast was shot. The body was displayed in the Versailles and was described as being; the size of a donkey and wolf-like, with ears that looked like pointed horns, long fangs it’s paws were larger than a man’s head and it eyes glowed red. Eventually the beast corpse was buried and lost. In fact all of the bodies of these immense creatures have been lost and so their existence relegated to myth. To find out more about The Beast of Gavaudin read Werewolves by Nigel Suckling.

The UK also had its share of Hell Hounds, including one that in a storm on 4th August, 1577 at the Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, broke in to the church and killed a man and boy before fleeing into the night. Now this is why I’m celebrating the Hell Hound, because every other Hell Hound corpse has been lost, all evidence of the huge creatures gone EXCEPT that archaeologist working in Suffolk have found the skeleton of a huge dog that on its hind legs would have been 7 foot long, and would have weighed over 200 pounds! The dog’s remains were found in a shallow grave close to The Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh and date from about the same time. To find out more visit and see photo’s of the skeleton visit the Ancient Origins site press here.

So, although I never want to meet a living Hell Hound in the flesh, the fact that there existence is proven and they can be restored for myth, is in my view a cause for celebration.

An Slightly Late Celebration of Tell A Fairy Tale Day (which was yesterday)…

Usually I’d be shouting from the roof tops on Tell A Fairy Tale Day, last year I posted a video blog of me telling a self-penned fairy tale [press here to view] but yesterday I was somewhat pre-occupied. However today is a bright sunny new day, and I shall mark the great Tell A Fairy Tale Day, a tad late with this small post of  how, on the Tell a Fairy Tale day, 26th of February 2014, Fairy tales are featuring in my family.

My small people got Kindle’s for Christmas and were reading Grimm’s Fairy tales, the original darker less edited versions and when I spotted them stumbling into some of the grimmest tales, I thought I should possibly encourage them toward more age suited tales. Enter Michael Buckley’s Sisters Grimm series, the middle grade adventures of Daphne and Sabrina, the fairy tale detectives who discover their descendants of the famous Wilhelm and Jacob, and must save their parents from a fairy-tale villain in the town of Ferryport Landing, which is populated entirely by fairy tale characters called Everafters. I ordered the first book for my daughter (aged nine), who read it in hours, and then continued on to book two, and is now nagging for me to purchase book three. Then my son (aged seven) a more reluctant reader liked the sound of the books so much he’s how reading the first book too.

I’m currently reading Jasper Fforde's fantastic first Nursery Rhymes Division book, The Big Over Easy, which is a hilarious detective yarn, following DI Jack Spratt (who has a nasty reputation for killing giants) as he and DS Mary Mary, try to crack the murder of Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty’. I’m immensely enjoying watching the detectives as they try and work out who done it, with an escalating pile of corpses, and growing list of suspects, from Humpty’s lover Rapunzel, small time crook Thom Thumb, to crime king-pin Giorgio Porgia. It’s a cleaver, witty and  quirky read, that takes fairy-tales to a genre which is unique to Jasper Fforde.

My husband, and me and well everyone who comes around to visit are dipping into the remarkable and humorous, ‘Tigger on The Couch’ by Laura James. This coffee table book was published back in 2007, and is incredibly hard to come by, but is worth the search. Tigger on The Couch, diagnoses the ‘Neuroses, psychoses, disorders and maladies of favourite childhood characters’. Of course Fairy Tale characters feature heavily, for example; Snow White’s Stepmother who has ‘ Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) which manifests with her experiencing severe problems with personal relationships and in controlling her obsessive impulse. It’s an entertaining read from Cinderella’s trouble with Approval Addiction, to the more serious Bluebeards Psychopathy which results in callous disregard for others and serial murder.

Finally, my son is practicing every waking moment for his upcoming concert, which is a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk. So as you can see on Tell A Fairy Tale day 2014, my family is indeed focused on fairy tales!

If that wasn't enough, I'm off to the fantastic book launch this evening of fellow SCBWI member and Undiscovered Voice 2012 Honorary Mention Liz De Jager's fairytale YA Novel Banished! 

Fairy Tale Lands - Not as far away as you think! Movie Locations.

Yesterday whilst walking the dogs in Black Park (Buckinghamshire), we stumbled on an old building, which I thought was odd I hadn't noticed before, but just as I was questioning my sanity I noticed that the aged stone was in fact actually plywood.

The building is a setting for the upcoming Disney Movie adaptation of Cinderella staring Helena Boham Carter, Cate Blanchett and Hayley Atwell (due for release in 2015). It turns out that Black Park woodlands is no stranger to film crews with Tim Burton using it for ‘Dark Shadows’. It also featured in many of the Harry Potter films, and provided the setting for the fairy tale forest in the 80’s Fantasy ‘Willow.’ 

So this accidental find got me thinking; with such a wealth of fairy tale movies at the moment, what other locations have been picked by producers and directors (with a bit of dressing, a tad of CGI and bucket load of imagination) to become fairy tale wonderlands.

It turns out that The National Trust which is mostly associated with costume dramas has been doing rather well out of the Hollywood Fairy Tale fascination, with…

Snow White and The Huntsman – that chose their Frensham Ponds as a major location.

Then, Disneys live action take on Sleeping beauty, Maleficent starring Anglina Jolie in the title role, has been filming at yet another of their properties, The Ashridge Estate

‘Jack the giant Slayer’ filmed at another of the National Trust's treasures, The Cheddar Gorge.

However the Tommy Wirkola directed,’ Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters’ opted for the Grimm’s homeland of Germany, for all of the on location filming.

Bourne Wood’s in Surrey has had a fair amount of fairytale action with both t Bryan Singer, ‘Jack the giant Slayer’ and last year’s ‘Snow White and The Huntsman’, transforming it into a fairy tale forest.

The really great thing about this, is that many of these locations are in the uk, and so we can actually visit experience and be inspired by these the fairy tale settings! 

Western Fairy Tales & Manga Part 2; Fruits Baskets by Natsuki Takaya

Western Fairy Tales & Manga Part 2; 

Fruits Baskets by Natsuki Takaya

This is the slightly delayed follow up to Part 1 of Fairy Tales & Manga which focused on Tachibana Higuchi's, ‘Gakuen Alice’.  To read part 1, click here.

Part 2 looks at western fairy tales influences within Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket. Fruits Basket is the number one bestselling Shojo Manga in the western world, with 23 books in the series, an anime, and numerous fan books and merchandise. This is my favourite Manga, as it utilises many Fairy Tale storytelling techniques.

The story follows homeless orphan Tohru as she befriends the mysterious wealthy and beautiful Sohma family, discovering their secret curse. Collectively called ‘The Zodiac’, the Sohma’s curse causes some of its members to change from humans into the animals from the Chinese’s zodiac (and a cat with a grudge). As Tohru’s life becomes more entwined with the Shoma’s, she realises that there is more to the curse than metamorphosis; uncovering a dark cruelty, and starting her on a quest to free the family from their curse.

Immediately the books take on a fairy tale quality, with Tohru being  a Cinderella type character, an orphan living alone in a tent in forest, working all hours, with a family that are cold and uncaring. Tohru is also a very self-sacrificing character putting everyone else’s needs before her own, having an ability to see the best in everyone no matter how nasty they may first appear.

Tohru

The curse, morphing into other creatures, is seen frequently in western fairy tales, The Frog Prince, Wild Swans and Hans my Hedgehog to name a few. However in western fairy tales, the cursed always know how to break the curse, keeping silent for seven years, or a kiss from princess. Fruits Basket is more complex, a mere kiss would not suffice, in fact members of the zodiac change into the animal when they are embraced by a member of the opposite sex, or their bodies are under stress.

Unable to control when they change, means a life of isolation for all its members, who are unable to take the risk of letting people see their animal forms, and take on a Beauty and Beast. The Beauty and Beast twist is further enhanced when Keo, the cat, changes into his true form which is far more terrifying than a cat.

The moment Tohru finds out about the curse from book one; PLEASE NOTE - read from top right clockwise!

Like all Fairy tales there is a dark domineering force working in the shadows to keep happily-ever-afters at bay. In Fruits Baskets this is in the form of Akita, the young hansom head of the Sohma family. Akita is the head of the zodiac, he may not change form, but his tie to the zodiac is the strongest and he will use any mechanism to keep them together.  To dark, confident and cruel Akita, Tohru is his Snow White, innocent, forgiving and loving.

DVD's Fan books and Keo's Beads.

I love Fruits Basket, and could happily talk about it for hours. It is a sophisticated dark tale which is subtly told with beautiful illustrations, and lashings of humour. It is a storytelling masterpiece.

If you'are interested in Graphic Novels check out the 'Sequential Art Blog' press here.

Tell a Fairy Tale Day - Thread's by Sally Poyton

Here is my contribution to Tell A Fairy Tale Day - 26th February 2013...

(if you are of a delicate nature, or a child - you might want to give this one a miss!)

Goodbye 2012, the year of the Fairy Tale. Hello 2013, let the Fairy Tale Frenzy Begin…

2012 really was the year of the Fairy Tale. As I detailed in my earlier blog posts (click here and here) it was destined to be fairy tale mad. 2012 did not disappoint, bringing gifts of Fairy Tale films, television shows and books that all built up to the finale; the 200th anniversary of the publication of the Brothers Grimm’s, ‘Children’s and Household Tales’, on the 20th December.

But wait, fear not, fairy tales are not ‘so 2012!’… 2013 has a whole host of fairytale delights.  Read on to review some of the highlights from last year, and what’s in store in the coming months…

2012 Review

We had a fairy tale revival for the small screen, with the reboot of the 1980’s classic ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Grimm’, and ABC’s  ‘Once Upon A Time’, starring Jennifer Morrison and Robert Carlisle.

We had fairy tales hit the big screen too, with varied levels of success. For my money, ‘Mirror Mirror’ being on the poorer end, but then ‘Snow White and The Huntsman’ proving that Hollywood can pull off a good Fairy Tale Yarn. I think the key difference between the two film bases is simple, quality of the writing team; ‘Snow White and The Huntsman’ hired; The Sussex Centre for Folklore Fairy Tales and Fantasy, to be consultants for the film!!!

It wasn’t just western film makers, China’s film goers were also treated to a fairy tale caper; The ‘FairyTale Killer,’ about ‘A fearless cop is appointed to investigate a series of puzzling murders which resemble Fairy Tales.’

September saw the ‘After Grimm: Fairy Tales and Story Telling Conference’ in London. (Click here to see the right up in the SCFF Newsletter).

2012 saw a fair share of fairy tale literature, I can’t go through all of the fabulous books, but here are a few. Graham Joyce, the author of one of my all-time favourite fairy tale-esk adult novels, ‘The Tooth Fairy’ published his book ‘Some Kind of Fairy Tale.’ Alley Shaw followed up his award winning ‘The Girl with glass feet’ with his second fairy tale novel for adults, ‘The Man Who Rained’

Then in autumn we saw the hugely anticipated Phillip Pullmans ‘Grimm’s Tales for Young and Old’.  This book is truly beautiful, with a cover that is so inviting it looks like you can walk straight into the books. What’s between the covers is even better, with a fascinating introduction, and compelling retelling of a selection of The Grimm Brothers most intriguing (not necessarily best known) Tales.

And finally, the 20th December was the bicentenary of the first publication of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s ‘Kinder- und Hausmärchen’.  With wide celebrations in Germany (click here for more), and an interesting series of programs on BBC Radio 4 (press here to listen). This rounded up a fantastic year.

2013 Highlights

2013 sees more Grimm adaptations but it also welcomes Hans Christian Anderson to the party. Yes The Snow Queen see’s not one but two animated adaptation's for the silver screen. First come Wizarts ‘The Snow Queen’ which is Russian made CGI picture (press here to seethe trailer). Later we have the Disney version ‘Frozen.’

Then more movies; Bryan Singer’s ‘Jack the Giant Killer’, and ‘Hansel and Gretel; Witch Hunters.’

Pans Labyrinth’s director, Guillermo De Terro’s animated ‘Pinocchio’ is currently in post-production, so will hopefully be released in 2013 and the images that have been released so far look stunning (press here). Although sadly there is no new news on his live action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at present. But one thing is certain, if Pan’s Labyrinth is anything to go by, then both these films will be true fairy tale – *can’t wait!*

Other things in the making include the Disney Sleeping beauty adaptation that sees Angelina Jolie taking on the title role as the evil sorceress ‘Maleficent’ (Press Here to see Angelina in costume).  And there are rumours of a new live action Disney adaption of ‘Cinderella’ due to be directed by Mark Romanek (director of One Hour Photo), and starring ‘The Hosts,’ Saoirse Ronan. (to read more press here).

One thing is clear, the Fairy Tale rival is still going strong, with more films being commissioned, and an ever growing audience with a thirst for fairy tales that reference their heritage, not shying away from things that go bump in the night. 

Dear Santa a Grimm Stocking please! 200 Years of Grimm

 I would love Santa to put in a First Edition copy of the Grimm's Fairy Tales in each stocking, but as that may be a tad tricky and not all of us can speak German, here is a few alternative suggestions (PLEASE excuse mistakes,  was having a particularly bad dyslexic day!)...

So, Thank-You Santa, for Listening to all our #Book_in_Every_Stocking suggestions. Please take heed and use our suggestions to fine the right book for every child (no matter how old!).

Thanks everyone for stopping by and supporting the Book In Every Stocking Campaign. Please Tweet / FaceBook;#Book_in_Every_Stocking to support us, and maybe Tweet your Stocking Book Filler Suggestion for Santa Too!

#Book_in_Every_Stocking

Happy Birthday all Grimm Folk!

&

Merry Christmas One and All!

200 Today! Happy Birthday; Hans My Hedgehog, Red Riding Hood, Bearskin all Grimm Folk!

200 Year's old today! On the 20th December 1812 Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm First published their, 'Kinder- und Hausmärchen' / Childhood and Household Tales, which now iconically known as the Grimm's Fairy Tales. 

I am Uber Excitied about this fanastic anniversary, and will be back later today with a Grimm inspired #Book_in_Every_Stocking blog, so please come back and check it out later this afternoon!

Western Fairy Tales in Manga

Western Fairy Tales in Manga

In the spirit  - Here is me Mangafied!

What’s Manga?  

Literally translated Manga means, ‘whimsical sketches’ – and it is the name for Japanese graphic novels and comics. Manga became prevalent in the post WWII Japan; believed to have been born with the publication of  Osamu Tezuka's, ‘Mighty Atom’ or ‘Astro Boy’ in 1951. 

The Manga I read is Shōjo Manga, which dates back to 1969 when a group of women manga artists known as ‘Year 24,’ debuted their Shōjo Manga’s, which is largely manga by women for women.

I was a late comer to Manga but have became a fan and at some points an addict when my mother (yes you read that right – my MOTHER) introduced me to ‘Fruits Basket’ by Natsuki Takaya. Since then I've read many Shōjo Manga series, being an artist and writer I'm drawn to the way story is delivered by both the illustrations and text working together as one entity.  For stories where text is used frugally they pull you in with concepts, story arcs, characterization, and quality of writing to rival any well penned novel.

One thing that I have noticed, is that every Manga series I have read references WESTERN fairy tales. Of course they reference Japanese and also Chinese folktales and mythologies, but there seems to be an abundance of western fairy tales coming through too. So I thought I'd talk about how the Shojo Manga use western fairy tales, starting with Tachibana Higuchi's, ‘Gakuen Alice.’  In future blogs I will  talk about ‘Fruits Baskets’ by Natsuki Takaya, and ‘Grimms Manga’ by Ishiyama Kei.

Gakuen Alice by Tachibana Higuchi

Gauken Alice or Alice Academe is about Miikan a 10 year old girl who travels to Tokyo to the Alice Academe in search of her best friend Hotaru. When she arrives Mikan finds that the Academe is a school for ‘gifted’ children who have superpowers called Alices.’  Mikan becomes enrolled as she too has a powerful alice, and soon discovers that the academe is much more sinister than it seems.  

The Gakuen Alice books use a lot of western fairy tales, in addition to an on-going,  ‘Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass’ theme. The reason for the’ Alice in Wonderland’ references is probably due to the shared Alice in title, but is used repeatedly throughout the series, for example the front covers of every book refers to, Alice Looking Glass, as each character in framed in a mirror.   In addition many of the characters costumes are also Alice in Wonderland themed emulating Alice’s iconic pinafore dress or have white-rabbits hats or even have playing card motifs.

In book 3 chapter 12, the cover illustration has Hotaru and Mikan outside a house made of sweets, and then later in the chapter Mikan puts on a performance of ‘The Little Match Girl’ to earn money to buy sweets. 

Then again in Book 5 chapter 23 the main characters do a play called, ‘The Sleeping Snow White in the Woods.’ The play has a mash up of Grimm’s fairy tales, (with a boy playing the princess) yet still preserves many of elements that construct western fairy tales.

With in the series the use of the western fairy tales puts Mikan again and again in the place of the poor fairy tale hero, having to overcome poverty and  adversity with just her wit. This is a clever reflection of Mikan's adventures throughout the series, where she is the poorest and most resented student within the school. Mikan character is also very much in accordance with western fairy tale heroines, she is naive, good natured, kind  and hard working yet suppressed by those who fear her.

The Gakuen Alice book’s are still being translated so I eagerly look forward to reading the rest of the series to see what other fairy tale delights are in stall for Mikan and her friends.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, and do comeback and read the other blogs in the series. Also I'm hoping to do more research about Western Fairy Tale in Manga, so if you can think of any examples, please let me know by leaving a comment , thanks!

How Three Dyslexics Shaped the Modern Fairy Tale

Celebrating National Dyslexia Awareness Week 2012

How Three Dyslexics Shaped 

the 

Modern Fairy Tale

Here is my second blog in celebration of National Dyslexia Awareness Week 2012.  Part of raising people awareness about dyslexia is to change people’s perceptions of it – and what better way to do this than celebrate the achievements of dyslexics. Now there are so many dyslexics who have achieved so much it was difficult to know where to start but given the premise of my blog 1.writing, 2.Fairy Tales, 3. Dyslexia – so this had to happen.

A Celebration of three men that was instrumental in the shaping of modern fairy tales who were dyslexic; Walt Disney, Hans Christian Anderson and Roald Dahl

Hans Christian Anderson 1805-1875

Hans Christian Anderson was like many dyslexics, creative by nature. He was in his early years an actor, and he was an avid paper artist. He had the fortune to have his education funded by Frederick VI -  King of Denmark, but like many dyslexics, he found schooling difficult.  Despite the hurdles imposed by his dyslexia, Hans went on to become an author, his most famous and most notable works, being his Fairy Tales, which include ‘the little Match Girl’, ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Thumbelina’.  His fairy tales are inspired whilst preserving the darker elements of their forefathers.  

1952 his life was made in to a musical called ‘Hans ChristianAnderson,’ and his fairy tales have inspired many re-writes, dramatizations, animations and movies on IMDB there is list of at least 230 movies based on his works. His works still inspire next year will see the realse of two animations based on his tale ‘The Snow Queen’ one of the same title by Wizart animation the other by Disney called ‘Frozen.’

Walt Disney 1901 -1966

Walt has been cited as being dyslexic, although it has never been definitively proven.  It is apparent that he had difficulties at school after which he went to pioneer animation making the first feature length animation ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ in 1937. Disney although not the most sensitive in his adaptations of classic fairy tales, had a creative commercial vision changing people perception of fairy tales. Walt for instance was the first to bestow names and personalities to the dwarfs.  Under his supervision, many fairy tales were given the ‘Disney Makeover’ and now long after his death the Disney Corporation is still rolling them out – with the recent ‘Tangled’ and upcoming Frozen.

Roald Dahl 1916 – 1990

Short story and screenwriter turned children’s author. Roald Dahl ‘s children’s book are some of the most loved for people of my generation and are still adored by children today. Many of them have been adapted for small screen and in to movies and even musicals. Roald was dyslexic, and  one of his methods to combat it was to write on Yellow Paper. Roald also wrote a book called ‘The Vicar of Nibbleswick’ where the protagonist is dyslexic; the book was illustrated by Quinton Blake and released in 1991 with proceeds going to Dyslexia Institute in London (now Dyslexia Action).

Roald made an impact on the perception young people had on fairy tales when he realised ‘Revolting Rhymes’ and ‘Rhyme Stew’, where he had re-written many well know fairy tales, with his particular humour – who can forget Red Riding Hood whipping a pistol from her knickers? When they came out parents were shocked – I recall many heated conversations between my parents and other adults about how ‘inappropriate’ they were. However to us kids of the time they made stuffy predictable fairy tales exciting.

So here we go a celebration of three king of Fairy Tales, whom were all Dyslexic! But before we go here’s just one more bit of fairy tale wisdom by another dyslexic…

Surviving My First School Visit

Surviving My First School Visit

The last week of summer term I did a talk to class of year three students’, twenty eight children in total ranging between seven and eight. I did a talk on Fairy Tales, which was tricky as I write for Young Adults, and the usual things I say about fairy tales; the murder, cannibalism, sexual undertones were all out of the question, in fact, even the feminist’s slant wasn’t really an option.  So I decided to go for the changing nature of fairy tales and how they’ve stayed relevant to society through their evolution.

I was terrified, but determined to do the best job I could, and most of all, I wanted the kids to enjoy it. So, I penned a brief outline, decided to have visual aids and physical props, learnt how to use PowerPoint, and then tried to figure out how to talk and engage the children.

Luckily I’ve been fortunate enough to have helped at some events organised by my local book shop, the wonderful ‘Mostly Books’ in Abingdon, watching the likes of Frank Cottrell Boyce, Moria Young, and Cathy Cassidy enthral their audiences. Watching these fabulous authors made me realise the importance of passion, confidence, and most of all interaction.

So that was it. I decided on an interactive quiz using my PowerPoint presentation and props, and even decided to wear a Red Riding Hood t-shirt. With everything ready, I waited, prepared.

The day came and I went in to school to find that I couldn’t use the projector as my version of PowerPoint was not compatible with their PC – so with my nerves even more on edge, I sat down and waiting for the inevitable tearing apart – or worse bored faces!

Worst Nightmare Board Faces

The teacher introduced me, and told them I was going to talk about Fairy Tales, at which point some rather louds cries of “BORING” rose from the boys at the back. (now I was really really nervous!) So, with the children sat on the carpet, and my laptop precariously balanced on a box on a table, I began.

I started with my quiz that challenged their perception of Fairytales. I asked a question, and they all shouted out the answer – because of course, 8 year olds know all about fairy tales (that’s why they’re are boring!) But HA!, they were wrong. Using my slides I illustrated the right answer and moved on. This continued, and by the last question they thought they had me pegged and picked the less obvious answer, only to find it was a trick, and all answers were right!  There was lots of talking, giggling and excitement, and from there on I talked about the amount of different versions of fairy tales there are, how therefore they are not as predictable as you might think.

The children seemed to be really intrigued, the boy’s especially by witches’ houses made out of crows feet and bones, and the girl by squirrel slippers. We talked about story tellers, and then did a little story telling exercise. We discussed Grimm, and the up and coming bicentenary of the publication of their fairy tales. Here I asked which children had Kindles, and got them to sniff my 186 year old first edition of the Grimm’s tales – this was a particular highlight.  Finally, I finished off by using Disney princesses to show how fairytales have changed since snow white was realised in the 1939. The evolution from obedient and unquestioning early Disney princesses, whose main aim was to marry well, through to the princess of the 1990’s, Belles book worm, Arial’s fight for independence, Jasmines’ challenging traditions, and Tangled’s warnings about vanity. 

All in all it went really well, even the boys who had written me off as boring before I started were asking questions, and becoming animated and involved in the discussions. So much so, some of them didn’t want to go for break. 

Once Upon a Time we Pondered; Why do we use Fairy Tales in our Work?

Once Upon a Time we pondered; Why do we use Fairy Tales in our Work?

This is the third install met of our Fairy Tale blogs, inspired by recently discussions about, what fairy tale are, over at the SCWBI (Society of Children’s book Writers and Illustrators) British Isles Facebook page. This made us think a bit more about what fairy tales mean to us, so we posed three questions which we have answer in the series of blog posts; 

1)What do we think fairy tales are?

2) What is our favourite fairy tale and why?

3)Why do we use fairy tales in our own work?

 The first blog; Once upon a time, we wondered, what is a fairy tale?  can be found over on Emma Graham's Blog; press here. 

The second post; Once Upon A Time we Thought, What is our Favourite Fairy Tale? Was posted on this blog last week press here.

Why I use Fairy Tales in my Writing by Donna Vann writing as D.V. Hawkes  http://www.dvhawkes.com

I’ve written historical adventures, picture books set in the real world and a contemporary teen novel. But from now on, I’d like to write what I would classify very loosely as fairy tales – stories in which the magical appears, not for its own sake but in order to take the heroine out of her ordinary world and give her a new stage on which to learn courage and compassion and come home changed.

In the book I’m currently writing, characters live in reality but the numinous can break through at any moment. Hovering just out of sight is a world of wonder and marvels. Why does the mountain near the castle hum day and night? Why does Meg see stories when she hums along with it, or when she touches someone? Gifts from that unseen world are bestowed on my heroine, who will have to make brave choices in order to use them well in this one.

Donna's SCBWI Profile 

Why I use Fairy Tales in my Writing by Sally Poyton 

www.sallypoyton.com/

In the year 2012, after thousands of years of stories been told and written, it is a hard task for any of us to come up with something completely original. So unless you have lived your entire life living under a rock, anything you write will be influenced by something you have watched, read or heard. To tackle this I try to use lots of influences to come up with different ways of looking at things, trying to bring a fresh perspective, but referring and/or commenting on what has been before.

 The best books I’ve ever read are layered, their stories constructed on foundations of what has been laid before; fairy tales, mythology, history, science… the list goes on.  They make for a rich manuscripts, their worlds seem real, and tangible.. J K Rowling and Terry Pratchett are good examples - so much so, there are now books on the Science and Folklore that’s found in discworld.

I use fairy tales in my work; firstly I love them, and secondly because they have a perennial appeal, adapting to culture as it changes. Ultimately I use them because they are about the things that matter. Love, life, death, survival. They don’t shy away from the dark matters; seclusion from society, cannibalism, incest, murder, and yet they have a universal appeal to people of all cultures and ages.

Through Mortal Eyes
is my YA Fairy Tale Themed Fantasy 

 Sally's SCBWI Profile

Why I use Fairy Tales in my Illustration by Emma Graham www.egrahamillustrations.co.uk

As an illustrator I have always been fascinated how different illustrators interpret the fairy tales. I was brought up in a very art filled environment. Books, music, painting. Both my Nana and my Mother were artists and my Father a photographer. My parents collected old books, mainly children’s books, which I still have and treasure. Illustrators such as Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, W Heath Robinson, Harry Clarke, and of course Arthur Rackham filled my bookshelves and bedroom walls. These fantastic illustrators works somehow infused into my passion for books and were the foundation of my passion to illustrate.

I love to read and draw, my great inspiration is from the old stories, whether you class them as fairy tales, fantasies or fables. They are full of colour, crazy mystical beings and enchanted worlds, perfect for an illustrator to create from and stories I will always go back to over and over again and always get new ideas.

Little Mermaid by Emma

But I do wonder what ‘modern’ stories will one day become the fairy tales of the future? But that is another question!

Emma's SCBWI Profile

Hi there!

Thanks for checking out the blog. We really hope that you enjoyed the Fairy Tale series.  Please do leave a comment and tell us whether Fairy Tale influence you and if so how they inspire you work.

Once Upon A Time we Thought, What is our Favourite Fairy Tale?

Once Upon A Time we Thought, What is our Favourite Fairy Tale?

Recently over on the SCWBI (Society of Children’s book Writersand Illustrators) British Isles Facebook page, there was a discussion on what Fairy Tales are. The discussion was interesting and varied displaying one astonishing thing, that what a fairy tale is subjective, and that different people have very different perceptions on what a fairy tale is. This has prompted three SCBWI members to think at little more about how we see fairy tale and what they mean to us.  

We have made a series of blog posts discussing fairy tales, the first of which  Once upon a time, we wondered, what is a fairy tale?  can be found over on Emma Graham's Blog; press here

My Favourite Fairy Tale by Emma Graham www.egrahamillustrations.co.uk

Lewis Carroll describes Alice in Wonderland as a fairytale, but this is hardly a short story.

This has to be one of my own favourites. A talking Caterpillar, the White Rabbit, magic potions and food and mystical lands. Carroll takes everyday creatures and objects and animates them in a lively and crazy manner to weave this fantastic tale.

I guess my love for this tale was nurtured by my mother, who just after I was born painted a large picture of Alice’s world for my bedroom wall. I was always intrigued by what was down the dark rabbit hole and I still am.

Alice and Caterpillar By Emma Graham

http://britishscbwi.ning.com/profile/emmagraham

My Favourite Fairy Tale by Donna Vann writing as D.V. Hawkes  http://www.dvhawkes.com/

As a child, I devoured folk tales and fairy tales, particularly those by Hans Andersen. While escaping from the real world I also learned so much that formed my character and that I still draw on today. For example, it was clear that a scruffy, unimportant person might be a powerful mentor or a prince in disguise. I learned that courage and kindness were much more valuable than wealth or celebrity.

My favourite books growing up were by George Macdonald – he was a contemporary of Dickens but is pretty much unknown today. In ‘The Princess and Curdie’ a miner’s son is given the ability to understand a person’s character by taking their hand, which inspired something the novel I’m working on at the moment. Macdonald’s books are dotted with preachy asides, but that didn’t trouble me at all back then.

My favourite modern-day fairy tale is Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’. An ordinary hotel, where a boy and his grandma are staying, becomes extraordinary when it transpires that the hotel is hosting a major convention of European witches, recognised by their blue spit, lack of toes and disgust at the smell of children.

http://britishscbwi.ning.com/profile/DonnaVann 

My Favourite Fairy Tale by Sally Poyton 

www.sallypoyton.com/

The Three Snake Leaves by Grimm

I don’t know exactly why I love this tale, but I think it’s got the balance just right, it’s about love and survival, plus it has the perfect balance of dark and magic. It not one of the tales you’ll find in a children’s anthology so if you want to read it then my favourite version can be found in Grimm’s Grimmest (1997 - Maria Tatar - Chronicle Books)

It’s a story about a poor man who agrees to marry a princess despite having to agree that in the event that he should outlive her he will accompany her to the grave. They live happily together, and when the princess dies her husband keeps his word and is incarcerated in the crypt with her. Here, in the crypt, three snakes appear. The man so overcome by hunger kills one of the snakes. To his astonishment, he watches the remaining snakes use three golden leaves to bring the dead snake back to life. Seeing this magic, the man uses the leaves to bring the princess back from the dead. The couple make such a racket on the door that the king comes and is overjoyed to find them alive. However the Princess has changed, and no longer loves her husband, so has him killed. Fortunately the husband has entrusted the leaves to a loyal servant who uses them to bring him man back to life. Alive once more the husband uses his wit to his construct his wife’s demise.

Ayame and gold leaves 

http://britishscbwi.ning.com/profile/SallyJaynePoyton

Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment to tell us what your favourite fairy tale is...