Modern fairy tales feel classic, cool
Classic fairy tales have always been popular among children, but sometimes the antiquated language and settings can seem foreign. These new novels are just as magical and otherworldly while also being fresh and fast-paced, highly appealing to 2018’s kids.
“Into the Nightfell Wood” by Kristin Bailey; Katherine Tegan Books/HarperCollins; 359 pages; $16.99.
Wynn had sad experiences in the “Otherworld” — her mother died, and her father wanted to get rid of her because it took her too long to think and her thumbs were shaped weird. With the help of the Fairy Queen, Wynn and her brother, Elric, ran away to the land Between, and Wynn loved her new life as a fairy princess ... for awhile. She enjoyed all the beauty and all the circles (fairies love circles), but now it’s just the same thing day in and day out, and nobody needs her for anything. Things pick up in Kristin Bailey’s whimsy-filled tale when the grief-stricken Fairy Queen allows their kingdom to be weakened and Wynn escapes into the Nightfell Wood. Kids will enjoy the adventure and cheer on Elric as he follows and tries to save his little sister. Real-life setbacks of fear, prejudice and evil play a role, with lots of witches, elves, woodland animals and monsters.
“Otherwood” by Pete Hautman; Candlewick Press; 303 pages; $16.99.
Beginning with a deadly storm ala “The Wizard of Oz,” Peter Hautman’s gripping novel for middle-grade readers is a modern tale with a beloved grandfather/grandson relationship, an activist mother and boy who witnesses something unbelievable in the woods one day. At this point, the known and unknown, reality and what might be all mix together, and Stuey and his friend Elly Rose try to make sense of it all.
Magic is certainly a key factor in “Otherwood, and also sins of the past, grief and consequences. But the real magic comes when friendship, loyalty and forgiveness bind loved ones together.
“Fortune’s Magic Farm” by Suzanne Selfors; Imprint/MacMillan; 290 pages; $15.99.
More magic exists in the wonderful new tale by Suzanne Selfors, this time following Roald Dahl’s tendency to lean on quirky darkness and whimsy. Isabelle lives in rainy Runny Cove, in a world turned gray. A mysterious stranger arrives with promises of an inheritance, and invites Isabelle to a place full of sunshine and magic. Her new home is a farm with cherries that cure ills and fronds that make her fly, but is she truly happy? Readers will find out when Isabelle returns to her gloomy home to try to use the new magic to stop the rain.
Already awarded several accolades including the Junior Library Guild Award, “Fortunes’ Magic Farm” is delicious and darkly comical.