Essential Fairy Tales: Sleeping Beauty

Trina Schart Hyman

The folktale begins with a princess whose parents are told by a wicked fairy that their daughter will die when she pricks her finger on a particular item. In one version, the princess pricks her finger on a piece of flax. In Perrault's and the Grimm Brothers' versions, the item is a spindle. The parents rid the kingdom of these items in the hopes of protecting their daughter, but the prophecy is fulfilled regardless. Instead of dying, as was foretold, the princess falls into a deep sleep. After some time, she is found by a prince and is awakened. You probably remember the scene - the Christening of the new baby, the fairies who come with gifts (six of them) and the fairy who felt scorned or left out (fairy number seven) who bestows her gift which luckily another fairy is able to modify from death to sleep. 

Maja Dusikova

Margaret Early (Australian illustrator - take a look at her other titles)

Ruth Sanderson

Christian Birmingham

Paola Escobar

An illustration by Roger Duvoisin (Favourite Fairy Tales Told in France)

And then for some fun try to find these (or take a look here):

by Mary Pope Osborne illustrated by Giselle Potter

Essential Fairy Tales: The Elves and the Shoemaker

 

Here is a retelling of the story

The original Elves and the Shoemaker was actually a set of three stories with the delightful sounding German title: Die Wichtelmänner. Here is a very academic and detailed analysis of this fairy tale. As a child I loved this story because the little elves were so kind to the old shoemaker and his wife and I especially appreciated the way they then made tiny clothes and shoes to thank their tiny helpers. 

Child's Play

Bernadette Watts

Ian Beck

Paul Galdone

Jim LaMarche

Rachel Swirles 

Kirill Chelushkin

Hopscotch Fairy Tale series

This is not directly related but I remember I loved the illustrations. You might still have this book in your school library - it was a past CBCA title:

Essential Fairy Tales: Rumpelstiltskin

Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis

In some ways this series of posts I am compiling over these few weeks came about because of the Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis version of Rumpelstiltskin and also when Colby Sharp said his Grade Five class were unfamiliar with the fairy tale. That got me thinking about which fairy tales I would read to my senior primary groups - the Essential Fairy Tales.

Bernadette Watts

Paul O Zelinsky (you will also find this version with a different cover)

Paul Galdone

Martin Hargreaves

Jane Ray

Jonathan Langley

Here is a new Young Adult Australian novel that heavily relies on your knowledge of the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin:

Once upon tomorrow

You might find this fracture version in a library:

From the series Hopscotch Twisty Tales

Essential Fairy Tales: Rapunzel

Here is a Pinterest collection with many versions of Rapunzel. Australian author Kate Forsyth has written two books about Rapunzel, one is a fictional retelling of the tale and of the life of Mademoiselle de la Force entitled, Bitter Greens, and her second book was non-fiction describing the development of the tale entitled, The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower. And I am keen to real Zel by Donna Jo Napoli. Another Australian novel for adults is The Crystal Heart by Sophie Masson

Maja Dusíková 

Trina Schart Hyman

Jutta Ash

Paul O Zelinsky 1998 Caldecott Medal winner

Bethan Woollvin

And finally here are two versions to share in your library:

How the library (not the Prince) saved Rapunzel

Rapunzel's Revenge

Essential Fairy Tales: Snow White

Illustration by Wanda Gag

"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection Grimms' Fairy Tales, numbered as Tale 53

Nancy Ekholm Burkert

Susan Jeffers

Angela Barrett

Bernadette Watts

Charles Santore (see an alternate cover here)

Jane Ray

Retold by Joyce Dunbar illustrated by Julie Monks

Manuela Adreani

Francesca Rossi

Here is a detailed analysis of Snow White with examples of different illustrations. 

You should also look for this book - it is one of my top favourites:

Snow White in New York

And for a younger reader:

And I am keen to read this poetry book. Here is a review:

And I found this one for older readers (I have put it on my to read list):

Read more here Beatrice Alemagna

(See inside this book here)