The Juniper Tree by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

by Carol6 Comments
"The Juniper Tree" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm This is another one of the Grimms' tales that I hadn't heard before and it's really no wonder, part of it is downright gruesome. The illustration above is by Louis Rhead from Grimm's Fairy Tales, Stories and Tales of Elves, Goblins, and Fairies (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1917). The story opens with a rich, childless couple who love each other dearly. One winter, while the woman is pairing apples underneath the juniper tree in their courtyard, she cuts herself. When she sees the blood on the snow she wishes for a child "as red as blood and as white as snow," and immediately she feels happy and knows that she will have a child. Months pass and eventually she has a baby boy and then she dies. Father eventually remarries and, surprise surprise, the new wife turns into an evil stepmother who sees the boy as the only obstacle between her daughter and the...
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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Chuck Fischer

by Carol49 Comments
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Chuck Fisher The Blurb: This beautiful re-imagining of Charles Dickens's timeless fable, A Christmas Carol: A Pop-Up Book features artist Chuck Fischer's richly painted depictions of the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, brought to life in intricate pop-up scenes by paper engineer Bruce Foster. The entire text of A Christmas Carol is reproduced in five removable, illustrated, keepsake booklets. An introductory booklet provides a biography of Dickens and an illustrated feature on the enduring appeal of this beloved story. The perfect gift, A Christmas Carol, now in pop-up form, will brighten the holidays for young and old. My Thoughts: This is simply gorgeous! Pop-up books have evolved so much from the ones I can remember from when I was a child. It's magical, seeing the story I know and love brought to life in this way. I also love that the...
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Boo! Made You Jump! created by Lauren Child

by Carol3 Comments
Boo! Made You Jump! based on a script by David Ingham I love Charlie and Lola, so I had to pick this up when I saw ourlibrary had it. It's another sweet Halloweeny book for young kids. Charlie is always able to scare his little sister Lola, making her jump, but Lola can never ever make him jump. One night at a sleepover, Lola decides to tell a story. "I'm going to tell you a really scary story about a terrible, terrible very old castle full of icky sticky spiders." Charlie does end up jumping at the end, which pleases Lola, even if it wasn't her story that did it. Really these siblings are just adorable and their friends a great too. The foru of them goof around, but are always kind and cute. And I love the illustration of the castle staircase, it just fits the mood perfectly. If I had a younger child, this one would definitely be in the Halloween box. As...
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The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

by Carol8 Comments
The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie A sweet, fluffy modern fairytale, kind of like cotton candy, fun but no real substance. Of course, I love cotton candy, and I adored this romantic comedy. Daisy is an artist and storyteller, a free spirit who can be scatter-brained but is warm and caring. Linc is an uptight history professor who desperately needs a fiancée to get the university job he has his eye on. Of course, Daisy being desperate for money agrees to play along for $1000.  But then Linc needs an actual wife to keep the job, so Daisy moves with him to the tiny town of Prescott, Ohio. "So you pick me up out of the gutter, and I get a new dress, and I pretend to be something I'm not, and then at midnight I run away and turn back into a pumpkin." Her grin widened. "It's a Cinderella story." (pg. 29-30) You can see where this is going I'm sure. When "midnight"...
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By an arrow?

by Carol8 Comments
Crispin set his wine down. Peale dead and his secrets with him. "By an arrow?" "No," whispered Onslow. "Throat was cut. But not much is spoken of it. Most of the palace do not know, and the king wants it to stay that way." (pg. 149, Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson) I'm not this far in the book yet, but I'm pretty sure Crispin wishes he had known Peale's secrets. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. I borrowed my copy from the library and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
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