France Month: La Reine des Glaces illustrated by Miss Clara

 

La Reine des Glaces by Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Miss Clara is an extra for today. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. And, yes, this is Snow Queen if you were unsure. In the US, Barefoot Books has a Snow Queen title with illustrations by Miss Clara but I am not sure how many of them correspond to the French picture book.

Miss Clara is a French artist with a great following among readers of fairy tales. Her illustrations start with tiny and intricately detailed paper maquettes of princesses, elves, wolves and enchanted scenes which she photographs and completes digitally.

Book description:

Il existe dans une île tout au nord du monde une Sorceresse aux terrifiants pouvoirs. Son palais est un glacier entouré de banquise, elle souffle l'avalanche et la grêle, elle commande au blizzard. On l'appelle La Reine des Glaces...

New Book: Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairytales from the Storybag

Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairytales from the Storybag is a recent book released in the UK with many short stories by well-known authors based on fairy tales. I missed this when it was released a few months ago and it is pushed primarily in ebook format here in the US. The ebook is $9.99 which looks like a bargain when one finds that each of the short stories are also available separately for $1.95 each in ebook format.

The best part--besides a stellar author list--is that many of these are lesser used tales for retellings. I'm not sure how much interpretation is in these versions or if they are more straightforward rewritings by the authors, but either way I am sure they are fun reading. I do know enough to recognize they are reprints of dollar books printed by Scholastic with each title. The illustrations appear to be included here, so this is a good way to collect them all if they interest you or a child in your life.

Book description:

Magic beans. Sow them. Plant them. Watch children grow.

'If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!' - Shel Silverstein, Poet

Each and every one of the stories in this anthology is a magic bean: a wondrous tale that will capture your imagination. Prepare to be dazzled by Rapunzel's golden tresses. Prepare to be moved by the suffering of the Little Mermaid. Prepare to laugh yourself silly as 'Mr Sultana' struggles to get the better of a little red rooster!

Lovingly crafted by the finest authors and illustrators, these 'magic beans' will delight, thrill and thoroughly entertain.

Table of Contents:

Adèle Geras
The Six Swan Brothers

Anne Fine
The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Henrietta Branford
Hansel and Gretel

Jacqueline Wilson
Rapunzel

Malorie Blackman
Aesop’s Fables

Philip Pullman
Mossycoat

Tony Mitton
The Seal Hunter

Alan Garner
Grey Wolf, Prince Jack and the Firebird

Berlie Doherty
The Snow Queen

Gillian Cross
The Goose Girl

Kit Wright
Rumpelstiltskin

Michael Morpurgo
Cockadoodle-doo, Mr Sultana!

Susan Gates
The Three Heads in the Well

Linda Newbery
The Little Mermaid

Illamasqua Ice Queen Makeup Tutorial

While we have Snow Queens on the brain thanks to Disney, Christmas, winter, etc. I thought I would share this video after debating over it for a month or so.

I'm not much of a makeup person and could never wear this myself due to allergy issues--I am extremely sensitive to makeup. Illamasqua is a UK brand that is quite avant garde in its styling and naming. I like some of their nail polishes, I admit, which is how I occasionally get their emails. This one caught my eye so here it is! In the US, you can find some Illamasqua products at Sephora.

Anyway, if you have a costume party for New Year's, this might inspire you.

Paper Tales Exhibition in Hong Kong: The Snow Goddess

Here's an exhibit devoted to HCA's Snow Queen (here called Snow Goddess) in Hong Kong the past month. It is still showing until January 20th.

Press Release:

Magical Journey with Swire Island East’s Paper Tales

Swire Island East, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (YAF), presents Paper Tales – an awe-inspiring exhibition featuring delicate works from 11 local artists and 23 local students using paper as a medium to create objects of innovation and artistry. Led by the project’s main artist SumSum Tse, Paper Tales will be held at Swire Island East’s ArtisTree from 11 December 2011 to 20 January 2012.

Paper Tales flaunts mastery, originality and the divergent adaptability of paper. Artists let their imagination run wild to conceive idiosyncratic installation works, demonstrating complex paper-cutting and book-carving of great finesse. Visitors will see a medley of arresting paper art forms that is not limited to fine cutting and folding. An eccentric and spellbinding art anatomy is showcased, complemented by ambient music composed by Nick Harvey and special lighting effects by Wong Chiyung.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Goddess, Paper Tales is a magical journey in four chapters encompassing the poetic works of local creative force. The story begins with Pauline Yau’s maze-like Ice Tunnel of light and shadow. Weaving the way through the tunnel, visitors will arrive at Percy So’s Story-telling Installation. Four paper sculptures crafted in traditional paper art techniques unveil the legend of the Snow Goddess.

The tunnel finally opens up to a mysterious icy world. In a secluded setting, the Snow Goddess’s Crystal Palace produced by SumSum Tse emerges as the centrepiece of the exhibition. Visitors will be greeted by the mystical Snow Goddess in an animated projection casted above the Palace.

Teardrops of the affectionate Snow Goddess are transformed into eight Small World Dioramas of floating islands contriving a galactic abyss. Contributing artists include: Aeroporto, Margaret Chu, Graphic Airlines, Candice Keung, Hanison Lau, Salon de Pigeon and Tereza Tan. This section will also feature miniature sculptures created by local secondary students who learned from SumSum Tse through a series of workshops organised by YAF.

The exhibition also offers free guided tours and DIY ornament making workshops during which participants will learn to make crafted objects with used paper.

The images below came from an article at How to enjoy Christmas in Hong Kong while the poster came from the event site.

Pauline Yau makes fragile paper look menacing in her work "The Ice Tunnel."

Disney Defrosts, Thaws Out "The Snow Queen"

Remember a year ago when many people were upset when the media blitzed that Disney was foregoing fairy tale films for the foreseeable future--I discussed it some in my Thoughts on Tangled post. Yes, only a year later and we have Princess Sofia announced and even bigger news, Snow Queen is being defrosted.

Now, I have a long history with Snow Queen and have mentioned it before. Back in 2000 when my husband worked for ABC Online, he rode the train to Burbank and became friends with a few of the Disney animators. A few dinners and conversations later, I had some backdoor insights and peeks at Snow Queen which were fascinating. To sum up: It was nothing like the fairy tale, at all. There was a Snow Queen. That's it. If the plot had been described to me without any preface I wouldn't have ever placed it as the HCA tale.

Then Disney needed to layoff employees to make its year end numbers--which included those animators and my husband--and Snow Queen was tabled yet again. ABC was in the state that NBC is in today and Disney itself wasn't doing much better. VSPs (voluntary severance packages) were the topic of conversations, not The Snow Queen. I've lost count how many times the project has been tabled. And, fortunately, my husband was kept on a few extra months to finish some major projects so we walked away with the package and a new job the following Monday, a blessing since we had moved across the country for the job, far away from family and a much lower cost of living standard. Our rent then was hundreds more than our mortgage now that we live back in Nashville.

But now, with headlines about defrosting, thawing, etc. the media is announcing that the film has been resurrected yet again. Just one article is here but a news search will produce more. There's not much beyond the title and confusion over whether it will be handdrawn or CGI but the consensus is that it will be 3D. I still don't understand Hollywood's misconception that 3D sells seats and DVDs. They might consider offering women viewers some strong female roles and some non-gross romance. (See Movie crowds dip to 16-year low as apathy lingers By DAVID GERMAIN.)

Now the movie will be one word-titled "Frozen." Yes, those onscreen TV guides have oversimplified our lives. And we wouldn't want to disenfranchise male viewers with a girlie title either.

I enjoyed Tangled. I'm not a Disney fan, but I am not a big detractor either. Honestly, more of my own distaste comes from those days dealing with Disney in Burbank when my husband was employed there and I worked down the street at a branch of the Burbank Library. But that's neither here nor there for this post.

As always, I am happy about any big media project that brings more focus on fairy tales, and, let's face it, Disney is hard to surpass for visibility. So let's hope "Frozen" finally gets defrosted, cooked and served at our tables!

Publishers Weekly Best of 2011: Children's Fiction

Publishers Weekly has published their top picks for 2011 and there are several titles to share. My favorite category is usually Children's Fiction and this list provides some books quite fitting for the blog but I will throw in some that come close, too.

First, a fairy tale retelling made the list, Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. This one has been one of the biggest fairy tale hits of the year.

Fairy tales are an evergreen source of inspiration for authors, and Ursu works some serious magic with “The Snow Queen” in this frequently somber but entirely beautiful story of an adopted fifth-grader from India pursuing her lost friend into a mysterious Minnesota forest. Sly references to other fairy tales and classics of children’s literature only sweeten the deal.

Another title is The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente and illustrated

Valente’s glittering fantasy playground began as an offhand mention in one of her other novels, turned into a crowd-funded e-book, and finally became a print book with artwork that matches the wonderfully surreal story of a girl’s journey from Omaha into Fairyland. With literary allusions scattered throughout, the book holds delights for readers of any age.

Chime by Franny Billingsley is also sublime and was long awaited by her fans. (We won't discuss how it and others were lost in the National Book Awards controversy, will we?)

Billingsley’s sharp-tongued, self-hating Briony is easily one of the year’s most memorable narrators, as she struggles to come to terms with guilt over family tragedies, while living in a town in which new 20th-century technologies threaten supernatural beings of old. It’s a rich and layered fantasy that grabs readers tight—not unlike the bogs of Briony’s Swampsea.

Small Persons With Wings by Ellen Booraem snuck onto my radar just recently, but it's about faeries, not cute ones either, and is going onto my TBR list.

Call them Parvi Pennati, call them Small Persons with Wings, just don’t call them fairies. Booraem’s middle-grade novel, in which an outcast girl comes into her own, is frequently sad, but those moments are perfectly balanced with humor and hope. The result is a deeply believable and human story—one that also has room for vainglorious fairies, talking mannequins, and other wonders.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick is getting more attention because it's Selznick and because the Hugo movie based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret is in theatres for the holidays. Lovely stuff and another on my TBR list. Well, all of them are, but some take priority.

In a story that’s both cinematic and personal, Selznick builds and improves upon the graphic/prose hybrid narrative style he first used in The Invention of Hugo Cabret with a story about human connections that span miles and decades. The book shines a spotlight on Deaf culture, the theme of silence a brilliant fit with the illustrated sections of the narrative

From Cynsations: Interview with Anne Ursu

Anne Ursu, author of Breadcrumbs, a Snow Queen retelling, has a compelling interview at Cynsations today.

Here's the beginning:

In Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” Gerda and Kai are best friends until the day a shard of magic mirror falls into Kai’s eye and he’s cruel to Gerda.

In Breadcrumbs (HarperCollins, 2011), the same thing happens to Minneapolis fifth-graders Hazel and Jack. They’re best friends in the world, until one day Jack just changes. And then he disappears. Hazel learns he’s been taken into the woods by a witch-like woman in white. Her plan is simple: go into the woods, save her friend, and they can all live happily ever after.

But the fairytale woods in Breadcrumbs are not a happily-ever-after kind of place. Really, fairytale woods rarely are. The Cinderella-type stories that end with palace weddings and promises of eternal bliss are the succulent gingerbread houses that lure us into the fey world of mischief, vendettas, curses, and cruelty, where children are neglected, orphaned, abandoned—and that’s just at the beginning.

Child readers devour the tales, knowing full well what really lurks inside gingerbread houses. I think the idea that fairy tales are happy comes from adults, from a wish they have for kids and for the stories they love.

It’s easy to be so dazzled by fairy-godmother glass slippers that you forget a pair of shoes can just as easily make a girl dance herself to death.

And more that simply shouldn't be missed:

That's it. The truth is not so terrible that it can't be told. Sometimes the world is completely outside of the child's control. Growing up is a process of change, all the time, and the rules change too. Friends fall away, people get sick, families break apart, other kids are cruel. Nothing is assured, least of all happy endings. But that doesn't mean the world isn't so terrible you can’t live in it. That you can’t thrive in it.

The trick is simply figuring out how. And this is what stories help kids do.

I haven't read Breadcrumbs yet, but I am drawn to it even more after reading this interview, so hopefully soon. I have to admit the primary problem is that I don't have it in ebook format which is how I read most of my fiction these days....

A New Release and a Bargain Book by Wendy Delsol

 

I wrote about Wendy Delsol's books back in June, but this past Tuesday was the official release date of her second fairy tale inspired book, Frost, drawing from Andersen's The Snow Queen.

The description from the publisher:

In this sequel to STORK, Katla Leblanc has to employ her grit, spirit, and special gifts to rescue the boy she loves.

After the drama of finding out that she’s a Stork, a member of an ancient and mystical order of women, and that her boyfriend, Jack, is a descendent of the Winter People able to control the weather, Katla Leblanc is delighted when all signs point to a busy and peaceful Christmas. That is, until the snowstorm Jack summons as a gift to Katla turns into the storm of the century, attracting Brigid, a gorgeous scientist who, in turn, attracts Jack. Between the school play, a bedridden, pregnant mother’s to-do lists, and keeping an eye on her aging grandfather, Katla doesn’t have time to question Brigid’s motives or deal with Jack’s increasingly cold behavior. But Katla’s suspicions mount when Jack joins Brigid on a research expedition to Greenland, and when the two of them go missing, it becomes clear that Katla is the only one who can save her beloved Jack from the Snow Queen who holds him prisoner. Adventure, romance, and myth combine in this winter escapade for teens who like a bit of fire with their ice.

Stork by Wendy Delsol was released last October and I still haven't read it yet, but the description sounds interesting and is certainly folklore related. Stork is currently bargain priced on Amazon in hardcover for $6.40 while the ebook is $7.19. As of this writing, there are only 4 more copies at the hardcover bargain price, so order quick if you want one. Once the bargains are gone, they are usually gone for good.

Here's the description for Stork:

Family secrets. Lost memories. And the arrival of an ancient magical ability that will reveal everything.

Sixteen-year-old Katla LeBlanc has just moved from Los Angeles to Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, Katla soon finds out that she’s a Stork, a member of a mysterious order of women tasked with a very unique duty. But Katla’s biggest challenge may be finding her flock at a new school. Between being ignored by Wade, the arrogant jock she stupidly fooled around with, and constantly arguing with gorgeous farm boy and editor-in-chief Jack, Katla is relieved when her assignment as the school paper’s fashion columnist brings with it some much-needed friendship. But as Homecoming approaches, Katla uncovers a shocking secret about her past — a secret that binds her fate to Jack’s in a way neither could have ever anticipated. With a nod to Hans Christian Andersen and inspired by Norse lore, Wendy Delsol’s debut novel introduces a hip and witty heroine who finds herself tail-feathers deep in small-town life.

New Book: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu is released today, in ebook format, too. While one might assume it is a Hansel and Gretel retelling, it is actually a Snow Queen interpretation.

Book description from the publisher:

A stunning modern-day fairy tale from acclaimed author Anne Ursu.

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it's up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.

About the Author

Anne Ursu is the author of the three middle-grade novels that comprise the
Cronus Chronicles trilogy: The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song, and The Immortal Fire. She teaches at Hamline University's MFA program in Writing for Children and is a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan. Anne lives in Minneapolis with her son and cats.

Reviews:

Like a fairy-tale heroine, Hazel traverses the woods without a breadcrumb trail to save a boy who may not want to be saved in this multi-layered, artfully crafted, transforming testament to the power of friendship. (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

The evocative magical landscape, superbly developed characters (particularly dreamy, self-doubting, determined Hazel and lost Jack), and the piercing sadness of a faltering childhood friendship give this delicately written fantasy wide and lingering appeal. (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) )

The creepy fantasyland that Hazel traverses uses bits from other Andersen tales to create a story that...is beautifully written and wholly original. It’s certainly the only children’s fantasy around where Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer figures into the plot. (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“Devastatingly brilliant and beautiful...Ursu has sculpted a rich and poignant adventure that brings readers deep into the mysterious, magical, and sometimes frightening forests of childhood and change. Breadcrumbs is one of those rare novels that turned me on my head then sat on my heart and refused to budge.” (Ingrid Law, Newbery Honor-winning author of Savvy )

“This is a lyrical book, a lovely book, and a smart book; it dares us to see stories as spreading more widely, and running more deeply, than we had imagined.” (Gary Schmidt, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Wednesday Wars )

Snow Queen and Other DVD Deals (Including Charlie and Lola)

Amazon has many popular BBC DVD titles on sale right now--I think it is ending soon since I am a little late on this--but one of the titles is The Snow Queen which was released in 2007. There are also many Jane Austen and Bronte sisters film adaptations on the list.

Here are some descriptions for the film:

Amazon.com

This staggeringly gorgeous interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale The Snow Queen began as a concert of the pretty music by Paul K. Joyce. The story is told in broad strokes: A mother (Juliet Stevenson, Truly Madly Deeply) and her daughter Gerda (teen soprano Sydney White, who's been tearing up the musical stages in England) take in a homeless boy named Kay. When Kay disappears, kidnapped by the vampiric Snow Queen (ancestress to the White Witch of Narnia, no doubt), Gerda sets off in pursuit and comes across helpful ravens, talking flowers, moving statues, and benevolent reindeer in the course of her hero-journey. The wholly digital world created for this film is astonishing; much of it looks like hand-painted Victorian photographs, each image suitable for framing. Ironically, as the story grows more magical, the imagery turns more conventionally "fantastic" (the Snow Queen's arctic lair is a bit like Superman's Fortress of Solitude). But the overall texture of the movie is engagingly stylized, with movement that seems staggered yet graceful, like a silent film. The Snow Queen demonstrates that digital technology can make a more ethereal aesthetic as vivid and startling as a slimy alien or a bigger explosion. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale comes to life in an enchanting mix of music and song, live drama and stunning animation. When Gerda and her mother take in the penniless beggar boy, Kay, powerful forces come into play that will take both children on a magical journey and test their friendship to the extreme. One cold winter night a splinter of ice pierces Kay's eye, turning his heart cold and making him angry and unhappy. He is enchanted by the Snow Queen and taken to her palace in the frozen North. Gerda decides that she must do whatever she can to find her friend. Faith, love and courage lead Gerda on a perilous quest through many strange lands. Will the little girl in the red velvet cloak be able to match the power of the Snow Queen?

While I have your attention, however, I have to admit what interested me most was the collection of Charlie and Lola DVDs which I adore. They are several dollars less than usual and I am considering adding to my own collection. These are some of the children's videos that just make me smile and that I have enjoyed watching over and over with my niece and others. It is most economical to buy Charlie and Lola, Vol. 1-8 for the first 8 dvds unless you already own them piecemeal as I do. But individually they make great gifts, too.

   

  

  

I love Charlie and Lola (the characters). I am an oldest so my sympathies are with Charlie but my heart wants to be Lola when I grow down.... Doesn't hurt that they were created by Lauren Child who has given us her share of fairy tale books, too. I know they are becoming over exposed in places but I still find fewer kids who know them here in the U.S.