Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Scholastic Press, 2015. 592 pages.

Modern Fairy Tale

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, HarperCollins, 1997.

A modern Cinderella story for girls-- A dimwitted fairy gives baby Ella the gift of "obedience"-- and now she must always do what ever anyone tells her to do-- she is compelled. What's a modern Lady to do? A fun and freshly modern tale that kids will relate to, yet still full of magic, fairies, fairy god mothers, step sisters, Lords, Ladys and a Handsome Prince.
--Newbury honor sticker is there for a reason! well done.

The Sister's Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley.Amulet Books, 2005. 284 pages.

Two sisters, Daphne, 7, and Sabrina Grimm, 11, find themselves in a series of awful foster homes after their parents (and only living relatives) inexplicably disappear. The real story starts when the girls are dropped off with a new foster mom who turns out to be their grandmother Grimm, an Everafter  who lives in an isolated and strange little town in upstate New York filled with mythic and fairy tale characters. Snow White is a school teacher, Prince Charming the Mayor, The 3 Pigs are Police. The sister's Grimm must get used to their new life while solving a crime involving a destroyed farm house and a huge foot print, while saving their Grandmother from a kidnapping Giant.  Part mystery, part fractured fairy tale, part adventure the story is delightful, but long and windy-- take note because not all 4 to 6 graders will be ready for a thick twisty plot and 300 pages. But for those that are the book is a clever and funny and satisfying. series.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer. NY, Feiwel & Friends, 2011. 390 Pages.

Straight up teen book-- with somewhat of a twist. Cinderella story and first in a series (The Lunar Chronicles), Cinder is a cyborg-- part human/part machine-- living with a mean stepmother and 2 step sisters-- one evil, the other sweet- if immature. Cinder knows little of her past or how she came to need the surgery that both saved her life and condemned her to second class citizenship on this war torn earth of the future. She meets the wildly handsome Prince of New Bejing-- also emperor of the commonwealth of earthen nations and-- surprise!!he is smitten with her, she with him and she fails to tell him she is part cyborg. An evil Lunar Queen is trying to both marry Cinder's Prince Charming and take over the world but once Cinder meets the mysterious scientist looking for a cure to the very contagious plague that is overtaking the earth, she will learn a few things about her past and her future. Not half bad. I liked it inspite of the teeny teenish plot, details and dialogue.
won't bother with the rest of the series but that's just me. some girls will love this.

Princess at the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. New York: Bloomsbury. 280 Pages.

Rich retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, George deftly weaves a fresh tale of Romance, of FairyTale, of Fantasy. A modern twist on an old classic, this well done fairytale will appeal to older middle school girls who may well insist they do not like fairytales. Especially well done. Look for several sequels. 2012 Summer reading list, myths and legends, 6-8.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. New York: Dutton. 256 pages.

Deliciously Creepy and right on point- fairy-tale wise, Gidwitz takes Hansel and Gretel to places we never even dreamed. Clever and rich. Summer Reading list, 2012. middle school legends and myths. 5th grade+.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. GP Putnam's Sons, 2010. 325 pages.

Lonely teenager and avid Grimm Fairy Tale enthusiast, Elizabeth, finds herself working at a special object repository-- library-- along with several other teens, including one of the coolest kids at school. The library has a mysterious and magical collection of Grimm Fairy Tale items that are being stolen and may be used for dark purposes. For me, the book started well and Schulman definitely paints a great physical setting -- NYC, the library and the different rooms, the gothic feel, etc. but the characters are the usual teen things-- and the story does not have enough to do with Grimm fairy tales to hold my interest-- while i thought Elizabeth had promise, the others were typical teen types-- and as for elizabeth, i found my self wondering how she went from hating to loving one teen and why she was attracted to him in the first place. started with promise but i lost intersest-- still, i am an adult and i will see if i have a 5th grader who might like it-- and , perhaps, give me a better perspective of what is appealing about it. Althought the premise was clever and the beginning had promise, i found myself disappointed and fought to finish it. Ah well -- you can't llike everything.

Bound by Donna Jo Napoli. Atheneum Books, 2004. 186 pages

I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman. Knopf Books for Young Readers (2000), Hardcover, 176 pages

A twist on the classic cinderella tale. What would happen if cinderella lived today and one of her rat-turned-coachmen continued to live as a boy? that's the premise of this clever and witty little tale. Fun but not great.