Don't forget the folk tales!

When choosing picture books, remember that we have a great selection of folk and fairy tales located in the nonfiction section, at J Non Fiction 398.2. The collection offers many beautiful picture books for kids pre-school aged all the way up through middle school.

If you love Cinderella, check out different Cinderella stories from all around the world! If you like animal stories, there are so many folk tales in which animals talk, trick, or have their nature explained! If you like funny stories, we have many 'fractured' fairy tales - traditional tales turned on their heads - like a version of Little Red Riding Hood in which Red wears a red-hooded sweatshirt and rides her bike across the prairie (granny is a tractor-riding, tough-talkin' lady). In these fairy and folk tales there is plenty of adventure, love, magic, friendship, and more.

We have a booklist of good folk and fairy tales to read aloud, and also be sure to ask a staff member if you need any help in selection!

Tuesday's Movie - Fairy Tale: A True Story

Frances and Elsie believe in fairies - they know all their names, and they've actually seen them, playing in the garden. Their parents just think of them as fanciful girls, but when Frances and Elsie produce actual photographs of the fairies, their parents, and soon the whole of England wonder - are fairies real? Based on true events which occured during World War I in England.

Fairy Tale: A True Story is appropriate for all ages - those who love fairies will especially enjoy it, obviously. Lovers of Peter Pan may also enjoy, and those who are interested in Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini, who are actual characters in the story.

Tuesday's Movie

Willa: An American Snow White

Part of the From the Brothers Grimm series - a collection of folk and fairy tales retold in American settings - Willa: An American Snow White is an adaptation of the Snow White story, set in the rural South around the year 1915.

After her father dies, Willa is left to live alone with her stepmother - an aging woman who was once a beloved and beautiful stage actress. The vain woman grows increasingly jealous of Willa, who, in addition to being young and beautiful, is a budding actress herself. To escape her stepmother's evil wrath, Willa leaves home and falls in with a travelling medicine show, performing every night and selling Chief Tonka's magical (and, as Willa finds out, horrible tasting) "elixir of life." When the evil stepmother finally catches up with her, we hope Willa's new friends and a handsome movie maker will be able to help protect her.

Beautifully filmed, humorous, and haunting, this movie will be especially appealing to older kids and adults who enjoy fairy tales. Included in this dvd's special features are two documentaries about the type of travelling medicine show depicted in the movie, and which were popular in the early 20th century. Also included is a Spanish language version, "El Elixir De La Felicidad."

If you like this movie, be sure to check out another film from this series, Ashpet: An American Cinderella.