Sleeping Beauty
We all know the bones of this story. The princess cursed to sleep, the dashing prince on a quest who awakens the princess with a kiss. Whether you're a fan of the slightly creepy Brothers Grimm version or the more romantic Disney tale, try these retellings for teens and adults.
Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey; Mahlon F. Craft (Designed by)ISBN: 1416940146
Publication Date: 2006-10-24
For years the king and queen despaired of ever having a child. When Aurore arrives, though the entire kingdom celebrates, not all are overjoyed. They use her christening as an occasion for revenge, and her young life is overshadowed by a curse of death almost as soon as it has begun. Those who can intervene, but evil has a way of holding fast. A sleep of a hundred years following the pricking of a finger is the best that can be done. And so Aurore grows up. Forbidden princess-like tasks of embroidery and sewing, she explores the great outdoors, reveling in the flora and fauna that surround her castle home. Then one day she meets a handsome stranger in an enchanted wood and begins an adventure the likes of which she never dreamed of. This is the story of the Sleeping Beauty, here quite awake and given new voice. Taunted by fate, Aurore soon learns that although she cannot sidestep her own destiny, love is actually the most powerful magic of all. (YA)
A Kiss in Time by Alex FlinnISBN: 9780060874193
Publication Date: 2009-04-28
Sixteen-year-old Princess Talia persuades seventeen-year-old Jack, the modern-day American who kissed her awake after a 300-year sleep, to take her to his Miami home, where she hopes to win his love before the witch who cursed her can spirit her away. (YA)
The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes LackeyISBN: 9780373803156
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
After the king dies, neighbors start looking at Rosa's kingdom. But with the palace filled with young and old princes intent on winning her love, invading the kingdom and putting those men in peril would mean incurring the wrath of 30 other countries. (Adult)
The Wide-Awake Princess by E. D. BakerISBN: 9781599904870
Publication Date: 2010-05-11
Annie, younger sister of the princess who would be known as Sleeping Beauty, is immune to magic and stays awake when the rest of the castle falls into an enchanted sleep, then sets out to find a way to break the spell. (J)
Snow White
Another sleeping princess tale from the Brothers Grimm, but this princess was poisoned by a jealous step-mother. That is the Snow White many of us know, but there is another story of Snow White and Rose Red told first by Perrault. A story of sisters who befriend a bear and help break the curse that keeps him from becoming the prince he truly is. These two stories are totally different but we've collected retellings of both here.
Snow in Summer by Jane YolenISBN: 9780399256639
Publication Date: 2011-11-10
Recasts the tale of Snow White, setting it in West Virginia in the 1940s with a stepmother who is a snake-handler. (J)
The Snow Queen's Shadow by Jim C. HinesISBN: 9780756406745
Publication Date: 2011-07-05
When Snow White's enchanted mirror is shattered by a spell gone wrong, unleashing a demon that shows people only ugliness and hate, Snow White becomes the first person to fall under the demon's power. (Adult)
Snow by Tracy Lynn; Mahlon F. Craft (Designed by)ISBN: 1416940154
Publication Date: 2006-10-24
The Duchess Jessica's childhood began with a tragedy: her mother's death. Her father, heartbroken at the loss of his beloved wife, could not bear to raise the child. Largely ignored, Jessica spent the first eleven years of her life running free on the family estate, cared for only by the servants. Then her father decides to remarry, bringing an end to Jessica's independence. At first her new stepmother just seems overly strict. But as Jessica grows into a beautiful young woman, it becomes clear that her stepmother is also wildly -- and murderously -- jealous of her. Jessica escapes to London. Going by the name Snow to hide from her family, she falls in love with an odd band of outcasts who accept her into their makeshift family. But when her stepmother appears in the city, repentant and seeking her forgiveness, Jessica will have to decide whom to trust with her life. (YA)
Tender Morsels by Margo LanaganISBN: 9780375848117
Publication Date: 2008-10-14
A young woman who has endured unspeakable cruelties is magically granted a safe haven apart from the real world and allowed to raise her two daughters in this alternate reality, until the barrier between her world and the real one begins to break down. (YA)
Snow White and Rose Red by Ed McBainISBN: 9780446601337
Publication Date: 1994-05-01
A mystery retelling turning Rose Red and Snow White into a tale of family drama and an heiress trapped in an insane asylum. (Adult)
Little Mermaid
A young mermaid falls in love with prince from a far. She makes a dangerous bargain to bridge their two worlds for a chance to happily ever after. In the original, the prince gets happily ever after with his love, but the mermaid sacrifices all in a sweet but melancholy ending. Disney gave her red hair and a happy ending. Curious how others have rewritten Hans Christian Andersen's original tale? Check out some of these retellings of Andersen's tale as well as a German tale of a mermaid named Undine by Friedrich Heinrich Karl , Baron de la Motte-Fouque.
Aquamarine by Alice HoffmanISBN: 0439098637
Publication Date: 2001-04-01
A love-struck mermaid named Aquamarine supplies adventure and insights to two twelve-year-old girls, life-long friends who are spending their last summer together before one of them moves away. (J/YA)
Haunted Waters by Mary Pope OsborneISBN: 9780763629953
Publication Date: 2006-07-11
After meeting the mysterious sea maid Undine on a bleak promontory and making her his wife, Lord Huldbrand tries to defend her from the faceless demon that haunts her, while he probes her strange ties to the aquatic world. (YA)
Mermaid by Carolyn TurgeonISBN: 9780307589972
Publication Date: 2011-03-01
A surprising take on a classic tale, "Mermaid" is the story of two women, one earthbound, one aquatic, in love with the same prince. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, it will make readers think twice about the fairytale they heard as children, keeping them in suspense until the very last page. (Adult)
Little Red Riding Hood
A little girl gifted with a red hood from her grandmother goes off to deliver lunch, but pays a high price for disobeying her mother. From the young children's version with a heroic woodsman to very scary or sexy adult versions, this tale has been a favorite through the ages.
Red Rider's Hood by Neal ShustermanISBN: 0525475621
Publication Date: 2005-10-20
After learning that there are werewolves in his city, a sixteen-year-old is even more surprised to discover the identities of the hunters who drove them out decades earlier, but he soon infiltrates the Wolves gang to help destroy them for good. Lucky for Red, grandma was an experienced werewolf hunter. (YA)
Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié; Mahlon F. Craft (Designed by)ISBN: 0689867166
Publication Date: 2004-04-01
Ruth's grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the "evil" that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning. Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth's life. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma's house. (YA)
Sisters Red by Jackson PearceISBN: 9780316068680
Publication Date: 2010-06-07
After a Fenris, or werewolf, killed their grandmother and almost killed them, sisters Scarlett and Rosie March devote themselves to hunting and killing the beasts that prey on teenaged girls, learning how to lure them with red cloaks and occasionally using the help of their old friend, Silas, the woodsman's son. (YA)
Little Miss Red by Robin PalmerISBN: 9780142411230
Publication Date: 2010-02-09
Sixteen-year-old Sophie's dream of meeting her soul mate during spring break in Florida seems to have come true, but she must determine if Jack is really the romantic hero he seems to be, or if ex-boyfriend Michael could be. (YA)
Twelve Dancing Princesses
Twelve sisters share a room and a secret. Each night they dance until they wear out the soles of their shoes. Many try to solve the mystery and many die while the mystery continues until a wounded veteran is able to use all his skills to save the princesses and claim one as his bride.
The Princess Curse by Merrie HaskellISBN: 9780062008138
Publication Date: 2011-09-06
Thirteen-year-old Reveka, an herbalist's apprentice in the Middle Ages, attempts to break the mysterious curse on the princesses of Sylvania and instead discovers a door to the Underworld. (J)
The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler; Yvonne Gilbert (Illustrator)ISBN: 9780061824982
Publication Date: 2010-02-02
Zita, cast aside by her father and raised as a kitchen maid, learns when she is nearly twelve that she is a princess and that her twelve sisters love her, and so when she discovers they are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them. (J)
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day GeorgeISBN: 9781599903224
Publication Date: 2009-01-20
A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse. (YA)
Entwined by Heather DixonISBN: 9780062001030
Publication Date: 2011-03-29
Confined to their dreary castle while mourning their mother's death, Princess Azalea and her eleven sisters join The Keeper, who is trapped in a magic passageway, in a nightly dance that soon becomes nightmarish. (YA)
Rapunzel
A craving for cabbage and an offended witch leads to a girl being raised in an isolated tower with only her long golden braid to allow her adopted mother (or anyone else) in or out. A prince to the rescue, or at least to seduction if you're reading the original, and many trials later there is a happy ending for Rapunzel, her prince, and their twins.
Zel by Donna Jo NapoliISBN: 0525456120
Publication Date: 1996-09-01
Zel begins to have thoughts of a life of her own and Zel's mother is fearful of her daughter ever leaving her, so when a young man accidentally meets Zel and they become attracted to each other, Zel's mother locks her away in a tower far away from everyone, especially the young man. Based on the fairy tale Rapunzel, the story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of each character. (YA)
The Fifth Rapunzel by B. M. GillISBN: 9780340568460
Publication Date: 1991-10-01
Simon Bradshaw's father, an expert witness at criminal trials, dies in a suspicious car accident after he testifies in a case against the murderer of five long-haired prostitutes, and Simon must find out why his father lied at the trial. (Adult)
The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. SheinmelISBN: 9780375861826
Publication Date: 2010-05-11
Connelly Sternin feels like Rapunzel, locked away in her Upper East Side high-rise apartment studying for the SAT exams, until she develops an unlikely friendship with her high school's Prince Charming and begins to question some of the things that have always defined her life. (YA)
Cinderella
An orphan left in the care of a cruel stepmother finds her prince charming with the help of a fairy godmother. Almost every culture has a similar story of a poor, but kind girl rescued from a hard life by a romantic hero. We all know the tale and there have been countless retellings of a poor girl or young women who is noticed by a rich, handsome hero and swept off her feet into a happily ever after. Here are just a few of the more interesting retellings of Cinderella's story.
Cinder by Marissa MeyerISBN: 9780312641894
Publication Date: 2012-01-03
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story. (YA)
Bound by Donna Jo NapoliISBN: 0689861753
Publication Date: 2004-11-02
In a novel based on Chinese Cinderella tales, fourteen-year-old stepchild Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude, as her stepmother cruelly mutilates her own child's feet so that she alone might marry well. (YA)
Along the River by Adeline Yen MahISBN: 9780385738958
Publication Date: 2010-09-14
CC suffers a bad fall and, in order to treat her injuries, she undergoes hypnotherapy that reveals her connection to an eleventh-century girl named Mei Lan, who defied convention to befriend a household servant who was a brilliant artist. (YA)
The Cinderella Society by Kay CassidyISBN: 9781606840177
Publication Date: 2010-04-13
After winning a coveted spot on the high school cheerleading squad, sixteen-year-old newcomer, Jess Parker, is still treated as an "outsider" by the majority of the student body thanks to the harassment campaign led by the popular cheerleader she displaced. (YA)
The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer CrusieISBN: 9780553593365
Publication Date: 2010-01-26
Daisy Flattery is a free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story. Why else would she agree to the outrageous charade offered by her buttoned-down workaholic neighbor, Linc Blaise? The history professor needs to have a fiance in order to capture his dream job, and Daisy is game to play the role. But something funny happens on their way to the altar that changes everything. Now, with the midnight hour approaching, will Daisy lose her prince, or will opposites not only attract but live happily ever after? (Adult)
Ash by Malinda LoISBN: 9780316040099
Publication Date: 2009-09-01
In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress whom she loves. (YA)
Rumpelstiltskin
A strange little man helps the miller's daughter spin straw into gold for the king, on the condition that she will give him her first-born child.
The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn; Mahlon F. Craft (Designed by)ISBN: 1416959432
Publication Date: 2008-06-17
The year is 1880 and Bertie O'Malley, a seamstress, helps save the J. P. Wellington family fortune thanks to Ray Stalls, a man from Bertie's tenement who creates stunning evening gowns in the night, but when Ray asks for Bertie's first born as payment, she never imagines that he is serious. (YA)
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. BunceISBN: 9780439895767
Publication Date: 2008-03-01
Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family's woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price. (YA)
Straw into Gold by Gary D. SchmidtISBN: 0618056017
Publication Date: 2001-04-23
Pursued by greedy villains, two boys on a quest to save innocent lives meet the banished queen whose son was stolen by Rumpelstiltskin eleven years earlier, and she provides much more than the answer they seek. (YA)
The Analyst by John KatzenbachISBN: 0345426266
Publication Date: 2002-01-29
"Happy 53rd birthday, Doctor. Welcome to the first day of your death. You ruined my life. And now I fully intend to ruin yours." When a mysterious letter bearing these threatening words is delivered to Dr. Frederick Starks, his predictable life is thrown into chaos. Suddenly, the psychoanalyst is plunged into a horrific game designed by a man who calls himself Rumplestiltskin. The rules: in two weeks Starks must guess Rumplestiltskin's identity and the source of his fury. If he succeeds, he goes free. If he fails, one by one, Rumplestiltskin will destroy fifty-two of Dr. Starks' loved ones-friends, relatives, children-unless the good doctor agrees to kill himself. (Adult)
Beauty and the Beast
An arrogant prince cursed to have his outside mirror his inner personality is challenged to win the love of a maiden before a magic rose fades or else he will remain a monster forever. But who could love a beast...find out in these funny and romantic retellings.
Beastly by Alex FlinnISBN: 9780060874162
Publication Date: 2007-10-02
A modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" from the point of view of the Beast, a vain Manhattan private school student who is turned into a monster and must find true love before he can return to his human form. (YA)
Belle by Cameron Dokey; Mahlon F. Craft (Designed by)ISBN: 9781416961314
Publication Date: 2008-11-25
Lacking her sisters' awe-inspiring beauty, Belle withdraws from society, devoting her time to woodcarving. Secretly Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree that, if carved by the right hands, will reveal the face of one's true love. During a fierce storm, Belle's father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood and encounters a terrifying and lonely beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart. (YA)
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinleyISBN: 0688154395
Publication Date: 1997-09-16
Beauty grows to love the Beast at whose castle she is compelled to stay, and through her love he is released from the curse that had turned him from man to beast. (YA)
Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes LackeyISBN: 9780373803286
Publication Date: 2011-10-18
Bella Beauchamps, the eldest daughter of a wealthy merchant, is attacked by a cursed nobleman after journeying into the forbidden forest and secluded in his castle where she is torn between her family and this strange man who makes her happy. (Adult)
Heart's Blood by Juliet MarillierISBN: 9780451462930
Publication Date: 2009-11-03
Anluan has been crippled since childhood, part of a curse that has besieged his family and his home of Whistling Tor. But when the young scribe Caitrin is retained to sort through family documents, she brings about unexpected changes in the household, casting a hopeful light against the despairing shadows. But to truly free Anluan's burdened soul, Caitrin must unravel the web of sorcery woven by his ancestors before it claims his life-and their love. (Adult)
Beauty Dates the Beast by Jessica SimsISBN: 1439188238
Publication Date: 2011-10-25
When a problem at the supernatural dating agency where she works leads to Bathsheba Ward going on a date with were-cougar clan leader Beau Russell, she resists the subsequent attraction between them as she hides a secret. (Adult)
And More...
We've listed just a few of the many folk tales and fairy tales that have been passed down through different cultures. The following are no less magical or worthy, but we did find fewer retellings of these stories. So if you are looking for something a bit more creative and off the beaten path check out:
The Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey; Mahlon F. Craft (Designed by)ISBN: 9781416971689
Publication Date: 2009-02-10
The Emperor of China summons a great army, and each family must send a male to fight. Tomboyish Mulan, who can wield sword and bow and arrow as deftly as an embroidery needle, is determined to spare her aging father and bring her family honor, so she disguises herself and answers the call. (YA)
The Swan Kingdom by Zöe MarriottISBN: 9780763634810
Publication Date: 2008-03-25
When Alexa's mother is killed, her father marries a cunning and powerful woman and her brothers disappear, sending Alexa on a long, dangerous journey as she attempts to harness the mystical power she inherited from her mother and restore the kingdom to its proper balance. (YA)
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet MarillierISBN: 031284879X
Publication Date: 2000-05-05
In this retelling of the Celtic tale "Swans", Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum, faces the difficult task of having to save her family from its enemies, who have bewitched her father and six older brothers while forcing her to choose between the life she has always known and a special love. (Adult)
Sweetly by Jackson PearceISBN: 9780316068659
Publication Date: 2011-08-23
When the owner of a candy shop molds magical treats that instill confidence, bravery, and passion, eighteen-year-old Gretchen's haunted childhood memories of her twin sister's abduction by a witch-like monster begin to fade until girls start vanishing at the annual chocolate festival. (Hansel and Gretel) (YA)
East by Edith PattouISBN: 0152045635
Publication Date: 2003-09-01
In this reimagining of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, a young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment. (YA)
Anthologies & Tales Retold Involving Elements of More than One Tale
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth DurstISBN: 9781595141569
Publication Date: 2007-06-21
When "The Wild," a dangerous world of fairy tales, comes to collect her mother, Rapunzel, and a dark forest swallows her hometown, twelve-year-old Julie has no choice but to venture forth into the unknown where she will have to face, fight, and outwit griffins, witches, and ogres in order to find her mother and bring her back. (J)
Fairy Tale Weddings by Debbie MacomberISBN: 9780778327028
Publication Date: 2009-11-24
Debbie Macomber lends her romance writing skills to revamping two classic fairy tales, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. (Adult)
Troll's Eye View by Ellen Datlow; Terri WindlingISBN: 9780670061419
Publication Date: 2009-04-16
Everyone thinks they know the real story behind the villains in fairy tales--evil, no two ways about it. But the villains themselves beg to differ. In this anthology for younger readers, you'll hear from the Giant's wife (from Jack and the Beanstalk), Rumpelstiltskin, the oldest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and more. (J)
Beauty Sleep by 
A Kiss in Time by 
The Sleeping Beauty by 
The Wide-Awake Princess by 
Snow in Summer by 
The Snow Queen's Shadow by 
Snow by 
Tender Morsels by 
Snow White and Rose Red by 
Midnight Pearls by 
Aquamarine by 
Haunted Waters by 
Mermaid by 
Red Rider's Hood by 
Scarlet Moon by 
Sisters Red by 
Little Miss Red by 
Red Riding Hood by 
The Night Dance by 
The Princess Curse by 
The Thirteenth Princess by 
Princess of the Midnight Ball by 
Entwined by 
Golden by 
Zel by 
The Fifth Rapunzel by 
Rapunzel's Revenge by 
The Beautiful Between by 
Cinder by 
Bound by 
Along the River by 
The Cinderella Society by 
The Cinderella Deal by 
Ash by 
The Crimson Thread by 
A Curse Dark as Gold by 
Straw into Gold by 
The Analyst by 
Beastly by 
Belle by 
Rose Daughter by 
Beauty and the Werewolf by 
Heart's Blood by 
Beauty Dates the Beast by 
The Wild Orchid by 
The Swan Kingdom by 
Daughter of the Forest by 
Sweetly by 
Sunlight and Shadow by 
East by 
Fables: Legends in Exile by 
The Rose and the Beast by 
Into the Wild by 
Fairy Tale Weddings by 
Troll's Eye View by