I was thinking of doing picture books for a number of fairy tales. I was thinking that they'll be 48 to 64 pages, and probably at least 800 words. These will probably be harder picture books, so I wouldn't recommend them for very young children. I'm thinking about ages 6 to 9 is my target audience. I would prefer to do a fairy tale that isn't well-known to modern children. Which ones do you think are appropriate for kids? Which ones should I avoid? If these stories are inappropriate, what other obscure fairy tales could I use?
Here are a few ideas. I probably will use two or three:
The Bee and the Orange Tree - This is my absolute favorite fairy tale. It's about a princess who is raised by an ogress. She meets her cousin, a prince, when he is shipwrecked there. The two fall in love and later escape on the ogress' camel.
The Imp Prince - It features a prince who can turn invisible with the help of a magic red hat. He falls in love with a fairy princess who he saves the life of.
Princess Rosette - It's about a princess who wants to marry the King of the Peacocks, but gets thrown out to sea so her nurse's daughter can take her place.
The Benevolent Frog - It features a pregnant queen who is stranded in the forest and imprisoned there by a giant fairy clad in a lion skin. She is assisted by a frog who is actually a fairy.
The Iron Stove - It's about a princess who finds a prince trapped in an iron stove by a witch.
Dick Whittington and his Cat - It's probably well-known to British children, but I'm American, and here the story isn't well-known among younger people. Most of the picture books I've found for it are quite old. Will the character's first name be off-putting to parents? (I read the story before I knew that dick was a vulgar term.)
Alphege, or the Green Monkey - It's about a prince turned into a green monkey. (The Wikipedia article is short; the actual story is here: http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/030.htm)
The Flower Queen's Daughter - a Romanian fairy tale about a prince searching for a beautiful princess who is held captive by a three-headed dragon
The Boy Who Found Fear at Last - a Turkish fairy tale about a boy who goes on an adventure to learn what fear is.
Prince Darling - It's about a prince who is turned into a monster for his cruelty and he must work on being good to regain his human form.
The first four are by Madame d'Aulnoy, The Iron Stove is by the Brothers Grimm, Dick Whittington is an English fairy tale, and the rest are from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books..
Here are a few ideas. I probably will use two or three:
The Bee and the Orange Tree - This is my absolute favorite fairy tale. It's about a princess who is raised by an ogress. She meets her cousin, a prince, when he is shipwrecked there. The two fall in love and later escape on the ogress' camel.
The Imp Prince - It features a prince who can turn invisible with the help of a magic red hat. He falls in love with a fairy princess who he saves the life of.
Princess Rosette - It's about a princess who wants to marry the King of the Peacocks, but gets thrown out to sea so her nurse's daughter can take her place.
The Benevolent Frog - It features a pregnant queen who is stranded in the forest and imprisoned there by a giant fairy clad in a lion skin. She is assisted by a frog who is actually a fairy.
The Iron Stove - It's about a princess who finds a prince trapped in an iron stove by a witch.
Dick Whittington and his Cat - It's probably well-known to British children, but I'm American, and here the story isn't well-known among younger people. Most of the picture books I've found for it are quite old. Will the character's first name be off-putting to parents? (I read the story before I knew that dick was a vulgar term.)
Alphege, or the Green Monkey - It's about a prince turned into a green monkey. (The Wikipedia article is short; the actual story is here: http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/030.htm)
The Flower Queen's Daughter - a Romanian fairy tale about a prince searching for a beautiful princess who is held captive by a three-headed dragon
The Boy Who Found Fear at Last - a Turkish fairy tale about a boy who goes on an adventure to learn what fear is.
Prince Darling - It's about a prince who is turned into a monster for his cruelty and he must work on being good to regain his human form.
The first four are by Madame d'Aulnoy, The Iron Stove is by the Brothers Grimm, Dick Whittington is an English fairy tale, and the rest are from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books..
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