Gaiman's "The Sleeper and the Spindle" Gets A Holiday Radio Play Adaptation (Broadcasting Dec 26, 2020)

Where:  BBC Radio 4 is the station you'll want to tune in to - available anywhere in the world with internet access! (check the link)

When: December 26, 2020 from 3-4pm GMT for the permiere (Boxing Day, for all those that celebrate it), though it does appear it will be available to listen to after as well - BBC Radio 4 to confirm.

Who: Here's all the info on everyone involved from BBC Radio 4, as well as their brief synopsis in case you haven't read The Sleeper and the Spindle yet. (If you haven't, you may want to get on that... it's won a whole slew of awards for good reason. Plus Chris Riddle's GORGEOUS illustrative work is just *chef's kiss*!):

Neil Gaiman’s perfect Christmas-time fairy tale, brought to life by award-winning dramatist Katie Hims. Starring Penelope Wilton, Gwendoline Christie and Ralph Ineson as well as Neil Gaiman himself.

The Sleeper and the Spindle is a new tale drawing on traditional folk stories, interweaving Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in an enchanting drama that puts the women firmly centre stage.

In her mountain kingdom, a soldier-Queen prepares for her wedding day. Three dwarves, guardians from her childhood, race towards her. They were coming for the celebration, but they also bring news of a sleeping sickness sweeping the land. As a girl she survived her own long, magical sleep, so she throws on her armour, straps on her sword and rides into the heart of this new plague to try to find its source and save her people. The magical sleep is spreading from a castle deep in the forest. There, our heroine discovers a beautiful sleeping girl, and a very, very old woman, forever awake…. But when the Queen wakes the princess in the traditional way, she discovers that all is not as it seems. Ultimately, she comes to understand that she really can make her own choices, and follow the path to her own happy ending.

 

Written by Neil Gaiman
Adapted by Katie Hims
Directed and Produced by Allegra McIlroy

Recorded remotely by Sharon Hughes and John Benton
Sound Design by Sharon Hughes

The Sleeper and the Spindle was a BBC Audio North Production

Cast
Dame Penelope Wilton ….. The Narrator/The Old Woman
Gwendoline Christie ….. The Queen
Neil Gaiman ….. The Home Secretary
Ralph Ineson ….. The First Dwarf
Stefan Adegbola ….. The Second Dwarf
Ian Dunnett Jnr ….. The Third Dwarf/The Prince/ The Tinker/The Woodcutter
Cecilia Appiah ….. The Pot Girl/ The Young Girl/ The Mother
Emma Handy ….. The Maid/The Other Woman/ The Stepmother
Roger Ringrose ….. The Father/The Innkeeper/ The Bandit
Milton Dighton ….. The Child

As a little bonus, here's a behind-the-scenes video of Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddle talking about how the book began and their collaboration on The Sleeper and the Spindle. You're in for a treat. Enjoy! 

Juliet Marillier Retells "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in Audible Exclusive "Beautiful"

Yes - you read correctly: this is an ears-only story!

Most fairy tale fans have heard of Juliet Marillier. Ever since meeting Sorcha in the first book of the Sevenwaters series, Daughter of the Forest, still many folks' favorite retelling of The Wild Swans, she's been an author who guarantees a fresh, folklore-based and well-researched take on any fairy tale she puts her pen to.

This time she's tackled the popular Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and, true to form, the narrator isn't someone you'd suspect.

Marillier's look at the beloved tale is told from the perspective of one of the players in the story who was taken advantage of, then unceremoniously left behind as the main couple "get their Happily Ever After".

Here's the description:

Illustration by Anton Lomaev for the novel East, written by Edith Pattou

With the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon as her inspiration, Juliet Marillier weaves a magical story of a young princess' search for her true self.
Hulde is a queen's daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants.

Then a white bear named Rune comes to visit, and Hulde learns what kindness is.

But the queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement. Hulde becomes desperate to find out more and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue.

On her wedding day, Hulde's existence is turned upside down. For the first time she leaves the glass mountain behind, setting out to be as brave as the heroines in her beloved storybook.

The journey will test Hulde to the limit. Can she overcome her fears and take control of her own life?

Marillier posted this little insight on her personal blog:

East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Bev Johnson

Beautiful (the novel) is in three parts. Part one follows the pattern of the fairy tale, though the central character is not the white bear prince or the intrepid young woman who travels east of the sun and west of the moon to save him from a curse. Our narrator, whom I named Hulde, only had a bit-part in that original story. The novel-length version takes Hulde way out of her comfort zone as she heads off into the unknown world beyond the glass mountain, to find out what it means to make your own story. I really loved writing this book and I hope readers will enjoy it too. It has adventures and catastrophes and a dragon. Beautiful is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.  

One reviewer, Steff (Mogsy) at Bibliosanctum, had some interesting things to add about the book, which made us more inclined to consider taking the time to listen:

Hulde is what you would call the bit-parter, the forgotten one. Not the bold and indomitable heroine, nor the girl who gets the guy, she is in fact the troll princess, the quiet and unassuming daughter of the power-hungry Troll Queen. Marillier has described Hulde as “rather hard done by” in the original tale, so her novel was a chance to explore the character and her viewpoint in more detail. The first part of Beautiful tells of her childhood high in the mountain castle, growing up under the thumb of her temperamental and ambitious mother. Hulde is told that when she reaches age sixteen, she will be married to the most handsome prince in the land, though having been sheltered and isolated all her life, our protagonist isn’t really sure what to make of that. Her only friend—and the only one she’s ever had those kinds of feelings for—is Rune, the kindly white bear who only visits the castle every three years. 

Well, knowing the gist of the original fairy tale, you can probably guess what became of that relationship and how Hulde took it. Hard done by, indeed. After the introduction, I began to better understand the author’s fascination for the forgotten troll princess’ role in the story as well as her motivation to come up with the next chapter for her character, and I was glad to see that parts two and three of Beautiful did just that. Following Hulde after she finally steps out from the shadow of her mother, this book chronicles the epic journey of her self-discovery.

While Marillier did publish a novella-length version in the Aurum anthology late last year, this story, released in May 2019, is novel-length, and clocks in at 7+ hours of listening time. To date, if you want the whole story, this audiobook exclusive is the only way to go. (We hope that changes in the future!)

You can have a sample listen at Amazon HERE or at Audible HERE. It's free with a 30-day trial of Audible.

This Adaptation of Paul Gallico's "The Snow Goose" Is Magical & Haunting

Today we're sharing magic from the past, made accessible again via the wonder that is the internet.

We will admit, straight away, that given something to watch or listen to that's longer than a couple of minutes feels like a chore and "yet another thing to fit in" to our already busy days, but we urge you to at least try. Even just 3 minutes of this presentation will give you an idea of the magic of this production, even though it is barely the introduction to the story.
           
This incredible storytelling adaptation of the novella The Snow Goose: A Story of Dunkirk, by Paul Gallico, and was written by Spike Milligan and Ed Welch. It seems impossible to explain just how haunting and wondrous it is. Everyone we know introduced to it has marveled at how "fairy tale like" it is, yet it isn't, strictly, a fairy tale, though there is, most definitely, magic in this story, as well as the presentation.
                   
Spike Milligan is known largely for his humorous writing, both for children and adults, but this narrative adaptation he wrote for recording is sensitive, transporting and haunting, as is his storytelling.
                   
The music is, for the most part, a perfect match. Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ed Welch, the music sets the scene, the atmosphere and contains some of the most beautiful music you are likely to hear.
                             
In short, it's a masterpiece of wonder-storytelling that combines the arts of narrative and music while accessing the individual's imaginative sense in the most immersive way. More than that, it stands up to the test of time. You'd never believe this was released in 1976. It feels timeless and classic.
         
We hope that, being the weekend, you will have the opportunity to make the time to listen, in a quiet place, with no distractions, where you can be transported and be able to smile, cry and look to the skies for a glimpse of the sky princess.

The illustrations in this post are by Angela Barrett, who is well known for her fairy tale work, particularly Beauty and the Beast and Snow White.

Enjoy.

 

"Stardust" To Air Via BBC Radio (& Gaiman's Many Other Projects!)

One of a number of covers for Vertigo comics by Charles Vess for Neil Gaiman's Stardust

Neil Gaiman is one busy and prolific creator, there is no doubt, but even while he is busy promoting no less than two new books and six re-releases with new artwork, (all of which you can see below and will be of great interest to fairy tale folk), as well as giving his stamp of approval to the upcoming American Gods TV series (airing in 2017 for Starz), he always seems to have other projects bubbling away in the background.

See an amazing preview of the Troll Bridge graphic novel HERE.

We are guessing the hammer will not spin as the book sits on your shelf...

This is a re-release with Chris Riddell's illustrations
(who was critically praised and awarded for his work on Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle)

One of these that we'll be treated to in the Winter/Yule/Christmas Season, is a new, adapted, dramatized, audio performance of his story "Stardust".

The just-released new cover, painted by Robert E McGinnis.
While we're always happy to see more unicorns, Charles Vess' Yvaine and flowing ink lines
will always be iconic for us

Stardust is Gaiman's work du jour it would seem! There is a new release of the novel with a new cover by  - along with new covers for three other books of Gaiman's, (see below) and you did see Lisa Stock's lovely photo story posted a few days ago with Gaiman's blessing, correct?

Also painted by Robert E McGinnis

There's also a contest for those in the UK, to create some artwork to be featured as the front cover.

Charles Vess

The two competition winners will have their work featured as the episode image for the drama, as well as receiving a script signed by the cast. You’ll also get a beautiful print donated by Neil with a personal note. One winner will be selected from each of the following categories: entrants aged 13 - 16; entrants over 17.

Entries will be considered by four judges. They are:

• - Artist Chris Riddell - UK Children’s Laureate, political cartoonist for The Observer and illustrator for a number of Neil Gaiman stories

• - Actor Sophie Rundle - As the female lead Yvaine in Stardust, Sophie is close to the spirit of the Stardust story

• - Artist Sean Phillips - Sean has been a professional illustrator for over twenty-five years, mostly drawing comic books. He was the main artist on Radio 4’s Good Omens and has also worked for DC, Marvel, Vertigo and 2000AD

• Jeremy Howe, commissioning editor for Drama at Radio 4

You can find those details HERE.

Here's the cast list:

We hope BBC will see fit to broadcast this online so BBC - and Stardust - fans around the world will have the opportunity to hear it.

From the 2007 movie adaptation of Stardust, starring Claire Daines

"The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship" Read by Robin Williams

Unable to decipher who the artist is sorry!

I found this recording on Tumblr and had to share, once I tracked down a better version. I had no idea Robin Williams had recorded this fairy tale. He did this project the year before he played the Genie in Disney's animated film Aladdin. It's hilarious, classic. I don't think we'll ever stop missing that guy and the way he made us laugh...

This runs about 30 minutes and is completely suitable for kids to be listening to, in fact, that's recommended.

Take a listen:

Grim Before Grimm - A Brief (Audio) History of Cinderella, Rapunzel & Beauty and the Beast by Dr. Michelle Smith

Heckedy Peg (illustrated) by Don Wood

Here's a lovely little delicious dish for your ears: the history of three well known fairy tales summarized with their less-than-delicate origins intact (don't worry - the language is family friendly).

Each audio is very short, only 3 to 5 minutes long, and does a great job of entertainingly imparting the basic facts fairy tale students quickly learn about in their first year, and without overwhelming.

The text and audio is by Postdoctoral Fellow of English at the University of Melbourne Dr Michelle Smith.

First up, Cinderella (just click on the play button in the "box" to listen):

We know Cinderella as having a fairy god mother, but the earliest known version of the story features a ten foot long fish who grants her food, jewellery and fancy clothes.

 

 Next, Rapunzel:

Rapunzel has a saucy past says University of Melbourne's Dr Michelle Smith - a parsley sauce, to be precise.

 

And last, but not least, Beauty and the Beast:

The 'Beauty and the Beast' comes from a long European history of animal bridegroom stories where girls are wedded to bears, dogs, wolves, pigs, hedgehogs, snakes, frogs and sheep.

  

I hope you took the time to listen as it's well worth it. ( If you're short on time, you can easily do your Pinterest/Instagram/Tumblr browsing while Dr. Smith entertains you. ;) )

This special short series was released on Thursday by ABC Melbourne (Australia) to help promote a live broadcast (by Libby Gorr) for the Annual Children's Book Festival happening on March 23rd. More information can be found about the series and the upcoming live broadcast HERE.

I'd love to see (hear) more series like this! Brief, summarized, with a good sense of humor and especially, accessible to the general public.

Kate Greenaway's "Pied Piper" New eBook with Audio

Disclaimer: I was given free access to this eBook for the purposes of a survey and review. My thanks to Animusia for contacting me with the opportunity.

If you like The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning then you will probably be familiar with Kate Greenaway's lovely illustrations for the poem as well.

New eBook Cover

What's cool is that there's a new, high quality eBook (released December 21, 2011) that not only has beautifully reproduced high quality images that you can enlarge till you can see every detail of Kate Greenaway's lovely illustrations but a very special audio recording that makes the whole poem, and viewing the artwork, fresh again.

While having a high quality copy of the illustrations is worth the price in my opinion, it's the new audio presentation that takes this ebook from good to excellent and will keep you coming back to it. The poem is read beautifully by Stella Arman, a singer and vocal trainer, and it's possibly the best I've ever heard Robert Browning's Pied Piper read and presented. The music, Gordon Jacob’s Pied Piper suite for flute and piccolo, complements it perfectly. 

The combination of the reading, music and illustrations kept both my young son and I turning the pages right till the end. Frankly, I was surprised my son was initially so interested but he said it was really pretty to listen to. When the animation began with the children moving through the streets to the Piper's music he lit up and started asking questions about where they were going.

Unfortunately I don't have an e-reader of my own and was only able to borrow an iTouch to view it on but I imagine the experience would have been even better on iPad. On the iTouch the animation was a little jittery and there were initial download issues but that may just be because we didn't have the latest gadget available, even though we upgraded the software to enable the download in the first place.


We didn't use the text highlighting option but I think it would have been excellent if we'd had an iPad (ie a much larger screen) to view it with, as the audio appealed to my son so much I think it would have encouraged him to try reading along (he's just starting to recognize words and sound out new one).

I only have two issues with the eBook:


1) You have to go through iTunes to get it and I'm not a fan of iTunes for multiple reasons.
2) When you enlarge images, although the detail and quality is, indeed, excellent, the nature of the enlargement, in which you lose your view of the rest of the illustration, takes away from the experience. The one time my son lost interest is when we started enlarging things and he couldn't see the whole picture anymore. 



Children are big fans of details in illustrations - something Kate Greenaway specifically included in her Pied Piper illustrations on Ruskin's advice. When you're looking at details in a book the rest of the "magic" of the picture is still maintained and unfortunately this is lost in most eBooks I've seen, including this one. I know that's the nature of enlarging things in general but I have to wonder if maybe a magnifying bubble or similar enlarging tool that keeps the rest of the illustration visible in the background, might not be a better option, especially when sharing with children. 







Overall I was surprised I enjoyed this eBook as it takes something special for me to recommend one. I'm not won over (at least not yet) by most of the eBook technology available but this new eBook helped me take the reading experience one step beyond a book for my son with the addition of the beautiful audio and I can see us reading it again. For that it has my thumbs up.



If you'd like to add this to your library the current price is $7.99 (I suggest you take into account the excellent recording when you compare prices with other eBooks) and the link is HERE.

Fairy Tale News New Year's Bumper Edition: Music & Audio

• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - original soundtrack by Mychael & Jeff Danna - CD review . Excerpt: "...they’ve wrapped it into a seemingly traditional fairytale score sound of tinkerbells, lilting violins, soaring symphonies and Eastern European instruments. Except musically here it’s a sexy, LSD-influenced Grimm’s fable, preying on adult precepts of what “fairy tale” music is supposed to sound like..."

• Asian Folk and Fairy Tales Told by Christine Price (1973 LP) (Album cover pics + download link for the audio: three stories from the album - 1. The Valiant Chattee Maker 2. The Boy Who Drew Cats 3. The Great Stone Fire Eater)

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