'Kindle In Motion' Brings Seven Gorgeously Illustrated Grimm Tales To Life

The Brothers Grimm: Illuminated Fairy Tales, Vol. 1 [Kindle in Motion] Kindle Edition

We only just discovered this wonderfully illustrated fairy tale e-collection, possibly because we prefer paper books for reading and holding, but the whole project appears beautifully done, and the audio sample is pretty nice too.

 

When e-books eventually make the transition to 'digital paper', (so you can carry one full size book and just re-load it with the novel or volume you want to read that day, still being able to turn pages etc) these sorts of moving books are exactly what we would love to add to our collection!

 

Here's the blurb for The Brothers Grimm: Illuminated Fairy Tales, Vol. 1 [Kindle in Motion]:

From “Rapunzel” to “Hansel and Gretel,” Grimm’s Fairy Tales have enchanted readers for generations. This dramatic Kindle in Motion edition presents seven classic stories—each restored to its original version and reimagined with modern digital illustrations. 

 

Each tale is lovingly portrayed by a different artist: Kali Ciesemier’s vibrant colors animate the thorny path of “Briar Rose.” The sinister course of “Hansel and Gretel” takes a twist in the candy hues of Peter Diamond. Daniel Krall’s richly detailed line work shines amid the wickedly dark “The Juniper-Tree.” Nicolas Rix’s charming storybook style delights in “The Frog-Prince or Iron Henry.” Ashley Mackenzie’s golden tones light up the ball in “Cinderella.” Horses, ducks, and birds turn macabre in Wesley Allsbrook’s wildly gestural portrayal of “The White Snake.” And Rapunzel lets down her hair in Rovina Cai’s hauntingly beautiful drawings. 

Experience the iconic classics you know and love, lavishly illustrated to breathe new life into age-old tales.

 

Did you take note of those illustrator names? No wonder this looks so good!

And a quick (re)listing of the fairy tales:

• Briar Rose
• Hansel and Gretel
• The Juniper Tree
• The Frog Prince or Iron Henry
• Cinderella
• The White Snake
• Rapunzel

And in case you're wondering, these are the Grimm versions, not watered down 'Disney-fied' versions, but at the same time beautifully told with a lovely storyteller feel. (Audio preview is also available on the Amazon page.)

 

A note about viewing options for those who don't have an actual Kindle device:

 This book can be read on any device, including Kindle E-readers. Kindle in Motion books include art, animation, or video features that can be viewed on certain Fire tablets and the free Kindle app for iOS and Android. You can switch features on or off at any time. 

There are a number of other 'Kindle in Motion' books available that might interest readers as well. The Amazon page shows previews of the animation. Each title is linked to its respective page: 

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• The Secret Garden
• The Wind in the Willows
• Off To Be The Wizard
• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Black Beauty

"Beauty & the Beast" - Interactive Bedtime Storybook (for iPad)

Have you seen this?

Developed in Melbourne Australia, it's one of the most fun-looking - and beautiful - storybooks I've seen (and it's a few years old now!). I had seen image shots but didn't realize the level interactivity till looking at it again recently.

I've included a video so you can see what I mean, but first, a description:
Beauty and the Beast HD brings to life Walter Cranes sensational original illustrations, combining them with tilt and touch controlled physics elements, touch animations, drag-able character cutouts and a whole array of fantastic sound effects. A fairytale picture book that stays true to its gritty origin, complete with soothing music, antique visual style and beautiful art work presents a truly gorgeous addition to your digital book collection. 

Lay back, relax and experience this fantastic, incredibly rare 138 year old version of Beauty and the Beast reimagined for the iPad. 
Beauty and the Beast HD brings to life Walter Cranes sensational original illustrations, combining them with tilt and touch controlled physics elements, touch animations, drag-able character cutouts and a whole array of fantastic sound effects.
Inspired by a love of books, we have carefully retain the original and authentic published text.
A fairytale picture book that stays true to its gritty origin, complete with antique visual style and the soothing music of Georg Philip Telemann, making this book app a truly gorgeous addition to your digital book library.

Features:
★ Beautifully rendered illustrations
★ Lute performed by Jon Sayles
★ Music performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein & Elias Goldstein.
★ Fun and enchanting interactive compositions
★ Artwork reproduce from high-resolution archival scans

And here's the video (note - I'm fairly sure this music isn't the same that's included, but just for a fun preview):

You can find the interactive storybook app HERE.

Review: Metalalia - "A Multimedia Fairy Tale Experience" by Stace Dumoski

"Metalalia - A Multimedia Fairy Tale Experience"

Review by Stace Dumoski

Editor's Note: Stace was brave enough to take on an unusual request - not just an ebook but a multimedia ebook at that, and it's clear she was just the right person for the job. (I'm also very much looking forward to her future reviews.) And in case you're wondering, what Metalalia means: "Metalalia comes from the Ancient Greek words meta, meaning ‘after’, and lalia, meaning ‘stories told’. It accurately describes the stories we are telling: original stories influenced by the thousands of fairytales, folktales and myths that have gone before, and re-imaginings of those bygone tales adapted to serve the needs of our time." (Note: image above is from Metalalia's "The River Girl".)

Description:

Metalalia: Mixed Media Fairytales for Phones and Tablets Metalalia is a unique multimedia e­reader, an immersive storytelling experience featuring - - High­ definition art, narration and music - Launched in December 2014 - Free to download, includes one free story - Additional stories available for in­app purchase with new content to be released monthly An ever growing library of stories, Metalalia contains bold retellings of classic tales in dynamic new settings. The app offers an experience unlike any other and the ability to customise how you enjoy your story.

Founded by LA­based musician Pam Shaffer, Metalalia combines Pam's signature haunting melodies with stories by the NESTA award­winning British writer Alex Nicholson alongside art from a team of accomplished visual artists and app developer Adam Schwem, known for his work on Shazam and Music ID.

I have been fascinated with the possibilities of digitally-assisted narrative ever since Captain Picard first walked onto the holodeck, so I was very excited to be given the opportunity to review Metalalia, an app designed for Apple's iPhone and iPad that presents original fairy tales as a multimedia experience. The app is the creative project of writer Alex Nicholson and musician Pam Shaffer, who collaborated with various composers, artists and programmers to create this digital storybook, which they envision as "an illuminated manuscript, but for the iPad."

It's important to point out Metalalia is not a single story, but an engine for presenting various tales produced by the authors. The free download includes one story, and there are currently three additional titles available for purchase at $2.99 each.

The app itself is very clean and intuitive to use. It opens with the image of a rustic bookcase from which you select the story you wish to read. Once the story begins, readers swipe the screen to turn the page, and can toggle text, music, and narration on or off, giving them complete control over the storytelling experience. On a technical level, the experience was flawless, and I'd like to see more storytelling experiments in this format.

The "fairy tale" that accompanies the download of Metalalia is a Rapunzel-inspired story called "The Hair-Woven Rope." I didn't think to time it, but the story lasts about 15 minutes, if you play the narration. It starts off well, with a fortress on a floating island and an unnamed protagonist locked away in a tower by her father. It features seven illustrations by artist Amy Faigin, and a lovely piano score by Shaffer. It's a fine, feminist adventure tale in which the heroine manages to escape her unhappy situation by her own devices (I'm sure you can guess how from the title of the story). It's a story I'd be happy to share with my own kids, but I'd say more "fairy tale inspired" than an actual fairy tale itself.

"The Wind-Up Boy" is a steampunk version of Pinocchio, in which the title character is created not to fulfill his father's desire for a child, but as an automated soldier for an ongoing war with a neighboring country. While the original Pinocchio is a moral tale that promises rewards for good behavior, Metalalia's version feels like it was intended to be a parable about the dehumanizing effects of war. Jiminy Cricket envisioned as a propaganda-spouting electronic "locust" is a particularly intriguing idea. (Editor: That IS intriguing! What a great concept.) I wanted this story to be longer, and for the author to spend less time echoing the events and characters of the original novel, and more time exploring the heart of the Wind-Up Boy. The adventure ends abruptly without him ever being tested, or having a chance to come to terms with his place in the world, and I found myself swiping my screen to look for more.

Shaffer and Nicholson promise more stories "featuring music and visual art set to original and reimagined fairytales and myths featuring LGBTQ characters, POC and disabled people." From the descriptions available about the other stories available for purchase, it seems like the fairy tale elements might be a little stronger than the story I read. Anyone who is looking for more stories like these should visit the Metalalia website for more information, or go HERE to the iTunes store for the app.

Note: You can see a video HERE of Metalalia in preview mode.
Disclosure: Complimentary copies of some of the stories were provided by Metalalia in exchange for an honest review.

Stace Dumoski is a professional content writer, aspiring fantasy novelist, and lover of all things magical and fantastical.  She has an undergraduate degree in Medieval Studies and has undertaken formal study in Folklore and Mythology and helmed the website "Phantastes: The Online Journal of Fantasy Criticism" which was listed three years running in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology. In joining the OUABlog review posse, she brings her extensive skills to report on some of her favorite subjects. You can find her magic filled blog HERE.

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.

"The Frog Prince's Daughters" - new eBook

Australian author Wendy Palmer has just written and published (through a small e-books publisher*) a fairy tale novel, based on, you guessed it, "The Frog Prince". It's currently available in multiple eBook formats for $1 until August 14th through distributor 'eBooks Just Published' (when the price goes to $3.99).

It will also be available at that time in print through Amazon.com.*

The lovely cover is by artist Andreas Reh (cover design by Karen Leabo*. Unfortunately, I'm unable to find a website for her.

Summary of "The Frog Prince's Daughters", from the author's website:

Anura is a fairytale princess whose prince won’t come. When a wizard shows up instead and tries to kill her, her stubborn cousin Rana decides it’s time to make the tardy prince show up, any way she can. With Anura and her stepmother, Amaryths, Rana sets out on a fairytale quest. But the wizard hasn’t given up…

It's received some good reviews including the one below:

Author Wendy Palmer has fun playing with the structure and internal rules of the fairy tale, while introducing clever plot twists, developing a growing romance between Rana and the wizard, and delivering a solid adventure. The fairy tale is a well-established source of inspiration for fantasy authors, and Wendy Palmer definitely rivals the very best of them. Highly entertaining.

You can read the Prologue HERE.

We need more authors making their fairy tales so available to us!

CORRECTIONS ADDED 7-31-09: This book is NOT self-published as I originally understood. She published with a small e-books publisher 'Books for a Buck' instead.

The cover DESIGN is by Karen Leabo but the artist is Andreas Reh (www.andreasreh.com.de was the URL given but the address does not seem correct)

Thank you to Ms. Palmer for clarifying these points in her comment!