A Curse Dark as Gold

A Curse Dark as Gold
Author: Elizabeth C. Bunce
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN-10: 0439895766
ISBN-13: 978-0439895767




Do you love fairy tales? How about re-imagined ones? I do. I’ve always been fascinated by fairy tales and am always keenly interested when someone comes up with a new spin on an old tale. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I’m bored and sometimes I really love them. A Curse Dark as Gold completely blew me out of the water. Elizabeth Bunce took the tale of Rumplestiltskin and not only brought something completely new and innovative to the story, but also completely changed it around to something completely wonderful.

A Curse Dark as Gold is the story of Charlotte Miller, a young woman struggling to save the family mill. Charlotte is a fascinating character. Her inner turmoils, her thoughts, hopes and dreams are all completely normal with a few exceptions, but intensely interesting. She is one of the strongest female characters that I’ve read in quite a while and I found myself completely entranced in her story and routing for her all the way. She is no vapid ingénue and there is no greedy, gold-loving king.

The story is complex, magical, dark and deep. There is whimsy, romance, normalcy, struggles and of course, a curse. There’s a mill to save and the lives that are entangled in it. It’s more than just a mill; it’s the town that depends on it. The story is set in the England of the pre-industrial revolution age and it resonates with whispers of big conglomerates taking over the small business owners of today.

This is tight writing. Each paragraph is well crafted and fluid. The book had me on the edge of my seat throughout and I could not put it down. Highly recommended!

Book Description from the Publisher:

"If you'll allow me to demonstrate, I do think I could be of some help to you here."

I smiled tightly. "You'd have to be able to make gold appear from thin air to be much help to us now, I'm afraid."

"Gold, you say?" he said quietly. "Well, not out of the air, maybe, but--" He reached toward Rosie and drew a length of straw free from her hat. From out of a pocket in his jacket appeared an old-fashioned handheld drop spindle, the kind no one uses anymore, and he sent it spinning with a turn of his hand. Slowly, as we watched, he drew out the straw and spun it--spun it!

As if it were a roving of wool! Rosie and I stood there and watched him, moment by moment, as the spindle bobbed and twirled. Something pulled out from the brown straw and through his knobby fingers, and where it should have gone onto the spindle, the finest strands of gleaming gold threads appeared. Round and round the spindle went, and the gleaming of gold turned with it. I don't know how long we watched it, turning and turning, flashing gold with every revolution. I could not take my eyes away.

Wildwood Dancing

Wildwood Dancing
Author: Juliet Mariller
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0375833641
ISBN-13: 978-0375833649

Recommended for grades 8 and up

Wildwood Dancing is the amazing and spellbinding tale of five Transylvanian sisters that sneak out of their old Romanian castle – the Piscul Draculi on the full moon to go dance in the world of fairy. They dance the night away with trolls, giants, dwarves and other fantastic creatures.

It’s an interesting twist of two classic fairytales – The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince.

16 year old Jenica is the sensible sister who’s beloved pet frog Gogo sits on her shoulder and goes with her everywhere. It is Jena who narrates the tale and her voice is captivating. From the first page she captures you and brings you into the two worlds – hers and that of the fairy.

When the girls were very young, their father bought Piscul Draculi and set about restoring it. Jena and her sisters by accident found the portal that leads to the other world and for nine years they have come and gone with no one being the wiser.

This time however, something is different. They find that the Night People have come to dance and these scary people are very vampiric and monstrous. Jena immediately worries for her sisters but one of them Tati, is already in love with one of them, a sad eyed man named Sorrow. Jena is determined to keep her sisters safe and contemplates not letting them attend on the next full moon.

At home, not everything is as it should be either. Jena’s father is ill and must go away for the winter to warmer climes on doctor’s order. Capable Jena is left to run things with her cousin Cezar to help. Immediately upon her father’s departure, Cezar begins to try and dominate. He’s really a creep. He’s completely overbearing, chauvinistic and pushy. Jena is thwarted at every turn as he insidiously tries to take over.

Wildwood Dancing is a captivating read. Every page pulls you in and you care desperately for Jena and her sisters. I was on the edge of my seat all through the book dying to know what would happen while not wanting it to end. I loved the descriptions of the wild wood, the Night People, and the fairy dances. The story is one of intrigue, love and so much more. There’s a mystery to solve as well and I got so caught up in that. Nothing in this book is as it seems and everything is wonderful.

Chronicles of Fairie: The Light-Bearer's Daughter

Chronicles of Fairie: The Light-Bearer’s Daughter
Author: O.R. Melling
Publisher: Amulet Books
ISBN-10: 081090781X
ISBN-13: 978-0810907812

Earlier this month, I reviewed and highly recommended the second book in The Chronicles of Fairie: The Summer King and I couldn’t say enough good things about it. I hesitated a bit reading The Light-Bearer’s Daughter because I was afraid it wouldn’t be as good. Typically, sequels tend to disappoint me and I wanted so much for this one to be good that I dreaded picking it up.

I finally picked it up on a Sunday morning when I had errands to run, laundry to do and a closet to clean. I figured I’d read the first page and get on with my chores and go about my day as planned. From the first sentence, I was swept away and couldn’t put the darned book down. I literally gobbled the first two chapters, looked at the pile of laundry and the list of errands and begrudgingly put the book down only to grab it and run out the door with it in my bag. As soon as I got home, I picked up the book and didn’t put it down till I finished. Needless to say, I was doing laundry at midnight.

The Light-Bearer’s Daughter is the story of Dana, a pre-teen girl living with her single Dad in Ireland. Gabe her father is a poor musician and has decided to move back to Canada and take a teaching job there. Dana is angry and heartbroken. You see, her mother disappeared when Dana was just a baby and she fears that her mother will never find her if they move.

Once again the present day world and the world of fairie collide. A demon has entered the world and is seeking to destroy everything. The Fairie need help.

One day as Dana wanders about a section of the forest that is being threatened with development, she comes across a beautiful tree house where she finds a fairy queen who gives her a task to complete. If she can get a message to King Lugh by a certain day, he will grant her a wish on Lughnasadh, his special day.

What follows is an amazing and magical adventure. The writing is lyrical and exciting. I got so caught up in the beautiful language of the book. The imagery is so vivid, so gorgeous. The descriptions of nature, of leaves, of the smells and sights of the forest really leap off the page. The author’s love of her homeland shines through. It’s an amazing story and also makes a strong case against development and destruction of nature. I loved it.

Book Description from the publisher
The third book in this critically acclaimed trilogy, which Booklist described as “shimmering with magic, myth, and romance”

Dana has few memories of her mother, who disappeared when she was small. But she has always dreamed, despite her father’s discouragement, that her mother would come back one day. When her dad decides to leave Ireland and take a job across the ocean in Canada, Dana is heartbroken. How can she leave her home and the only chance of seeing her mother again? She runs away, high into the fairy mountains of Ireland. Following ancient paths, with a mysterious wolf companion at her side, Dana encounters a world of tragic enchantment and fairy romance, and discovers a great secret about herself.

With lush descriptions and rich Celtic lore, plus cameo appearances by characters from the previous books, this latest chronicle will satisfy fans of the series and entice new readers.

About the Author
O.R. Melling was born in Ireland and grew up in Canada with her seven sisters and two brothers. She is the author of many beloved fantasy novels, which have been translated into numerous languages. She lives in her hometown of Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, with her teenage daughter, Findabhair. Visit her Web site at www.ormelling.com.

The Flying Bed

The Flying Bed
Author: Nancy Willard
Painter: John Thompson
ISBN-10: 0590256106
ISBN-13: 978-0590256100

The Flying Bed is an incredibly beautiful book with an enchanting story. Newbery Award winning Nancy Willard tells the tale of the baker Guido and his wife Maria. Guido has inherited the bakery from his successful father but doesn’t have his skills. "Guido's icings were lumpy and his fresh bread tasted stale." Needless to say with that kind of baking going on, the customers go elsewhere, the business is dying and the couple is poverty stricken.

In desperation, Guido takes to selling just about everything they have to survive but when he sells the bed Maria puts her foot down. She will have a bed or she’ll move back home with her parents. So Guido heads off to find some kind of bed that will please Maria and be cheap enough for him to afford.

Guido takes a turn down an alley and finds a most unusual bed. It’s intricately carved and looks as if it were made for someone very rich. The shopkeeper tells him that the bed has chosen him and charges him nothing. Maria of course, is charmed by the bed and falls instantly in love with it. The first night however, the bed reveals is dark side and leaps out the window, terrified couple in to fly through the night sky of Italy. They encounter a Master Baker and things start to turn magical for the couple.

The Flying Bed is an amazing tale and the illustrations are just gorgeous. The paintings of the bed make it look almost alive and the aerial view of Florence is just stupendous. The book took my breath away. If you love art, Italy, and old fashioned fairy tales then this is the book for you. If you don't, you will after reading this. Highly recommended!

Cuentos que contaban nuestras abuelas (Tales Our Abuelitas Told)

Title: Cuentos que contaban nuestras abuelas (Tales Our Abuelitas Told):
Cuentos populares Hispánicos
Author: Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy
Illustrators: Felipe Davalos, Susan Guevara, Leyla Torres, Vivi Escriva
Publisher: Atheneum
ISBN: 1416919058



This delightful and fun collection of Hispanic fairytales is just wonderful. The introduction explains how tales change over time. The authors grew up hearing these tales as did I. It was fun to see the different versions of stories I grew up hearing. Each re-telling gives a description of the origin of the story. I read the Spanish version and loved it and I look forward to checking out the English version of this.




One of the things I loved was the list of tradition story starters and enders, the Spanish equivalents of “Once Upon a Time” and “They Lived Happily Ever After”. I always loved those when I was growing up. My favorite beginning was “En la tierra del olvido donde de nada nadie se acuerda, habia...” which means In the land of forgetting, where of nothing or no one remembers, there was…. My favorite ending to a tale was “Y colorin colorado, este cuento acabado” which really makes no sense, it’s a little rhyme that say something like and (I have no idea what colorin means) red, this tale has ended. Something like that, it really doesn’t translate but it always sounded funny when I was little and my grandfather said it, then clapped his hands once loudly, but enough of my memories.




The book is great. It includes my personal favorite, Blanca Flor as well as many others. The illustrations are fantastic, which is no surprise since the book is illustrated by four very well known Latino illustrators. My favorite illustration is on page 64. It is the most amazing and dreamy illustration of an indigenous boy grasping the feather of the pajaro de fuego (firebird) with one hand and the multi-colored mane of his horse with the other. The artwork is so amazing and ethereal that it just feels like you’re walking into another world.

I thought the book did best as a read aloud book. I loved all the stories and they were just so much better told out loud to a group of rapt little faces. My granddaughter loves the story of Catalina, La Zorra or Catalina the Fox. It makes her laugh out loud every time I read it. Another favorite of hers is El Castillo de Chuchurumbe which is a poem something like The House that Jack Built. I highly recommend this book either in English or in Spanish. I hope that the authors do a second volume of these!