Fairy Tale Giveaway Blog Hop

The Random.org has spoken and it spoke the number "6" - that is Darlene from Darlene's Book Nook :-)

So, Darlene, I'll be expecting you to read the book and write a review and publish it somewhere and leave me a link to your blog in this blog. Preferably also this blog entry. :-)

But because there's only 16 of you, I'm going to send a little something to each and everyone of you :-)
I was a bit sad about the fact that most people wanted the new and shiny giveaways from other blogs, and so few of you wanted what I have to give. So all of you are extra precious to me, so I will send all of you a little something. (It fits in an ordinary letter.)

Send me your address to ketutar at yahoo dot com, and I will send you snail mail :-)

(Now, I said to Darlene, that if she can wait for her book for two more months, I can put on "mischievous baby animals", as the Swedish post office publishes such stamps, but I was wrong, they give those out in August... and that long I don't think you want to wait... but apparently there should be these. Those are stamps illustrated by a fashion illustrator Lovisa Burfitt, on the theme "write letters". Two of those on each envelope, what do you say about that?  So - if you have any preferences...? Let me know.)

"Twice Upon a Time" is a collection of re-tellings of fairy tales, edited by Denise Little and cover art by Yvonne Gilbert.

The stories included are
Spinning a yarn, by Jody Lynn Nye (Rumpelstiltskin)
How I came to marry a herpetologist, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Diamonds and Toads)
Puck in boots, the true story, by Connie Hirsch (Puss in boots)
Case #285B, by Esther M. Friesner (Goldilock an the three bears)
The Beanstalk incident, by Jane Lindskold (Jack and the Beanstalk)
Gilly the goosegirl, by Nancy Springer (The Goose Girl)
Fifi's tail, by Alan Rodgers (several)
The golden stair, by Richard Parks (Rapunzel)
True love, or the many brides of prince Charming, by Todd Fahnestock and Giles Custer (several)
Savior, by John Helfers (Little Red Ridinghood)
Wolf at the door, by Lupita Shepard (The Three Little Pigs)
The castle and Jack, by Tim Waggoner (Jack and the Beanstalk)
Baron Boscov's bastard, by Jacey Bedford (Cinderella)
The emperor's new (and improved) clothes, by Leslie What (The Emperor's New Clothes)
One fairy tale, hard-boiled, by P. Andrew Miller (mostly Rumpelstiltskin)
Feeding frenzy, or the further adventures of the Frog prince, by Josepha Sherman (The frog prince)
A leg up or The constant tin soldier (Gonzo version), by Gary A. Braunbeck (The Steadfast tin soldier)
Mrs. Myrtle Montegrande vs. the vegetable stalkers/slayer, by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (Jack and the Beanstalk)


My copy is from 1999 and I have read it. There are some boxed pages, and light creases in its back, but no stains or wear. It looks like any average once read pocket book.

Here's the Amazon.com's page on it
Here's a review.
Here's another review

It is not for children, there's both sex, drugs, violence and cussing - not bad, but enough to make this not for children.
The quality differs a lot, as does in most anthologies. My favorites are brides of prince Charming and herpetologist's wife, but there's a lot of good stories. I wouldn't mind if no-one wants to have this book. :-D

Happily N'Ever After II - Snow White, another bite @ the apple

I forgot I hated Happily N'Ever After I.
I forgot I hated the stupid creatures, Mambo and Munk.
I forgot how bad the animation is. (Compared to other contemporary animations. Barbie is better... and that's much said.)

But I'm glad I did, because "Another Bite @ the Apple" was better than the first one.

In this, Snow White is a spoiled, vain, egocentric brat. She lost her mother, who was good and kind, when she was just a kid, and now her life is all party, fun and looks. Her father decides she needs a woman's touch, so he decides to remarry.
There is this ugly girl who was told that the Queen was loved by everyone because she was beautiful, so she tried to be as beautiful as the queen had been. The Magic Mirror makes her that. She looks exactly like the Queen, and the King wants to marry her.

Snow White isn't happy about it, and mopes, so Lady Vain gets an enchanted apple from the Mirror. She gets Snow White to eat the apple. The apple doesn't kill her, it makes her share her innermost thoughts. This Snow White has something nasty to say about everyone living in the town, and Lady Vain lets everyone know what Snow White thinks about them, and they get angry and Snow White flees from the town.
(Remember, the apple didn't twist her mind, she really, truly thought that way.)

She finds her way to the Seven Dwarves, who remember well the Queen, and because of her they decide to teach Snow White a lesson, and they manage to make her change her shallow ways to being as good and kind as her mother had been. 
So she goes back to the town just in time to interrupt the wedding, and her father decides he doesn't need to marry anymore, now that Snow White has changed. Lady Vain gets ballistic and uses the mirror as a weapon.

Earlier Snow White had met "Sir Peter", an orphan who grew up in one of Queen's orphanages, and who adores the Queen, and doesn't much appreciate Snow White. Now, that Snow White has changed her ways, Peter noticecs that he likes her after all. When Lady Vain starts shooting magic around, he jumps in to rescue Snow White, and is knocked out of the way. (and he stays knocked out!)
Her father joins the battle but he is old, and is just about to fall, when Snow White joins him and steadies his hand. Together - even Mommy Queen gets to be part of the family union, as they use her picture to guide the magic flare - they break the mirror and Lady Vain is ugly again.
They are just about to hang her, when Snow White interferes and tells her outer beauty is not worth much, it's only inner beauty that matters, and the dwarfs agree to teach her the same lesson they taught Snow White.
Happy End.

Now, it wasn't anything one will regret missing... it's more the other way around. One might regret seeing it... Especially if one paid to see it.

It has a nice message - helping others is what makes you beautiful, not clothes and make-up and hairdo.

Also, the villain, even though she tried to kill Snow White, is not evil, just misguided, and there's hope for her.

Animation, as said, was pretty bad.

The king is a poor version of the king in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, and he wears Burger King crown...

The wedding is accompanied with Wagner's wedding march, the bride is wearing a white dress, and the priest reads the Christian wedding ceremony... I suppose people wouldn't know otherwise that it's a question of a wedding.
And even though the prince... er... Sir Peter, the orphan, I meant, had to fetch Snow White to the wedding, and found her in the middle of the forest fixing Humpty Dumpty, and then they galloped back to the castle and had to get over hurdles to get to the church in time, Humpty Dumpty, and everyone else was in the church already... just in time to witness in favor of Snow White, when Lady Vain claimed she hadn't changed.

But if you can ignore such small details, it's not a bad movie.
It's not good either.

(Made 2009 by BAF (Berlin Animation Films)