Five Fairy Tale (parodies) Worth Reading

Recently I have had the joy of reading the conclusion to a series that I have long enjoyed. True, it took me nearly two years to realize that this particular book had been published, and several months after purchasing the book to actually read it. (Quite simply, that is what happens when your to read list five pages long. Yes, I have a physical list of books to read which is five pages long.) This book, while not exactly a "fairy tale" parody, sparked the topic for today's post.

Since you are all probably chomping at the bit to know what the book I read was, it was "I Shall Wear Midnight" by Terry Pratchett.

I have long been a fan of Mr. Pratchett, and this series introduced me to him. Oddly enough the third book was the one that I read first. What can I say, I got "Wintersmith" for free at the library and on the book list inside the books were listed in the opposite order there meant to be read. That list lead me to believe that "Wintersmith" came first and "The Wee Fee Men" last. The Tiffany Aching books are a great series to get to know Terry Pratchett by. (I'll have you know that that preposition is perfectly legal.) It is also great for anyone who already likes Terry Pratchett. I would highly recommend the series for anyone who likes rollicking books which also bless you with being thoughtful. As I said before, the Tiffany Aching series is not really a parody on fairy tales, but anyone who has ever read Terry Pratchett knows he writes in a satirical tone, and this series is almost a parody on epic fantasies.

This next is a book that is a favorite of my sister Katy. It is "Ella Enchanted"

This book is a parody of the well known fairy tale Cinderella. It is a wonderful rendition and manages to capture the original story while being, well, original. I feel the need to mention the works of the author in their entirety as Gail Carson Levine has written several great books, many of them being other fairy tale parodies.

Mmmm, maybe I should not have used the term fairy tale in the title, as the next book is once again not a parody of a fairy tale, but actually of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." The book is "Bad Prince Charlie."

I enjoyed "Bad Prince Charlie" but not enough to check out John Moore's other books, a few of which I am fairly certain are actually parodies of fairy tales. I might see to more of his books, one day, when my to read list gets down to a couple pages instead of five. The book "Bad Prince Charlie" is one of the most rollicking kind of parodies that I have read. Every page was chock full of mocking and ridiculous characters. As far as I could tell there wasn't some deep message though that many parodies try to have.

While the next series is aimed at a younger audience, the books are still a good read. "The Frog Princess."

These books simultaneously makes fun of many of the cliches in fairy tales, but embraces the overall idea of magic and greatness one finds in fairy tales. They are great quick read, books for a younger audience, and good read out loud books.

The last and final book is "The Runaway Princess."

And also don't forget to check out the sequel "The Runaway Dragon." Once again this book book targeted at a younger audience, but do you know what? I like books for younger readers, and I don't care who knows it. I might be a bit more inclined to read books for older people, but the only real difference between kid books and books for adults are the ratings they would need to put on them...if you know what I mean.