A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales- ed. Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling 
Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where you are going.
A Wolf at the Door is a collection of fairy tales, retold and remixed by different authors. Some of the stories were more familiar ones: Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, Jack & the Beanstalk; but there were some based on stories that were new to me: The Twelve Months, the Goose Girl, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Gregory Maguire tells the "ever after" of Snow White from the point of view of the seven forgotten dwarves. Neil Gaiman's contribution is one of my favorites, a piece called "Instructions" about what to do if you find yourself in a fairy tale. "Becoming Charise" by Kathe Koja is a unique way of telling the story of the Ugly Duckling in a coming-of-age story.
It's a great collection of tales, aimed at the youth crowd, but one that adults will enjoy, too. I'll be looking for Datlow and Windling's newest collection Swan Sisters next. (And this reminds me that I should start reading some classic fairy tales to my daughter soon, or else she'll grow up reading all the remixed versions before she hears the originals.)
Fed to jonathan's brain | January 26, 2007
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