The most recommended fairy tale books

This is the book that made my kids’ heads explode (not literally—this book is perfectly safe (as far as I know)) as it helped them discover the idea of parody: taking something familiar and twisting it in a funny, unexpected way.

We rolled and lol’ed together as we read Jon’s wild, hysterical takes on old fairy tales. The non-twist twist ending to his take on the ugly duckling story is still a running joke in our family. Jon’s The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs and The Real Dada Mother Goose are also great for the same reason.

Finally, a female heroine who isn't described as eating like a bird, dieting, or with an eating disorder. Dallas Townsend likes to eat, and when we first meet her, she attends the debut ball only for the food, not to meet anyone; she is already engaged.

The manipulative male character, Romeo, ruins her reputation within hours of meeting her and tricks her into marrying him. I thought I would hate him because he comes off like a bastard. Dallas and Romeo couldn't be more opposite of one another.

I thought this book would be darker, but a few pages in, I realized this romance would be more humorous than I thought. I hadn't laughed this much while reading a romance book in a long time, and I was so disappointed when the book ended.

The book surprised me in another way because I didn't expect to fall in love with… show more.

Gaiman’s fairytale-like writing gives it a nostalgic feel I didn’t even know I was looking for, and the idea that stars aren’t just big balls of hot gas, but people? That lines up with the idea that every star is an attendant angel, for me—or older ideas of religions past, that the stars themselves were the “visible gods” of our world, watching over us from the cosmos.

All fiction comes from something someone said before, and it’s one of the things I love most about fantasy. Stardust is one of those books that really just gives you the old-school whimsy and magic and romance that, when you’re trying so hard to think of something never-been-done-before, reminds you that there’s a reason stories like these are called classic.

This one is personal to me. I found this book when I was 8 and fell in love. Like: I have a tattoo from this book. And, yes, it’s about a princess, the very antithesis of a background player, but hear me out.

The Ordinary Princess takes place in a fantasy world that exists in conversation with the classical Western notion of fairy tales and fairy tale princesses. Except in this one, the evil fairy at the christening gifts the newly born, perfectly princess Amethyst (later called Amy) not with a death sentence, but the proclamation: You shall be ordinary. The twist? Amy loves being ordinary. Wants to be ordinary. Fights for the right to be ordinary, to be herself. It is deceptively moving and lives deep within my soul.

Mervyn Peake’s writing is unusual. In Gormenghast he creates a bizarre world of weird hierarchical rituals, peopled by eccentric characters, each one singular in a different way. What really brings this novel to life is Peake’s wonderfully rich prose, as he describes the destruction of an ancient social structure.

My cover of this heart-warming book is bright pink: it’s joyous, stands out on my bookshelf, and makes me smile. Even better is the inside.

The story is wonderfully uplifting, the writing full of both humor and pathos: a fairy tale written to lift your spirits and revive your belief in humanity.

I re-read this gem of a book after seeing the film. It’s beautifully written, and the concept of not giving up on your dream is an important lesson to us all. It’s only a short book, but I promise it will warm your heart and stay with you forever.

Ever been at a sleepover? The lights are low, the wind is rustling outside, and someone starts telling a spine-chilling story they swear is true?

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride gives those vibes. Rich and dark and a throwback to my old teen favorites like Down a Dark Hall and Flowers in the Attic, but adult and twisted and terrifying and beautiful. A fairytale in the true sense, with its midnight heart exposed, and at the same time lovely and lyrical. Like nothing else I read all year.

I loved this take on the classic fairytale, with the addition of the thirteenth princess hidden from the rest of the world and living as a servant. And despite all this, she still fought to save her sisters, taking on the role of the hero of the story instead of the soldier character in the original tale. It’s a fast and fun read, and one of the reasons I fell in love with The Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale.

As a child, one of my favourite stories, that went on to help shape my personal writing style, was The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis. As a care leaver I found the main characters, siblings who had been shunted between several foster homes because of the brother's psychic gift, relatable. The sister doesn't believe him - a brilliant source of conflict because all they have is each other, yet there's this huge wedge between them. But the best part is how well the author blends the magical with the mundane. There's a group of almost Lovecraftian creatures that can only be seen by those with The Sight, living alongside the villagers. I loved the idea of unseen people, just a shadow's width away, unknown things living side by side with a blissfully ignorant human populace. That contrast between the ordinary and fantastical had crept into a lot of my stories.

I may be cheating here. Rapunzel is an old-time fairy tale, and Cress is a science fiction re-writing of that story, so I'm going to count it in this list as "historical." This is the third book in Meyers' Lunar Chronicles and it is my favorite of the bunch. Cress (Rapunzel) is incredibly smart and completely naive to the world. Her romantic interest is a completely dopey bad guy, who you shouldn't waste your time disliking. The odd situations they get themselves into mirror, to an extent, the famous fairy tale. Lots of fun.