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On her sister's sixteenth birthday, Annie helped the palace guards search for illegal spindles, but before the day ends her sister falls under the bad fairy's spell and falls asleep for who knows how long. It's up to Annie, the sister with no magical fairy gifts whatsoever to bring her family and the rest of castle back awake and break the 100 years spell, otherwise she might never see her family again. First, she must go and recruit Gwendolyn's betrothed to kiss her awake and just in case, as many other princes as possible. But when any royal beings go near Annie they lose their magical luster. The princes don't look as handsome and lose some of their charms. Everyone looks a little older, and not as perfect, but she will do whatever it takes to bring her sister and the rest of the castle out of the wicked spell before the whole kingdom falls into ruins or... the wrong hands. The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker writes another fun fairy tale adventure for readers in 4th - 8th grade.
Life as a princess isn't always what it's cracked up to be, particularly when the Queen is mean and horrible. But when you are tricked into becoming a princess, it is even worse. Jane is whisked away to a strange castle by an odd new girl at school. Jane's summer vacation couldn't be a stranger adventure. She flies on giant bees, eats slugs and helps save the land of Staffa and her people. Though the book is quite quirky, THE LITTLE SECRET by Kate Saunders will appeal to fans of unrealistic/fantasy fiction. For grades 4 and up.
RAPUNZEL AND OTHER MAGIC FAIRY TALES selected and illustrated by Henriette Sauvant, and translated by Anthea Bell was a short but sweet conglomeration of some all-time favorite fairy tales and some I'd never heard. I was initially attracted to this collection of fairy tales because of it's size and beautiful cover page. I especially liked this collection because you could easily read these fairy tales out loud to a group of kids without losing their attention. The illustrations are gorgeous and tell a tale by themselves. A great book to read for grades 2 and up!
Julie, grandaughter of a witch, sister to Puss in Boots, and child of Rapunzel and the Prince. Wow! What a load to carry around, especially in this modern world where everyone thinks fairy tales are just that... tales. But Julie just grits her teeth and bear the burden along with her mother to keep The Wild from expanding and taking all the storybook characters back into its fold. But somehow, someone made a magic wish in the wishing well and unleashed The Wild. Her family, friends, and even the townsfolk have been pulled into repeating old tales over and over again and are trapped within the Wild. Julie has no choice but to battle the Wild for control of everyone she loves. In this second installment, Julie's father, The Prince, 
suddenly appears at her grandmother's motel. She had not seen him since she had to reluctantly leave him behind at the magic castle. What is the Wild up to? It has never willingly released a fairytale character before. Now it has taken over her town and captured her mother. No matter what she tries, it seems that the Wild is always one step ahead of her. Along the way, crossing the country, she enlists the help of other fairytale characters and a boy like herself until everything converges at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. And it is anything but a happy ending. Both books by Sarah Beth Durst are a fantastic and complex adventure woven into a world of fantasy and the modern headed by a spunky heroine who just won't give up. A great, fast, fun read for 6th grade readers and older.
