Tale as Old as Time: Fairy Tales, Mythology and Folktales Retold – a booklist for the 2020 SRP reading theme

In preparation for the upcoming summer reading program theme Imagine Your Story, I recently spent some time working on a comprehensive booklist of fairy tale, folktale and mythology retellings. I used as my starting point this great post from Epic Reads, the source of the graphic below. I had help from my friends and fellow librarians Rachel Strolle, who blogs at Rec it Rachel ,and Mary Hinson, who blogs at Mary Had a Little Book Blog. The original Epic Reads post appeared in 2014, so together the three of us worked to add new MG and YA titles posted since that date.

For the purposes of this post I looked at MG (Middle Grade) and YA (Young Adult) titles. This is probably not a complete list so if you have titles to add, please leave a comment and let us know what age group and category the title you are mentioning would fall under. Thank you!

Various Popular Series that Cover Multiple Fairy Tales

Disney’s Twisted Fairy Tales by Liz Braswell

• Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid)
• As Old as Time (Beauty and the Beast)
• Once Upon a Dream (Sleeping Beauty)
• A Whole New World (Aladdin)
• Straight on ‘Til Morning (Peter Pan)

Disney Villain series by Serena Valentino

• Fairest of All (Snow White)
• The Beast Within (Beauty and the Beast)
• Poor Unfortunate Soul (The Little Mermaid)
• Mistress of Evil (Sleeping Beauty)
• Mother Knows Best (Rapunzel)
• The Odd Sisters

Whatever After series by Sarah Mlynowski (Middle Grade)

• Fairest of All (Snow White)
• If the Shoe Fits (Cinderella)
• Sink or Swim
• Dream On
• Bad Hair Day
• Cold as Ice
• Beauty Queen
• Once Upon a Frog
• Genie in a Bottle
• Sugar and Spice
• Two Peas in a Pod
• Seeing Red
• Spill the Beans

The Grimm Series by Adam Gidwitz (Middle Grade)

• A Tale Dark and Grimm
• In a Glass Grimmly
• The Grimm Conclusion

Descendants by Melissa De La Cruz* (Middle Grade)

• The Islde of the Lost
• Return to the Isle of the Lost
• Rise of the Isle of the Lost
• Escape from the Isle of the Lost

The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson (Middle Grade)

• Disney After Dark
• Disney at Dawn
• Disney in Shadow
• Power Play
• Shell Game
• Dark Passage
• The Insider

Various Fairytale Retellings and Series by Fairy Tale

Aladdin

• The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury – Aladdin

Beauty & the Beast

• East by Edith Pattou
• Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
• Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
• Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
• Spirited by Nancy Holder
• Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier
• The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison
• Stung by Bethany Wiggins
• The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
• Beastly by Alex Flinn
• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
• Beast by Brie Spangler
• A Cruse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
• Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon (this book comes out in 2020)
• Everlost (The Skinjacker series) by Neal Shusterman
• Beastkeeper by Cat Hellison
• Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin) by Robin LaFevers
• Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
• Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston
• Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston
• The Queen’s Council by Emma Theriault

Cinderella

• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix (MG)
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (MG)
• Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Mature)
• If I have A Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? by Melissa Kantor
• Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge
• Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey
• Ash by Malinda Lo
• Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas
• Geekerella by Ashley Poston
• Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
• Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke
• Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas
• It Started with Goodbye by Christina June
• Bloodspell by C. J. Redwine
• Rogue Princess by B. R. Myers
• The Beholder by Anna Bright
• Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (this book comes out in 2020)

The Frog Prince (The Princess and the Frog)

• Cloaked by Alex Flinn
• Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
• The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
• Water Song by Suzanne Weyn
• Frogkisser by Garth Nix
• The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker

Goose Girl

• Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith
• Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
• Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Hansel and Gretel

• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu (MG)
• Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
• Bewitching by Alex Flinn
• Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs
• No Place Like Home by Christina June
• Between Before and After by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

The Little Mermaid

• September Girls by Bennett Madison
• Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
• Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
• Midnight Pearls by Cameron Dokey
• Mermaid: A Twist on a Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon
• Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
• Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember
• The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill

Little Red Riding Hood

• Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
• Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
• Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié
• Dust City by Robert Paul Weston
• Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
• Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June
• Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold (this book comes out in 2020)

Rapunzel

• Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
• Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett
• Towering by Alex Flinn
• Cress by Marissa Meyer
• Golden by Cameron Dokey
• Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
• Cress by Marissa Meyer
• Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale and Nathan Hale

Rumpelstiltskin

• A Curse As Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
• Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli
• Rump by Leisl Shurtliff (MG)
• The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn
• The Wishgranter (Ravenspire #2) by C. J. Redwine

Sleeping Beauty

• A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
• Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
• Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
• Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
• The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
• Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
• Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross
• A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
• A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas
• Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas
• A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas
• Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

The Snow Queen

• Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce
• Winter’s Child by Cameron Dokey
• Stork by Wendy Delsol
• The Shadow Queen by CJ Redwine
• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu (MG)
• The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
• The Snow Queen series by K. M. Shea
• Stealing Snow by Daniella Page

Snow White

• Beauty by Nancy Ohlin
• Snow by Tracy Lynn
• The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman
• The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
• The Serpent’s Shadow by Mercedes Lackey
• Nameless by Lili St. Crow
• Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (MG)
• Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
• Devoured by Amanda Marrone
• The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman
• Winter by Marissa Meyer
• Forest of 1,000 Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
• The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine
• Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Baghadoust
• The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C. J. Redwine
• Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis
• Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julia C. Dao

Snow White and Rose Red

• Blanca y Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
• Circuse Rose by Betsy Cornwell

 Twelve Dancing Princesses

• Entwined by Heather Dixon
• The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun
• The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn
• Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
• Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin R. Craig

Other Series related to Fairy Tales or Fairy Tale Like

• Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris (MG)
• Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (MG)
• Hamster Princess by Ursula Vernon (MG)
• Septimus Heap by Angie Sage (MG)
• Twice Upon a Time by Wendy Mass (MG)
• Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke (MG)
• The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer (MG)
• The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (MG, not recommended by several people for the way it discusses body image and racism)
• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdeah – 1,001 Nights
• Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh – Shahrazad story
• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – Grimm’s Fairy Tale (MG)
• The Princess and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (graphic novel)
• The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert – General fairy tale themes
• The Girl who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (MG)
• The Ever Afters series by Shelby Bach (MG)
• Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu (this book comes out in 2020)

Books about Fairies in General

• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
• The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa
• Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
• Need series by Carrie Jones
• Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
• The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
• Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
• The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black
• Mirrorworld series by Cornelia Funke
• The Spiderwick Chronicles by Ton DiTerlizzi (MG)
• Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
• Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith
• The Faerie Path series by Allan Frewin Jones
• Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paoini
• The Falconer series by Elizabeth May

Books about Dragons

• Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini
• Seraphina by Rachel Harman
• Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
• Firelight by Sophie Jordan
• Talon by Julie Kagawa
• The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede
• Scorched by Mari Mancusi
• The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d’Lacey
• Fallen Isle series by Jodi Meadows
• Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Aurelian Cycle (Fireborne is book #1) by Rosaria Munda
• Spark by Sarah Beth Durst (MG)
• The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill (MG, GN)
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (MG)
• Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells
• Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst

Books about Mermaids in General

• The Syrena Legacy (Of Poisedon is book #1) by Anna Banks
• Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
• Tempest by Tracy Deebs
• Waterson by Amanda Hocking
• The Siren by Kiera Cass
• Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli
• Waterfire Saga (Deep Blue is book #1) by Jennifer Donnelly
• The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler (MG)
• Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman
• The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova
• Undertow series by Michael Buckley
• A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
• Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell

Books about Unicorns in General

• The Unicorn Rescue Society by Adam Gidwitz
• Beasts of Olympus: The Unicorn Emergency by Lucy Coats
• The Unicorn Quest by Kamilla Benko
• Here There Be Unicorns by Jane Yolen
• Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
• Rampant (Killer Unicorns) by Diana Peterfreund
• Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville (MG)
• Mirrorworld series by Cornelia Funke
• The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horowitz (MG)
• Zombies vs. Unicorns

Classic Literature and Folktale Retellings

Alice in Wonderland

• Splintered by A.G. Howard
• The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
• Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
• Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes
• Heartless by Marieea Meyer
• A Blade So Black by L. L. McKinney

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

• East by Edith Pattou
• Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Mulan

• Reflection by Elizabeth Lim – Mulan
• Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1)  by Elizabeth Lim (Mulan)
• The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

Peter Pan

• Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (not recommended by Dr. Debbie Reese for harmful stereotypes of Native Americans)
• The Child Thief by Brom
• Wendy by Karen Wallace
• Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

The Prince and the Pauper

• Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Robin Hood

• Hood by Jenny Elder Moke (this book comes out in 2020)
• Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

Other Classic Lit Retellings

• Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige –– Retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
• The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins –– Retelling of The Singing Bone by the Brothers Grimm

Folktale Retellings

• Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste – Haitian folktale “the Magic Orange Tree” (MG)
• Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia (Mexican folklore, 2020 publication date)

MG and YA Retellings: MYTHOLOGY

African Mythology Retellings

• Zorah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
• Children of Blood and Boneod and Bone (Legacy of Orisha) by Tomi Adeyemi
• Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (African gods) (MG)

Asian Mythology Retellings

• Eon by Alison Goodman
• Prophecy by Ellen Oh
• Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
• The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F. C. Yee (The Monkey King)
• The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas
• A Thousand Beginning and Endings short story collection edited by Ellen Oh
• The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao
• Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
• Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Egyptian Mythology Retellings

• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
• Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner
• Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
• The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
• Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer

Norse Mythology Retellings

• Frost by Wendy Delsol
• Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
• The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer (MG)
• The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton
• Valkyrie by Kate O’Hearn (MG)

Greek / Roman Mythology Retellings

• Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner
• Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Oh My Gods by Tera Lynn Childs
• Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• Ithaka by Adele Geras
• Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
• Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Odysseus)
• Vengeance Bound  by Justina Ireland
• Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block

Hades and Persephone Retellings

• The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
• Everneath by Brodi Ashton
• Abandon by Meg Cabot
• Solstice by PJ Hoover
• Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
• Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
• Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Cupid / Psyche Myth Retellings

• Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
• Destined by Jessie Harrell
• Lovestruck by Kate Watson
• Only Everything (True Love #1) by Kerian Scott
• Cupidity by Caroline Goode
• Thwonk by Joan Bauer

Helen of Troy Retellings

• Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner
• Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
• Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney (MG)

Rick Riordan Books

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

1. The Lightning Thief (2005)
2. The Sea of Monsters (2006)
3. The Titan’s Curse (2007)
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth (2008)
5. The Last Olympian (2009)

The Heroes of Olympus

1. The Lost Hero (2010)
2. The Son of Neptune (2011)
3. The Mark of Athena (2012)
4. The House of Hades (2013)
5. The Blood of Olympus (2014)

Rick Riordan Presents

• Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
• The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes (Mayan gods)
• Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (Fox spirit)
• Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez (Cuban science fiction)
• Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (African gods)
• Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Navajo gods, not recommended by Dr. Debbie Reese)

As I mentioned above, although we put a lot of time and effort into researching this list, I’m sure we are missing titles and if you would like to add to the list please feel free to do so in the comments. Also, if you find any books that may be in the wrong category or that should not be on this list for one reason or the other, please let me know in the comments. You’ll note that there are a few titles on the list that have a note that they are not recommended, I chose to include this note rather then just leave the titles off of the list so that those who may not be aware of the concerns may investigate those concerns.

Filed under: Reader's Advisory