A Wolf at the Door

The thirteen re-visioned fairy tales from some of contemporary fantasy's finest authors here are all welcomed and vital additions to the ever-growing body of revamped fairy literature, much of which has been edited by Datlow and Windling. While all the tales divert and amuse, of particular interest were Neil Gaiman's poem "Instructions," which provides essential edification in how to deport oneself when caught in a fairy tale; Gregory Maguire's (he of WICKED and CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER fame --- so puckery droll!) intriguing poem "The Seven Stage a Comeback" on what the Seven Dwarves do after Snow's prince comes; and Kathe Koje's take on the Ugly Duckling, "Becoming Charisse. This collection, aimed by the publisher at younger audiences, has much to offer readers of all ages and is essential to any collection of fairy tales, old, new, or both.

A Wolf At The Door and Other Retold Fariy Tales, was so funny. My favorite part was when the wolf thought he was supposed to be human. I really enjoyed this book and would recomend it to any reader, of any age.

As a big fan of the Datlow/Windling fairy tale volumes for adult readers ("Snow White, Blood Red," etc.), I was thrilled to see a volume I could give to my young niece and nephew, so that they too could discover the pleasure of re-told fairy tales, and see that there is so much more to these tales than the Disney versions for very young children. This is a great collection, as one would expect from Datlow & Windling. My own favorite pieces were Neil Gaiman's "Instructions" and Patricia McKillip's lyrical version of The 12 Dancing Princesses. And Kathe Koja's version of the Ugly Duckling ("Becoming Charise") made me cry. My 9-year-old niece votes for "Falada" by Nancy Farmer because it was so funny, and for Kelly Link's "Swans," because she liked the heroine very much. My ten-year-old nephew liked Katherine Vaz's "The Kingdom of Melting Glances" best because he liked the princesses with bacon up their sleeves! If you want to get kids interested in reading or to give them something magical and fun when they've run out of Harry Potter books, then I can highly recommend this collection. And as an adult reader, I enjoyed it too.

I purchased this book without even realizing that it was geared toward kids (Ages 8-12). I am a new fan to Datlow/Windling and had to add this to my collection. Am I glad that I did! This book takes some of the classic fairy tales and gives them a delightful twist. As I said, it is geared towards kids, so it doesn't have the adult twist that the other books do, but it is a great read for all ages.

Although this book is marketed towards young adults, it is really for all ages. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling are best known for their many editorial collaborations on collections of short stories for adults. This collection, however, is acceptable to a wider and younger audience. My favorite tales in the collection are by Katherine Vaz, Delia Sherman, and Patricia McKillip. All of the tales are wonderful and will expand readers' thinking about fairy tales and their presence in the modern world. A few of the tales are romantic and one by Garth Nix is gruesome. There are stories to fit all tastes. Each one is a jewel and my only regret is that more stories are not included. This collection is all too short.The stories in the book are: The Months of Manhattan / Delia Sherman -- Cinder Elephant / Jane Yolen -- Instructions / Neil Gaiman -- Mrs. Big / Michael Cadnum -- Falada / Nancy Farmer -- A Wolf at the door / Tanith Lee -- Ali Baba and the Forty Aliens / Janeen Webb -- Swans / Kelly Link -- The Kingdom of Melting Glances / Katherine Vaz -- Hansel's Eyes / Garth Nix -- Becoming Charise / Kathe Koja -- The Seven Stage a Comeback / Gregory Maguire -- The Twelve Dancing Princesses / Patricia A. McKillipYoung adult readers who enjoy this book may also like "Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird" by Vivian Vande Velde, "Teller of Tales" by William Brooke and "Truly Grimm Tales" by Priscilla Galloway.