The Princess Tales, Volume 2

I loved Ella Enchanted and Levine's style of writing. This book has a collection of three different short stories by Levine that are imaginative and fun. All are simple and the characters fall in love easily. Gender is switched up in these tales where the typical role of the male is played by the female. Cinderellis and the Glass Hill--From the title, you'd think this is another story about Cinderella. It is in fact a story of a boy named Ellis who is nicknamed Cinderellis by his two older brothers. The king has devised a test to determine who is worthy to marry his daughter. All suitors must ride their horse up a glass hill and collect three golden apples from the princess. For Biddle's Sake--The fairy Bombina has a nasty temper and a love of turning people into toads. But she quickly repents when she accidentally turns her beloved Parsely into a toad and must wait for love to save Parsely. The Fairy's Return--The baker's son has fallen in love with the princess! He loves to tell jokes and has won her heart. But no one will listen to him, thinking him simple minded because only unintelligent people tell jokes. His goodness wins the help of the Fairy Ethelinda, but can he overcome prejudice and marry his beloved?

Lovely modern fairy tales with our daughters in mind. My 10 yr old has these tapes as well, and reads them over and over.

If you have little girls, Gail Carson Levine is an author you should know. Her stories are imaginative and delightful. My daughters love them and so do I.