There once was a witch who lived a broom cupboard. She was a wicked witch, and very grumpy too, as you might be if you had to live in a broom cupboard. To be precise, she was the sort of witch would use her magic to make you her prisoner for ever and ever. In fact, that's exactly what she threatened to do to Uncle Pierre, and if it wasn't for his friend Bashir, along with his magic fish and translating mouse, she would have succeeded! Elsewhere in this collection a giant loses his socks, a doll looks into the future and a potato falls in love with a sultan. In these tales, clever young people find nifty ways to overcome wicked witches, outwit their parents and save their friends. And there's a big dash of magic to help them on the way!

Absurd fairy tales, very sensibly told There once was a good little devil - did you read that right? Yes you did: not a wicked little devil but a good one, and boy, was he in a fix! Instead of doing bad things like forgetting his homework and playing tricks on his teachers, this little devil kept trying to be good. He did all his homework - and sometimes enjoyed it! He was never rude and he even encouraged sinners to say sorry. His parents were at their wits' end. So the little devil struck out on his own. On his quest to learn to be good, our little devil meets all kinds of people, from priests to police and from the Pope in Rome to Little Jesus himself. But will the angels let a little red devil with black horns into Heaven? In these thirteen tales, clever young people find nifty ways to overcome greedy kings, wicked witches, unlucky spells and even silly names. And there's a big dash of magic to help them on the way! In these tales, the giants, witches and mermaids of traditional fairy tales leap from the page, animated by a very modern spirit. Blessed with a healthy disrespect for authority, the author took great pleasure in upsetting the natural order of the fantastic.

Absurd fairy tales, very sensibly told There once was a good little devil - did you read that right? Yes you did: not a wicked little devil but a good one, and boy, was he in a fix! Instead of doing bad things like forgetting his homework and playing tricks on his teachers, this little devil kept trying to be good. He did all his homework - and sometimes enjoyed it! He was never rude and he even encouraged sinners to say sorry. His parents were at their wits' end. So the little devil struck out on his own. On his quest to learn to be good, our little devil meets all kinds of people, from priests to police and from the Pope in Rome to Little Jesus himself. But will the angels let a little red devil with black horns into Heaven? In these thirteen tales, clever young people find nifty ways to overcome greedy kings, wicked witches, unlucky spells and even silly names. And there's a big dash of magic to help them on the way!

This volume of critical essays explores global children's literary traditions and not just how non-US-centered children's literature is taught within college courses, but how it can be used to frame undergraduate pedagogy outside of the classroom.

When Kai is cursed by a magic mirror, he can no longer perceive goodness in anything - not his best friend Gerda, nor the roses in the garden. One wintery evening, he is kidnapped by the wicked Snow Queen and swept away to live for ever in her kingdom of ice. Friendless and shoe-less, Gerda must travel through inhospitable lands, with only crows to guide her and bandits for company, in order to find her beloved friend. And when she gets there, how will she melt the ice in his heart? Nearly two centuries after its first publication, The Snow Queen endures as a tale of love and loss, good and evil, and loyalty in the face of great hardships.

Red shoes, golden slippers, seven-league boots... Just step into the shoes of princes and princesses, ogres and orphans, cats and rabbits, and discover a fascinating fairy-tale world of footwear. Did you know that long ago Cinderella lived in China? That dogs in America wear boots? And that a small pair of shoes in France can fall in love? With original illustrations by Lucie Arnoux, this is a timeless and captivating collection of fairy tales and folktales, whose footprints have lasted through the generations, over the centuries, and all around the world.

A beautifully illustrated new translation of a beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale Six young sisters live in the depths of the ocean, longing for the chance to see the beauty of the earth. Most eager of all is the youngest mermaid, who counts the days to her fifteenth birthday when her grandmother will finally allow her to rise to the surface. Her first sight above the water is a large ship on which a beautiful prince is celebrating his sixteenth birthday. Immediately she falls in love, and so begins her determined quest to join the prince on earth as a human. Full of wonder and heart, The Little Mermaid remains one of the most powerful fairy tales ever written, and this new, gorgeously illustrated translation gives it renewed life.