Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairy Tales from the Storybag

A Magic Beans Story

by Jacqueline Wilson, Adèle Geras, Michael Morpurgo

Magic beans. Sow them. Plant them. Watch children grow.

'If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!' - Shel Silverstein, Poet

Each and every one of the stories in this anthology is a magic bean: a wondrous tale that will capture your imagination. Prepare to be dazzled by Rapunzel's golden tresses. Prepare to be moved by the suffering of the Little Mermaid. Prepare to laugh yourself silly as 'Mr Sultana' struggles to get the better of a little red rooster!

Lovingly crafted by the finest authors and illustrators, these 'magic beans' will delight, thrill and thoroughly entertain

Genres: Fairy Tales, Short Stories, Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings

448 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled, “A Handful of Fairy Tales from the Storybag,” this is a delightful collection of fairy tales, re-told by some of the best children’s authors currently writing. The list of contents are:

The Six Swan Brothers by Adele Geras
The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Anne Fine
Hansel and Gretel by Henrietta Branford
Rapunzel by Jacqueline Wilson
Aesop’s Fables by Malorie Blackman
Mossycoat by Philip Pullman
The Seal Hunter by Tony Mitton
Grey Wolf, Prince Jack and the Firebird by Alan Garner
The Snow Queen by Berlie Doherty
The Goose Girl by Gillian Cross
Rumpelstiltskin by Kit Wright
Cockadoodle-doo,, Mr Sultana! By Michael Morpurgo
The Three Heads in the Well by Susan Gates
The Little Mermaid by Linda Newbery

I purchased this collection for my eight year old daughter, who has recently found a new interest in the fairy tales she loved when she was very small and wanted a version for slightly older children – but not a huge gift book that she finds unwieldy to hold. This is a hardback book, but is the size of a large paperback, so she can hold it easily. There are some black and white illustrations, mainly in a pretty border, which runs along the bottom of the page. She has really enjoyed reading these stories and her favourites are Aesop’s Fables and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

However, just be aware that some of the stories are much more in the spirit of the originals and there is some content which certain parents may be uncomfortable with - there is some violence and implied sexual content (for example Rapunzel becomes pregnant). Now, if you have read any original fairy tales, such as the Grimm brothers, then these are certainly not as dark, but if you have never strayed outside of the Ladybird editions, then be aware that this really is more in the spirit of the original tales than any Disney version you may come across. Of course, some of us think that is a good thing and these stories are really very well written and have much more depth than many collections of fairy tales for young children.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reworking the classics:

This is Such a Lovely book containing some much loved classics. My Niece loves this Book and even though she was familiar with the stories, they were still of interest as the authors have added much more detail. Would highly recommend!

[Martina Sanjaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

old fairy tales told in abbreviated form, yet still retained their beauty and original line of story. good for those who wants to know the story but need to skip the flowery descriptions. for those who tell the story for their kids, one story per night.
still, i prefer the original, full-embelished version.

[MICHELLE]

bad