Adventure Stories for Daring Girls

by Samantha Newman

This beautifully illustrated, full-colour hardback gift edition brings together a thrilling and inspiring collection of 15 classic children's stories. These narratives from around the world showcase strong, charismatic, independent female protagonists who know their own minds, and make their own decisions.Meet Dorothy Gale, who freed faraway Oz from a terrible tyrant; Hua Mulan, who became a mighty warrior, legendary throughout ancient China; clever and powerful goddess Athena of Greek myth, who went toe-to-toe with Poseidon; and many more. These heroines certainly aren't reduced to waiting at home while boys have adventures ... they strike out on their own with self-confidence, imagination, wit, and courage. They live without restraint or narrowly defined roles.Inspire the world-changing women of the future to dream big, by fuelling their imaginations with relatable and aspirational role models. A book that belongs on every girl's bookshelf; ideal for children aged 8+.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Picture Books, Anthologies, Young Adult, Retellings

Hardcover

First published July 31, 2020

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on the tails of Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls, this is another collection from the author, Samantha Newman. This includes fifteen reconceptualized tales for young children (ages 7 – 11) from all over the world with some dazzling illustrations by Khoa Le.

The stories included are:
Gerda and the Snow Queen – Adapted from The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
Hua Mulan, the Noble Warrior – Adapted from Ballad of Mulan by Guo Maoqian
Heidi’s New Adventures - Adapted from Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Adapted from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Tale of Athena’s Great Conquest A Traditional story from Ancient Greece
Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz - Adapted from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Hinemoa’s Great Swim A Traditional Māori Story from New Zealand
Chimidyue and the Butterfly A Traditional Ticuna Story from South America
The Fountain, the Oven, and the Goddess A Traditional Folk Tale from Romania
The Tale of Odette, the Swan Maiden - Adapted from Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Lykke, the Little Mermaid - Adapted from The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Guimara, the Giant Princess - Adapted from Tales of Giants from Brazil by Elsie Spicer Eells
The Maiden and the Falcon - Adapted from The Feather of Finist the Falcon by Alexander Afanasyev
Céline, Kitchen Queen - Adapted from Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault
Princess Kaguya’s Great Adventure Adapted from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter a tenth-century Japanese story

While these stories vary, the overall theme is destined to encourage young girls to become strong, self-determining young women, capable of knowing and understanding their own thoughts, and of determining their own future.

Inspiring stories along with gorgeous illustrations by Khoa Le, these stories will be read again and again by daring and brave young women.

Published: 31 Jul 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

SOME GOOD STORIES FOR GIRLS TO GROW UP WITH

Actual rating: 2.5 ⭐

There were some really great stories in this anthology about strong, resilient, resourceful and daring girls. They are stories that every young girl should grow up with. However, I did enjoy some stories more than others and even felt like some of them didn't belong in this anthology.

👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍

Idols: I really enjoyed this idea of making stories of daring girls accessible to young girls, giving them idols and role models to look up to and aspire to become just like.

Folklore: I particularly liked the stories based on folklore, they were new to me and gave me even more inspiration for stories to tell my own daughters (once I have them, that is)

👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎

Famous stories: Like I said, I definitely enjoyed the lesser known stories based on folklore the most. Some of the other stories actually felt very out of place - like Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. Those stories are already written for children and didn't need to be cut down to this size.

The Little Mermaid: This story actually almost offended me. The writer took too great a creative liberty with this story and it turned me off instantly. You shouldn't have to bastardise the original story to make it fit into an anthology.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, all the illustrations are really beautiful. Second, I really liked the diverse stories. Third, I liked the feminist/girl power twist in almost all of them. They are really good to let young girls know that they should aspire to be wise and strong and selfless and kind.

I have read most of these stories before from around the world. Whilst I liked some, others I wasn't too impressed with. The ones that I have read before and I have seen movies about didn't impress me at all because I didn't feel the magic that the original stories had. I am going with overall rating of 3 stars but rating for individual stories is below:

Gerda and the Snow Queen - 3 stars

Hua Mulan, the Noble Warrior - 1 star

Heidi’s New Adventures - 3.5 stars

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - 1 star

The Tale of Athena’s Great Conquest - 1 star

Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz - 2 stars

Hinemoa’s Great Swim - 2 stars

Chimidyue and the Butterfly - 1 star

The Fountain, the Oven, and the Goddess - 5 stars

The Tale of Odette, the Swan Maiden - 2 stars

Lykke, the Little Mermaid - 2 stars

Guimara, the Giant Princess - 4 stars

The Maiden and the Falcon - 4 stars

Céline, Kitchen Queen - 1 star

Princess Kaguya’s Great Adventure - 1 star

[GG Stewart’s Bookhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would first point out that the illustrations in this book are beautiful and well done. This book brings folklore and fairy tales together in a short story form. Most of the adaptations in this book are well done. I gave it four stars because I understand that sometimes bedtime stories need to be short and this book with its beautiful illustrations and shortened version of the tales put together make for a quick read, but you will find that a lot is lost when doing this. So I would keep this on the shelf as a fast story time read but also have the longer version for longer time reading.

[Alicja · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating: 4.5/5
Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy. ‘Adventure Stories for Daring Girls’ was like a breath of fresh air, and I wish a younger me could have read it growing up.

Samantha Newman’s ‘Adventure Stories for Daring Girls’ is a lovely collection of children’s tales bringing together 15 stories from around the world: amongst others stories from Russia, Denmark, Greece and New Zealand appear in the book. Filled with so many gorgeous illustrations by Khoa Le, ‘Adventure Stories for Daring Girls’ is one of those books I wished I had a physical copy. The illustrations have been definitely a bonus aspect of this wonderful collection of inspiring stories with adventurous heroines.

Perhaps one of the most important messages from ‘Adventure Stories for Daring Girls’ appears already in the introduction. ‘Being brave doesn’t mean you never get afraid. It means that you can carry on ten when you are afraid!’, the reader learns and is invited to meet all the inspiring and courageous girls featuring the collection. But friendship and love are also highlighted in all of those tales.

I really loved how the book incorporated so many stories from around the world. Growing up in Poland, and then living in the UK as well as being a quite well-read person, I have known a majority of the stories included in ‘Adventure Stories for Daring Girls’, but I still discovered a few new ones, like ‘Heidi’s New Adventures’ and ‘Chimidyue and the Butterfly’.

You can read my more thoughts about this lovely book here.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is that there are folktales out there of inspiring stories of women who risked it all for something, whether it was love of family or love of life, or love of another.

Great, bring those stories on.

And it works, when they are folk stories, ones I haven't heard from such as a Maori one from New Zealand. And it sort of works with folk stories I am familiar with, where she has only changed minor things.

But when she takes well known stories, such as Alice in Wonderland, and the Wizard of Oz, and tries to make them into short stories, it just doesn't work, and is clumsy. And while it was an interesting take on the Little Mermaid, where she went on to be captain of the princes armada, it felt as though at that point that the author should have just written her own story, which she sort of did.

So, while I would recommend this book for the folk tales, I would skip over the more famkiar stories. They don't work.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Arcturus and NetGalley for the earc to read and review.

I really enjoyed reading this, it’s filled with stories of great heroines from all over the world, of girls that have had to be brave and overcome obstacles in their lives and set out on an adventure.

From Fa Mulan to Hinemoa to Lykke to Heidi and so many more incredible stories this book is such a great read and I recommend it. You’ll have fun reading about each different short story, it would make a great book to read with a child. The stories are all so different and so exciting, and who doesn’t enjoy a fun adventure?

The book also comes with some incredible illustrations to show you who these great women are and enhance your vision as you read their stories. It’s such an enjoyable and fun book.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meine Eltern wissen wie viel ich lesen liebe. Sie wissen auch dass ich gerne Märchen und andere bekannte Geschichte lese. Und sie wissen dass Alice in Wunderland meine favorite Geschichte ist. Deshalb haben sie aus Deutschland dieses Buch für mich mitgebracht. Da ich gestern nicht wirklich lust hatte etwas schweres zu lesen war es das richtige Moment um endlich diese Geschichten zu lesen.

Die meiste Geschichten kannte ich natürlich schon aber ich fand es ja total toll dass da auch einige für mich unbekanntere Geschichte dabei waren und dass die Geschichten aus die Ganze Welt kamen. Es war so toll mal ein Märchen aus Süd-Amerika zu lesen, aus Afrika, aus Asien. Die Geschichten tragen ja alle eine eigene Kultur mit, aber haben bekannte Themen.

Die Geschichten in dieses Buch waren ja ganz kurz. Deshalb würde viele Geschichte gekürzt, aber dadurch kann man jetzt ganz einfach die Geschichten kennen lernen und vielleicht später mal die längere oder offizielle Versionen suchen. Manche Geschichten sind ja auch ein wenig geändert. Einerseits schade, aber anderseits fand ich die Änderungen meistens gut gelungen.

Wie ein echtes Märchenbuch sind auch hier wunderschöne Illustrationen dabei. Die Stiel ist nicht zu kompliziert aber wirklich farbreich. Manche Illustrationen sind ja pagina gross und das verdienen die auch. Ich habe jedes Mal nur kurz zugeschaut aber mit Kindern kann man ohne Problemen die Illustrationen etwas länger anschauen.

Also: Viel Spass an alle Mädchen, Frauen und andere Leuten die dieses Buch im Zukunft lesen werden!

[Kimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited when i got approved for this book from Netgalley! I love (fairy)tales and folklore stories. This book is everything I love. Nice stories, beautiful pictures and every stories have a perfect amount of pages. This book is perfect for young and older girls BUT I also recommend to read these to your lil boys. I really appreciated the fact that the stories come from all over the world. Some I just discovered and I’m 37! If you want to revisit old classics it’s a good time too; they are resume and you get to know what they are about. A lot of them are heartwarming, some give you good life morales and some are just fun to read. Perfect for bedtime stories this book will be in my family bookshelf for sure because I’m gonna buy it.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight! A charming read full of fifteen bite-sized chapters, each with a daring, clever heroine from a diverse collection of cultures and time periods. Some of these heroines were friendly faces from childhood, like Heidi and Alice, but these retellings added dimension to the familiar stories and made old friends new. Some stories I wasn’t familiar with, like “Hinemoa’s Great Swim,” a traditional Māori story, and “Chimidyue and the Butterfly,” a Ticuna tale from South America, which I found refreshing and enlightening.

Each story is beautifully illustrated with works by Khoa Le, which just adds to the magic of it all. I wish I had had this book when I was younger and I can’t wait to share it with my little nieces!

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

eine kleine Erinnerung, wie stark wir sein können

Dieses Vorlesebuch fand unwillkürlich seinen Weg in meine Hände. Die Illustrationen sind mit viel Liebe gezeichnet und begleiten diverse Märchen, Sagen und Geschichten aus aller Welt.
Es sind viele Klassiker wie Heidi, der Zauberer von Oz sowie Mulan enthalten. Auch wenn ich diese teils schon kannte aus meiner Kindheit, vergass ich doch recht viele Szenen aus den Erzählungen. Es war schön, nochmals in diese Zeit einzutauchen.

Eine Empfehlung, sowohl für Kinder als auch Erwachsene. Durch die schöne Aufmachung ist es bestimmt auch ein tolles Geschenk.

[Rainbow Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventure Stories For Daring Girls by Samantha Newman is a fantastic collection of fifteen adaptations of different tales about girls who love adventures. This is a great book to challenge the female role in fairy tales and folklore in a kid-friendly format. This collection contains a few stories from familiar characters (like Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz), but several stories were new to me altogether. Each adaptation is about 8 pages, counting both the text and the stunning illustrations by Khoa Le, making this a perfect bedtime storybook.

I wanted to highlight my favorite story, but as I read, each story was better than the next, and I’m not sure I could choose just one. I loved Chimidyue and The Butterfly (a traditional Ticuna story from South America) and it’s message of respecting our earth and the animals upon it. I was delighted with the surprise ending of Lykke The Little Mermaid (adapted from The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson). I also thought the book ended strong with Princess Kayuga’s Great Adventure (adapted from The Tale of The Bamboo Cutter) about a moon princess who comes to earth for an adventure.

This book has some of the most lovely illustrations I’ve ever seen. I absolutely adored Khoa Le’s work, and will be looking for more immediately.

I do feel the need to point out that this book does contain the story of Heidi, which can be problematic because it has some extremely Victorian ideas about disability. Spoiler alert: It’s nearly impossible to tell the story of Heidi without the miraculous recovery ending. While I personally haven’t invested my time in reading Heidi in its entirety, I am a strong believer that problematic classics are a great starting point for conversations about why dated viewpoints are…well, dated. This quick summation of the story creates a great opportunity to discuss the fact that our bodies do not determine our worth, and that disabled people are perfectly fulfilled and valid people without miraculous recoveries.

Adventure Stories for Daring Girls is available in the US today and it would make a fantastic holiday gift for any little one who loves fairy tales, folklore, or fantasy stories. This would also be a great gift for parents looking to add something unique to the bedtime story rotation.

I would like to thank Arcturus for providing me with a review copy of this book. I can’t wait to share this with my nieces and nephews!

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[Lowin1000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinderbuch Rezension


F: Welche der Geschichten in diesem Buch, würde euch interessieren? 


,, Die schönsten Geschichten von mutigen Mädchen ", von Samantha Newman verfasst und von Khoa Le illustriert. 


Was für eine schöne Kollektion. Hier werden Geschichten aus allen Teilen der Erde wiedergegeben und hier zeigt sich die Vielfalt der weiblichen Figur! Nicht nur eine Frau in Not, nein, Mädchen, die für sich einstehen und keinen Prinzen brauchen! 


Natürlich gibt's hier die klassischen Liebesgeschichten, ein paar davon, der Rest ist unabhängig nach dem Motto, ich brauche keinen Mann, um Dinge zu schaffen! Das erzählt die Geschichte z. B von (Celine, Königin der Küche) , die darauf pocht, in der Küche zu arbeiten und nur den Prinzen heiratet, wenn er das akzeptiert! 


Oder die Geschichte der Meerjungfrau, die nachher merkt, dass sie den Prinzen wie einen normalen Freund liebt und ihn nicht extra heiraten möchte, sodass der Zauber erlischt. 


Oder die Interpretation von Kaguya, die hier einfach positiver gestaltet ist, im originalen ist es ziemlich schlimm, wie die Menschen mit der Mondprinzessin umgegangen sind! Den Zeichentrickfilm Kaguya kann ich sehr empfehlen! 


Auf jeden Fall ist jede Geschichte sehr femistisch und schön neu erzählt, auch Klassiker wie Heidi! 


Der Zeichenstil gefällt mir und passt dazu. 


Eine klare Empfehlung für jeden, der auf starke Mädchengeschichten steht! 


Vielen Dank für das Bereitstellen des Leseexemplars an den Verlag! 


Alles Gute, eure Jassy! 

[Caz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited when I saw this book pop up on Netgalley. I have a lot of friends with young children, so I'm always on the look out for books that would make great presents. I had high hopes.

When I saw I'd been approved, I couldn't wait to download the book and get started. Sadly I was to be disappointed. I found the stories to be over simplified. Yes, it tells the story, but they've been condensed so much that they lose all the magic of the fairy tale! I imagine this is what it's like to read the cliff notes on a novel.

Most children's books and stories have a lesson behind them, reducing each story to three to four pages feels like it loses the meaning of these tales.

I liked the illustrations and I appreciate what the author is trying for with the book but sadly it's just not for me.

**Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me advanced access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventure Stories for Daring Young Girls is a beautiful anthology of retold stories for children by author Samantha Newman. A bit of classics, literature, fairy tales and myths. We get the main through line of stories featuring Heidi and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

I read this to my seven year old at bed time and we both loved the stories. Each installment is the perfect length for before bed read a loud time. We also loved looking at the beautiful illustrations by Khoa Lee. I will say that sometimes my daughter lost interest in the stories she already knew. But she enjoyed newer (to her) stories like the Ice Queen or seeing how Mulan mixes and matches with Disney’s version.

While these stories are marketed for girls, I think boys would also appreciate these strong and brave young women. Highly recommended this anthology to introduce young readers to classic literature. My age suggestion is 4-6.

[Sylvia Krupicka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leider nicht gelungen. Eine schöne Idee und eine sehr wichtige ist es, Mythen oder Märchen aus der Sicht der weiblichen Heldinnen zu erzählen, bzw. mädchen und Frauen sie in den Mittelpunkt zu rücken. Das ist hier aber nicht gelungen, weil die Mythen schlecht erzählt sind, eine Menge Details in zwei Sätzen berichtet werden, die eigentlich von den Mädchen ablenken. Erstmal wird Pandora von einem Mann geformt, bevor sie wirksam werden darf... Bevor die Mädchen handeln dürfen, werden hier erst jede Menge männliche Akteure aufgezählt, bevor überhaupt die Heldin dran kommt. Schlecht erzählt und schlecht illustriert.
Die Moral am Ende des Mythos, beispielsweise bei "Sedna vom Eismeer," ein Mythos der Inuit: Sedna wird von ihren Eltern an einen falschen Ehemann vergeben, er ist in Wirklichkeit kein Mensch... Ihre Freiheit findet sie dann im Tod, der mit allerlei Bildern übertüncht wird. Also was, soll denn hier an Mädchen vermittelt werden?

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection includes sixteen stories in all. Some feature characters that may be familiar including Heidi (of the Alps), Alice (of Wonderland),and Dorothy (of Oz). Other featured heroines may be less well known but all have interesting lives in these tales that can be read in any order.

The editor invites girls in as she suggests that they grab snacks, find a comfortable spot and become friends with the girls in these stories. Girls can then go on to enjoy the truly, beautifully illustrated tales that follow. All are adapted from well known classics. Readers can look for longer versions of those that are their favorites.

This book provides a chance to enjoy the wonders of escaping through literature. Share it with a girl you know…either read together or give it to her to enjoy on her own.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Arcturus Publishing for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

A short collection of stories about girls and women from around the world - I think the mix of stories was nice, although maybe a bit repetitive - e.g. fairy tales/books most people know and have a hum about. The stories were also really, really abridged which in some cases made me wanting to read the actual full-length story instead, but maybe that is one of the purposes of this storybook - to be a sort of introduction to very young children. I would put the age range down to children around the ages 4-5 as the length of the stories look to be perfect as goodnight stories.

The illustrations by Khoa Le are absolutely beautiful!

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story collection a lot. Granted, the stories have been altered a bit, and pared down some, but they all retain a spirit of independence and adventure, with smart, determined heroines. Also, I much prefer the ending for "The Little Mermaid" given here, it's very satisfying! I appreciated the diversity of the tales; some are familiar, but there are quite a few new (or new to me, at least) ones included. The art work is just lovely, and the illustrations have a manuscript feel to them, as if the reader had found an antique book hidden away somewhere. A beautiful addition to any reader's collection.

[Ashley Dang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful and beautiful collection of short stories about daring girls and fairytales. These stories were all short but wonderfully told and captures the true essence of the lovely girls and their courage in each story. Filled with magic, courage, and stunning artwork, this was such a great collection of stories. I would highly recommend this for all kids and everyone of all ages. I found this collection to be absolutely stunning and so diverse in it's collection of stories.
* Thank you Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Amit Verma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is collection of fairy tales about brave girls. Stories are sorted from around the world and are adapted to depict bravery of brave female protagonist.
Stories which are adapted are Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy, Heidi but I like story of athena the most. Stories are accompanied with excellent eye catching illustrations.
It is a collection of inspiring tales from folk tales from around the world.
I liked illustrations very much. Story are deliberately forshortened to suit young readers.
A highly recommend read.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventure Stories for Daring Girlstakes classic works of literature, fables, and even myths about strong young women, and compiles them into a middle grade friendly book. This is perfect for updating your 300s collection and has a great variety of stories with strong heroines. The colorful illustrations also lend to the shortened stories collected from a diverse range of works. Some of these stories I had never heard of before, and some I was already quite familiar with.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this compilation!

It was very easy and I read a few stories each night and loved picking it back up and reading the next one. There were a few stories I knew before but also some that were new to me. I love books like this that show how to be more independent, think about problems, give things a go and push the boundaries that should have been removed long ago.

It is 5 stars from me for this one – really enjoyable – very highly recommended!

[Dea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are absolutely beautiful!!!! But the stories... as the author had to reduce all stories to 4-6 pages they seemed rushed, so I wpuld prefer less stories and more details and coherence. And for the stories I already knew I noticed a couple of creative liberties the author took. Which is fine(ish) as they are retellings but I was still a bit bothered by that.
I will definitely look at the pictures again and again, but without rereading the stories.

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent book! We are trying to raise our daughter to ignore the pressures of society, to be a certain type of ‘girl.’ This book is one that finally tells stories, labelled for girls, that aren’t covered in pink, frills and princesses waiting to be saved. We absolutely loved it and cannot wait to continue reading it to our daughter.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork deserves 5 stars, and I love the diversity of the tales, but the storytelling is sadly lacking. I love the idea of this book, but not how much the author altered some classic stories to fit the theme of the collection.

[Nicole Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is top tier in terms of quality.
Beautiful hard cover book, high quality glossy paper, stunning illustrations and entertaining fairy tale stories. I think this would make a great gift for any little girl. I absolutely adore this book.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Kylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5