The older I get, the more I realise that you never really grow up. I still love all of the things I used to love when I was little: kicking my way through autumn leaves, building forts out of bed sheets and reading fairy tales. As an aspiring children’s author myself, I adore stories about magic and witches and wolves and red ribbons. There’s something so captivating and enchanting about the stories that we hear and read as children. I adore symmetry, I adore symbols and I adore the way that fairy tales are far more complex than you might think. Just because you’ve grown up doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a little bit of whimsicality every now and then.
So here are five books to read if, like me, you’re not quite ready to leave behind the quirkiness of fairy tales. Cancel your plans, grab your fluffy socks and put the kettle on!
1. “Our Endless Numbered Days” by Claire Fuller
This was one of those books that I picked up completely on a whim (maybe it has something to do with the beautiful blue cover?). This book is about a young girl (nicknamed “’Punzel”) who is taken to live in a log cabin in a remote area of forest by her survivalist father. Not only are the descriptions of forests and European countryside truly beautiful, but I loved the fairy tale-esque motifs of a piano etched into a wooden table and a young girl with dirty braided hair wearing rabbit fur.
I would class this book as a slow burner, but there is an ambiguous yet sinister undertone lurking beneath the surface throughout – watching the characters gradually lose grip of their sanity is captivating. Now that the weather is getting colder, this is the perfect book to read whilst you’re hibernating underneath a hundred blankets and ignoring your responsibilities.
2. “Big Fish” By Daniel Wallace
Written as a series of stories told to William Bloom by his father, this book had me from the beginning. From taming giants, to snow in Alabama, to a strange forgotten town where your shoes are tied together and thrown over a telephone line, this book has it all. The emphasis on storytelling and tall tales is so childlike and innocent – I adore it. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to spend hours sitting by a fire with friends, swapping anecdotes all night. This book was also made into a film in 2003 starring Ewan McGregor – which already makes it a winner in my opinion.
3. “Book of Fairy Tales” By Angela Carter
Ok, so maybe these seem like fairy tales because they actually ARE fairy tales, but you won’t find Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty here. This book is a collection of the more obscure and less known fairy stories from every inch of the globe. There are Inuit stories, Native American stories, African stories, and they are all bizarre and beautiful. I’ve come across so many strange tales in this book, and in true Angela Carter style most of them are enticingly dark and macabre. Carter also gets bonus points for including some gorgeous illustrations by Corinna Sargood. These stories feature “strong minds and low cunning”, and many of them contain some pretty powerful female characers. These are the fairy tales your parents left out.
4. “The Gracekeepers” By Kirsty Logan
Can we take a moment to just appreciate how beautiful this cover is? I have such an affinity towards pretty blue books. This book has a circus and a young girl who is friends with a bear. Need I say any more? I love the way Logan plays with words (inventing words like “landlockers” and “damplings”). Additionally, having been inspired by Scottish and Celtic myths, this book definitely has more than its share of whimsical eccentricity comibined with the compexity of an adult book.
5. “Tales of the Peculiar” by Ransom Riggs
I spent about three weeks pressing my face up against the window of the Falmouth Bookseller, staring wistfully in because I knew this book was inside. I read bits of it in snatches during my frequent (daily) trips to that book shop before finally ending up buying it. It is so gorgeous, with a forest green hardback cover and gold lettering to accompany the beautiful illustrations inside. The book is a collection of short stories, with the occasional witty footnote added in too. These stories are so great to just dip in and out of in between lectures, or to read before going to bed. If titles like “The Girl Who Could Tame Nightmares” and “The Splendid Cannibals” don’t intrigue you then I don’t know what will. Happy reading!