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McKinley, Robin. 1997. Rose Daughter.

Dokey, Cameron. 2007. Once Upon A Time: Before Midnight: A Retelling of Cinderella.

First paragraph: What do you know about yourself? What are your stories? The ones you tell yourself, and the ones told by others. All of us begin somewhere. Though I suppose the truth is that we begin more than once; we begin many times. Over and over, we start our own tales, compose our own stories, whether our lives are short or long. Until at last all our beginnings come down to just one end, and the tale of who we are is done.

This is the story of Constanze, though even in her own story she is better known as Cendrillon, Child of cinders. Her mother, a beautiful woman, dies in childbirth. Her father sick with grief--anger, bitterness, regret, fear--rejects her. She is raised by her godmother, Old Mathilde. Her childhood companion is a boy named Raoul. Her father returned with him when Cendrillon was just two weeks old. The father does not live with them or acknowledge them. They're in the country, almost completely forgotten. But as you might have guessed, they don't stay forgotten.

It all starts with a wish on her fifteenth birthday. (I believe it is her fifteenth. Anyway, it's a birthday.) She wishes for love; she wishes for family. Her bold wish is that her father will remarry. She wants a mother to love and love her in return. She also wishes for two stepsisters. Two because that way at least one might love her in return. A few weeks (or maybe several months) later her wish comes knocking on the door. Surprise. The stepmother and her two stepsisters are there with no clue who Cendrillon is. Her father, of course, never mentioned her.

This isn't a marriage of love. Nor is it one of convenience. It is an arranged marriage. When the king orders Chantal (the stepmother) to marry Etienne de Brabant (the father), how can either one refuse? An order is an order. The father is rumored to be the Queen's man. The stepmother is rumored to be the King's. (The king and queen hate each other. Hate. And both are looking to control the other. So the kingdom has two sides--those that support the Queen's dominance, and those that support the King's rule.)

The stepmother and her two children are just as cast off as Cendrillon herself. Not wanted. Sent to the country to live forgotten forever.

This uneasy existence might have continued on year after year except for one little thing:

The Prince is giving a ball.

Every eligible maiden must attend.

This story of Cendrillon is perhaps more complex than you're expecting.

Last sentence: True love never dies.

193 pages

George, Jessica Day. 2008. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. Bloomsbury.

Long ago and far away in the land of ice and snow, there came a time when it seemed that winter would never end.

Our heroine is the ninth child and the fourth daughter. Her mother was so angry when she was born that she refuses to bless her with a name. She's called "pika" which means girl. For most of the story, however, we know her as Lass. This child is a blessing--a great blessing--to her oldest brother, Hans Peter. The two are special buddies. He teaches her something that will prove very useful: the written language--the carvings--of the trolls.

Our story really begins when she agrees to go with the white bear. The white bear is isbjorn, enchanted, and he has agreed to give her family riches and riches and riches galore if she will go away with him to live in his castle for one full year. The family is so poor, that it would be unforgivable (at least in her mother's eyes) for her to refuse his request.

Her time with the bear will not be easy. Everything is so strange, so odd, so obviously enchanted and magical. She's accompanied by her wolf, Rollo. I seem to have forgotten to mention that she's able to communicate with animals. (Another long story on how she got her wolf, and how she got blessed with the power to understand and communicate with animals, and how she got a secret name.)

This review isn't going like I had planned. For a novel that was written so beautifully, so smoothly, this review isn't doing it justice. You're just going to have to trust me that the novel is worth reading. Our heroine is brave and strong and full of heart.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow is a novelization of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. (At least in part. It's also similar to the myth of Cupid and Psyche and the tale of Beauty and the Beast.)

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Another review: here, here, here, and here.

George, Jessica Day. 2008. Dragon Flight.

There are three truths I have come to learn in the year since the Dragon War. The first is that both humans and dragons have the capacity to be good or evil. The second is that even if you're doing something you love, you can still become bored with your work. And the third truth is that my business partner, Marta, will never be finished with her wedding gown.

Dragon Flight is the sequel to Dragon Slippers. (A novel that I loved! See my review here.) The novel continues the adventures of Creel and her friends both human and dragon. There are new adventures, new dangers, and new experiences as Creel continues to mature into quite a formidable heroine.

Book description (not my own):

Just when it seems dragons and humans are at peace. . .think again.

With the dragon wars over, Creel is back to working as a seamstress. Business is steady and life is good, but it's also a bit...dull. Then word comes that a bordering country has been breeding dragons in preparation for an invasion. Never one to miss out on the action, Creel throws herself into an adventure that will reunite her with the king of the dragons, pit her against diabolical new enemies (some with wings, some without) and perhaps rekindle a friendship with the prince who has captured her heart. Funny, heartfelt, and action-packed, new readers and returning fans alike will dive headlong into this sequel to Dragon Slippers.

Squeaky Books is hosting the Twisted Fairy Tales Reading Challenge. The time frame is March through May 5th 2008. The required books are FOUR. Read all about it and sign up here. I am going to try to read four. But I like my list to have possibilities or alternates. Post links to reviews here.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Enchanted by Orson Scott Card
Sisters Grimm: Magic and Other Misdemeanors by Michael Buckley

Alternates:
Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George
The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott
The Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Wings by E.D. Baker
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

Title: Zoo Tycoon 2
Website: http://zootycoon.com/default.htm
Publisher: Blue Fang/Microsoft Game Studios
Platform tested under: Windows XP
System Requirements: Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP
Pentium III 733 MHz or high processor
256 MB RAM
Direct3D-compatible super VGA graphic adapter with at least 16 MB of Video RAM (VRAM).
16-bit color at 800_600
DirectX 9.0-compatible sound card
4x or higher CD-ROM
900 MB available hard drive space
[Not available for Macintosh, sorry]
RATING: E (everyone)
AGE: This one doesn’t have an age rating, but for least frustration I would say it’s going to work best for 8+, unless you play along with your kids.

There is one important thing my junior reviewer and I have in common – we love animals. So we just had to buy Zoo Tycoon 2. The animals are gorgeous 3-D creatures that walk, run, snuggle, roar, fly – most of the interactions you’d see real zoo animals do. If you put males and females in the enclosures you get babies, both a crowd favorite and viewer favorite. Plus, the game has a file on each animal telling things about its life in the wild. My seven year old loves those – and the zoo information also tells you what kind of ecology is right for the animals, what they need to eat, and what kinds of toys they like. There are actually a lot of things to keep in mind when building exhibits and stringing fence can be a little frustrating at times, but the resulting zoo is well worth it. Once the player becomes fluent with building enclosures, there are also interesting variations you can do with raising and lowering terrain and adding gorgeous waterfalls.

The game names each animal by specifies and gives it a number according to how many you have in the game, but you can rename the animals if you like. Our junior reviewer always names all the animals so she was pleased by this feature. You can give all the staff and visitors new names too, if you like.

One of our all time favorite things about the game is that you can go into “zookeeper mode” and see a human-eye view of the zoo. You can walk down the paths, peer into the displays, and wander right into the enclosures – while you’re in the enclosures, you can go ahead and clean up animal poo, wash the animals, and fill their food and water dishes. It’s always fun to wash an animal and see him get happy. The zookeeper view also gives you a chance to really enjoy the animal animations – they are amazing! You also get to admire the fountains, flower gardens, and other decorative items. My junior reviewer also loves snapping pictures of the animals.

Care of all the zoo animals does take some knowledge. If you fill the bear exhibit with males – they tend to fight. If you put antelope in with the lions, it doesn’t go well for the antelope. And if you leave openings in the cage walls, the animals terrorize the zoo guests – though, we have to admit, watching the lemurs attack guest is a bit funny. For some kids these are bonuses rather than challenges, but for sensitive younger children it is worth noting that the animals can and do die. Most from old age, but poor care will also result in animal loss.

The game actually has choices about how challenging you want to play. In freeform mode, you never run out of money – which is just great for young children who just want to build zoos and have the fun of playing zookeeper. For older children, there are challenges available with specific goals and limitations to see how well the player can manage all the different elements in a zoo. Keeping all the animals well and happy AND keeping all the visitors happy can be quite challenging – especially on a tight budget.

Once you meet all the challenges of Zoo Tycoon 2, you can add expansion packs for more fun – including special endangered species packs, water animal packs and even dinosaurs. This is one of our favorite games for fun, fantasy, and educational value.

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Reviewed by Jan and Rachel Field, NWFCC Children’s Softward Review Team