Shadow Tales

When the candles burn low, the forest tells a different kind of story.

In Shadow Tales, classic Grimm plots step a little closer to the dark: children sent into danger by the people meant to guard them, promises made under threat, houses that hide what they were built to do. The monsters here are wolves and witches, yes, but they are also hungry strangers, careless boasts, and kings who never pay the price for their own words.

This second volume in the Grimm Retold series gathers four atmospheric retellings for thoughtful readers 10 and up:

• Hansel and Gretel - A brother and sister follow a trail that will not stay put and discover a house that has been waiting for them far too long.
• Little Red Riding Hood - A girl learns that repeating the rules is not the same as being safe when the real danger is already watching the road.
• Snow White - A queen who built her life on being "the fairest" hears a different name, and the girl in the glass decides she is done being only something to look at.
• Rumpelstiltskin - Straw, gold, and a name: a miller's daughter survives one impossible night after another, until the bill for her fear comes due.

Each story is framed with a quiet "Before the Story" mood-setter and an "After the Story" reflection that turns the questions back on us:

Who gets believed?
Who pays for broken promises?
And what do we owe the children we send into the woods?

Dark, thoughtful, and never gory, Shadow Tales is perfect for readers who love intelligent Grimm fairy-tale retellings, moody forest settings, and stories that keep their teeth but aim their bite at the right targets.