WRITING FAIRY-TALE RETELLINGS by Clare Helen Welsh and Friends

We all have our favourite childhood fairy tales, and so it’s not surprising that writers draw on well-known characters and narratives from traditional tales in their own writing.

 

This blog post will take a look at the reasons why re-imagined fairy tales are so loved and also look at what to consider when writing your own re-imagined tales.

 

To do that, I’ve recruited some special guests who’ve agreed to answer my most pressing questions about fairy tales and also offered their top tips!

GARETH JONES: 

Gareth is the author of a fantastic series of fairy tale re-imaginings with Loretta Schauer, including Rabunzel and Cindergorilla. I was keen to know how he had found the market to be for fairy tale stories.

 

What do you think the market is like for fairy tale retellings?

Gareth said:

 

"Once I had written Rabunzel, I sent it directly to my editor, Melissa at Egmont (now Farshore) Books. It sat unread in her inbox for months but when she did read it, she liked it so much that she immediately called her sales team. They loved it too. She then picked up the phone and called me to tell me that they wanted the book as the first in a series. None of this is normal for me. I think that the story being an original retelling of a well-known fairy tale really helped. A long eared rabbit that gets locked in a high hutch is a joke that everyone instantly gets. Rabunzel Rabunzel, Let Down Your Ears! Whether or not the series will meet my publisher’s high expectations in terms of sales and foreign rights, I can’t say. I certainly hope it does. But I’ve never had such enthusiasm from a publisher about any of my previous picture books and I think a lot of that is down to it being a fairy tale retelling."

Gareth’s Top Tip for Writing Fairy Tale Retellings:

Fairy tales are problematic. They are often dark, weird and teach lessons that are no longer relevant to our world. They are also full of plot points that would have most editors reaching for the red pen if they were featured in an original story. Why doesn’t Cinderella’s slipper change back? In fact, why does the magic wear off at all? All of these things can be resolved, but it does take a bit of work. There are going to be four books in my series and my feeling is that with each one, I will stray further from the source material as I find ways to resolve these problems to create stories worth telling. With an original story you have to ask why this story is worth telling. With a fairy tale retelling, you have to question what you are bringing to the genre that is new, fresh, funny, interesting and worth hearing. I hope I’ve answered all these questions with Rabunzel and CinderGorilla. And I also hope that readers will also be interested to see what I’ve done with Snowy White next February. As for the fourth book? I’ll have to keep you posted on that because I’m not yet sure what it will be.

LUCY ROWLAND:

 

Former Picture Book Denner, Lucy, is no stranger to fairy tale re-imaginings. She is the author of ‘Little Red Reading Hood’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Book,’ published by Macmillan and  illustrated by Ben Mantle. She has also written ‘Rapunzel to the Rescue’ with Katy Halford (Scholastic).

 

From time to time I hear reservations about fairy tale stories, originating from the fact that they don't always have global appeal. Unfortunately, not all countries have the same much-loved tales, which can make them harder to sell globally. I was curious to know how Lucy’s titles had sold internationally. 

How have your fairy tale retellings sold internationally?

 

Lucy said:

 

“When I started writing re-imagined fairy tales they were quite popular but there seems to have been a slight shift in the industry and have been a little harder to sell, perhaps  because publishers have found them harder to sell abroad.”

Lucy’s texts, which are also in rhyme, have numerous co-editions. Indeed, the brilliant ‘Little Red Reading Hood’ has been translated into several languages including French, Italian and Spanish. Plus, Lucy and Ben have another re-imagined fairy tale in the works with Macmillan– ‘A Hero Called Wolf,’ which confirms to me that the rumours of co-editions don’t stop a publisher buying a fairy tale story if the concept is strong and marketable in enough markets.

Lucy’s Top Tip for Writing Fairy Tale Retellings:

"Try mixing it up! What would happen if you reversed character roles or wrote from a different character's viewpoint? What would happen if it was the same story but in a different world or setting?"

TRACY CURRAN:

Tracy has just released her debut picture book – Pumpkin’s Fairy Tale - congratulations, Tracy! The story has been brought to life with fabulous illustrations from Wayne Oram. I asked Tracy how she came up with the idea for Pumpkin’s Fairy tale and what it is about fairy tales that inspires her.

 

How did you come up with the idea for Pumpkin’s Fairy tale and what is it about fairy tales that inspires you?

 

Tracy said:

 

“I've always loved fairy tales, from my earliest childhood. They can be light and magical or dark and gritty, they impart valuable knowledge to readers and they are always evolving, which I find exciting. My idea for Pumpkin's Fairytale came from this deep affection I have for fairytales, my love of pumpkins and my curiosity of exploring a different point of view. I've always thought that, in the original story, Cinderella's pumpkin is rather cruelly cast aside after playing an important role. So, I thought I'd bring it (it became a him) to life and see what he had to say about the matter. 'Pumpkin's Fairytale' is the story he told me.”

 

Tracy’s Top Tip for Writing Fairy Tale Retellings:

“My top tip is to experiment with writing a version in both rhyme and prose. I think rhyme works beautifully in fairy tale retellings but two agents have now asked me to convert to prose, so why not have both up your sleeve! If you automatically prefer to write in prose, then just run wild and have fun!”

 

PIPPA GOODHART:

Pippa is the author of the You Choose series with Nick Sharratt. Her fairy tale version allows children to make up their very own fairy tale adventures where they choose what happens next. This is what Pippa had to say about fairy tales and why we love them! 

What do you think it is about fairy tales and fairy tale characters that people love?

Pippa said:

"It must be partly the familiarity of the most well known tales. We’ve heard and seen and been aware of references to them from the youngest age, and there’s something comforting in both that familiarity and the knowledge that we all share those tales as part of our mutual culture. Maybe we sometimes hope for a new slant on that familiar tale? The most well established fairy tales are thrillingly shocking, but safely not in our real world, so we dare to play with big scary things within them."

Pippa’s Top Tip for Writing Fairy Tale Retellings:

"I'd say, think about the emotional heart of the tale. What is it REALLY about at an emotional rather than event level? For example, we all empathise with Cinderella for being the one who is mistreated and left out of things. We can all relate to that. But maybe we could see that from another angle? Long ago (and far away!) I wrote a version of Cinderella from the ‘ugly sisters’ point of view. Who is calling them ‘ugly’? How does that feel? What was it like for them when they acquired this beautiful perfect step-sister? There are multiple stories within each story, and its fun delving in to find them."

 

And last but definitely not least...

JANE CLARKE:

Jane is the author of a picture book fairy tale detective series, featuring Sky Private Eye. Titles include – ‘Case of the Missing Grandma,’ ‘Case of the Runaway Biscuit’ and ‘Case of the Sparkly Slipper’ based on the stories Red Riding Hood, Gingerbread Boy and Cinderella. The stories have been illustrated by Loretta Schauer and are published by Five Quills. I was keen to know how the process of writing these books was similar and/ or different to her other picture book texts. 

Traditional tales need stick relatively closely to the original tale. Did you find this helpful or restrictive or something else? Can you tell us a little bit about your process?

Jane said:

"I found the process of taking the essential elements of a fairy tale and re-jigging the story with an original twist very different from writing other picture book texts. I enjoyed the challenge and had lots of fun adding creative elements to the story."

 

Jane’s Top Tip for Writing Fairy Tale Retellings:

 "As well as re-telling the main elements of the tale, reflect the pattern of how the tale is usually told. The rule of 3 is big in fairy tales!"

 

So to sum up, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are lots of retellings out there. As always, it’s important to make sure you are doing something different and/ or doing something in a different way. Is your premise a high concept idea that will cut through the noise and appeal to a wide market? 

But don't let that put you off! 

There is A LOT  of love for fairy tale retellings. They often feature strongly in our childhoods and in school curriculums, too. They are based upon on characters and arcs we know well, creating opportune moments to switch things up and surprise the reader!

 

Have you written a fairy tale re-imagining? Do you like reading them? Which are your favourites?

BIO: Clare writes fiction and non-fiction picture book texts - sometimes funny and sometimes lyrical. Her latest picture book is a fairytale retelling inspired by the life and work of Lotte Reiniger. Scissorella is out on November 4th 2021. It's Clare's first book with Andersen Press and it has been wonderfully brought to life by Laura Barrett. You can find out more about Clare at her website www.clarehelenwelsh.com or on Twitter @ClareHelenWelsh.

Express YourSHELF for National Libraries Week

 

National Libraries Week kicks off today to celebrate the role of libraries in the UK’s book culture and promote libraries as “spaces for reading, engagement, learning and creativity.”

 

When did you last visit the library? Do you remember a school or class library from your childhood? If you have children, did you go to the bounce and rhyme times? Or maybe the library is a place where you go to work and think, meet people, or even learn a new skill. People come into the library for all kinds of reasons, including searching for elusive bits of information and archive materials.  

“Libraries offer a safe space, providing access to digital & online learning, helping to combat loneliness and having a positive impact on people’s lives.” – Arts Council for England

 

Research shows that there is a correlation between getting families reading and children enjoying stories with them doing better at school and doing better in life. So, how can libraries engage children?

 

In “More than a House of Books", a Podcast commissioned by the Arts Council for England, Sarah Mears (Library Services Manager, Essex County Council. Former chair of the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians) stressed that the most important thing is the welcome they receive at the door.

 

The library needs to be “ . . . an exciting and vibrant space that attracts children. It's light, it's airy, it's colourful. There are lots of things that engage them. Activities for them to do, interesting technology that they may have not experienced in their own homes. But I think most importantly, it's still the books. Children love reading for pleasure and they love being inspired to read new titles, new authors.”

 

Today, libraries aren’t places of where librarians go ‘shhh!’; instead they are vibrant community hubs where authors, illustrators and storytellers visit, arts & crafts clubs meet, music and theatre activities inspire the imagination, and poetry groups perform.

 

Regrettably, many libraries are closing, but some – such as the new Manchester Library, which has soundproofed music area, and the Birmingham Library, with its roof gardens ­­- are being imaginatively re-purposed and re-thought to inspire the next generation to “use the space to engage people both with reading and digital skills.”

Libraries are filled with wonderful new contemporary books to explore, and dedicated, knowledgeable librarians who are thrilled to help you. You can check out a whole pile of books to explore new ideas, discover and re-read favourite authors & illustrators, and even learn new skills. If something doesn’t resonate, I love that the books come with no strings attached – you can simply return them and check out some more – for free!

 

As part of the campaign for National Libraries Week, six SCBWI authors were invited to participate in CILIP’s Express YourSHELF campaign and make a video about the books that influenced us.

 

For me, books are like friends, so choosing favourites was tricky!  

 

You can see the videos here at midday each day this week.

 

And YOU can join in too! Express yourSHELF by sharing some books that shaped YOUR world by snapping a pic of your book shelves, too, and posting on social media with hashtag #ExpressYourshelf

 

The thing about libraries is they are there for all stages of your life and for the whole family:

 

In lower school, I went to the library at break time to hang out with the books and magazines, and choose new ones; I even made library cards for the small shelf of books I owned at home (mostly birthday presents sent by my grandmother who lived in England).

 

The EARJ lower school library had a lovely central area
where we could read beneath the colourful papier maché elephant

In high school, I spent most of my lunch times in the library eating my sandwich on the sly while hanging out with my friends (we weren’t allowed to eat in the library). In those days, you went to the library after school and in class to look stuff up in the Encyclopedias; reference books couldn’t leave the reading room because they had to be on hand for all students to use for research. Strange, now we can ask Google everything!

 

Now, I go to my local library almost every week to get a pile of bedtime reading, to see what’s new in picture books and check out nonfiction kids’ books for research. 

 

 

A pile of TRUE story picture books to pore over

There is something comforting about being amongst all those book friends, the promise of a story or a new idea or a-ha moment. You never know – until you get home and crack open the covers – whether it’s the right book for you, but it’s ever so exciting!

 

I asked some fellow Picture Book Den authors to share some stories of how libraries have influenced their lives, too:

 

Lucy Rowland

 

    “I remember my primary school library the best – a calm quiet space where we would be taken in small groups to borrow beautiful books. It was also used as a spill-over learning area so we had some of our most exciting lessons in there - music lessons, a craft workshop, a puppet show performance. For that reason, the library always felt like a rather special place!” 

 

Jane Clarke

 

    “As I child, I loved Kettering's town library. I'd rush up the steps, dash into the children's section, scoop up armfuls of books, then retire to a quiet corner to sit on the floor and decide which to take home. When I discovered new series, there were nerve-racking moments - would the title I had set my heart on be on the shelf - or had it already been borrowed? Oh, the joy if it was there!”

 

Jane Clarke entertains her library audience with a science activity

Clare Helen Welsh

 

Clare Helen Welsh enthralls her young audience

 

    “I don't actually remember visiting the library as a child, which is a huge shame. I'm sure we did and that it's just my foggy memory, but I vividly remember taking my classes to the library as part of my job as primary school teacher. The informal visits provided the opportunity to pore over worlds and characters, words and pictures. The times we went to meet visiting authors, illustrators and storytellers were just as memorable. I'm certain they inspired the children and they definitely inspired me. I now have the outrageous privilege of writing stories that live on those shelves, and delivering story sessions just like the ones I watched. 

 

Craft activities with author Clare Helen Welsh

I wonder if I would have had the courage to make the step from teacher to writer, had it not been for the possibilities the library gave me. Of course, in these increasingly challenging times the battle is keeping libraries open and keeping them alive. But we must - a library is so much more than library.”

 

Pippa Goodhart

     “When my children were little, a visit to the library was the treat at the end of the weekly shop. I think a lot of people find the huge number of books on shelves in libraries daunting, and don’t know where to begin with choosing. Children just find the right shelves and get stuck in! But we do need expert librarians onhand to help pair the right child with the right book at the right time, especially with those books that might comfort or inspire or enlighten at particular moments in a child’s life. Or an adult’s life, come to that!

Pippa’s daughter as a child blissfully combining reading a book (from a library -

see the spine!) with a kitten, and her now as a grown-up, reading to baby her son.

 

I love using libraries now, at least in non-Covid times. I borrow armloads of books, but I also like them as places to work. Being surrounded by books and other people, heads down as they work, somehow helps me to focus better than I sometimes can at home.”

 

 

Gareth P. Jones

 

    “The Summer Reading Challenge is one of the best things that libraries do. Each year, libraries around the country encourage children to keep reading through the summer. As an author I’ve had my books selected for several lists (my Dragon Detective series formed part of this year’s Silly Squad), and I’ve appeared at libraries up and down the country to hand out certificates, celebrate reading and shake the hands of local mayors (shaking hands - remember that?).

 

2020 Summer Reading Challenge

But my most positive experience was when my son did the challenge. He had to sit down and talk to a librarian about each book he had read, telling her what he had enjoyed about it and what he had taken away from the book.

 

Gareth P Jones plays the uke and Steve May pens the pictures

Many politicians think that libraries are old fashioned and irrelevant, but when you have seen first-hand how they bring communities together and the positive effects they have on children’s (and the nation’s) reading habits then it makes you want to scream #SaveLibraries from the top of the tallest library.”

 

 

And here's a pile of picture books on one of my shelves. There are others around the house . . . As I've said, they are my friends.  

 

But I'm always looking for more -
AT THE LIBRARY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Do you have a library story? Share it with us!

_______________________________________________________________________

Natascha Biebow, MBE, Author, Editor and Mentor

Natascha is the author of the award-winning The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons, illustrated by Steven Salerno, winner of the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children's Books, and selected as a best STEM Book 2020. Editor of numerous prize-winning books, she runs Blue Elephant Storyshaping, an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission, and is the Editorial Director for Five Quills. She is Co-Regional Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles. Find her at www.nataschabiebow.com

Imposter Syndrome - Gareth P Jones

This is my first blog for Picture Book Den. I was asked to get involved by the illustrator of my two picture books, Garry Parsons. Having accepted, I instantly felt a pang of anxiety. Even though I have had 40 children’s books published so far, only two of them are picture books.

I am very proud of both of these books and I’m grateful to have books to read, talk about and sell when I visit schools. I love Garry’s illustrations and I have discovered lots of fun things to do around them in classes. Visiting Reception and Year One is always fun and having a good excuse to talk about pirates and dinosaurs is perfect. Although, I have discovered that it is hard to distinguish a dinosaur ROOOOAR from a pirate AARRRR!

But I don’t feel like a natural born picture book writer. I have written more than just two. Lots in fact. If you were to scan through the Picture Book Ideas folder on my computer you would find a lot of unfinished, barely started, and “written but rejected” ideas.

Of course, I am not alone in suffering from Imposter Syndrome. A cursory Internet search on the subject suggests that many of us do, will or have suffered from Imposter Syndrome at some point. I found lots of advice about how to get over it, which made me realise that in my case, I don’t really mind feeling like an imposter. Before we get to the reason why I’m OK with it, I should clarify why I do feel this way.

Firstly, I don’t really consider myself a visual writer. I am not an illustrator and I don’t especially see images when I write. Some writers see images, which they describe with words. Others build words out of sentences. With me, I think it’s that I mostly hear voices, which I write down.

As I always say in schools, the most important aspect of a picture book is the pictures. (The clue is in the name.)

Whenever I write a picture book, I try my hardest to imagine how I might be able to use the pictures to move the story forward but, in truth, I am very much in the hands of the editor, designer and illustrator. In fact, there are aspects of both of my published picture books, that I only fully understood once the pictures had been added. In The Dinosaurs are Having a Party, I had no idea why the T-Rex started chasing the main character until I saw Garry’s rough artwork and there is a whole subplot with half a missing treasure map in Are You the Pirate Captain? that I had alluded to but not fully realised in my text.

I also feel as clueless about whether anyone else will like each text enough to publish them. I never have any idea if my latest effort will actually get picked up. When I do manage to finish a book, I usually email it to my agent and her assistant who then let me know if they think it’s worth sending to publishers.

Sometimes they have comments. On other occasions they send them straight on as they are. I welcome comments but I do find that my picture books are especially delicate things. One light tap of an alteration and the rest of the text cracks and crumbles and I end up writing an entirely different story.

My next reason for feeling like an imposter is both true and hard to admit.  But here goes… (deep breath)

A lot of the time I don’t enjoy writing pictures books. OK, so sometimes I do. And I really love picture books themselves. I also love having picture books and I am over the moon whenever I get a new contract but usually (especially if it’s rhyming) I find the process of writing the things absolutely soul-crushing. I remember Tracey Corderoy (who has written a lot of successful and excellent picture books) telling me she likes rhyming texts because it’s like solving a puzzle. I think my problem is that I was never really one for puzzles. I don’t care much for crosswords or sudokus or… even worse, Rubik’s cubes. I’m happy writing songs and raps because you can be flexible and you can rely on your own delivery but with the picture books the text has to stand on its own.

 Another reason for disliking the process is that with a longer book, a bad day’s writing might result in a few badly written pages – maybe a rubbish chapter – but at least I know I’ll be able improve this. After a bad day writing a picture book, quite often my word count has gone down! Or I’ve ended up with half a sentence that, let’s face it, could be better.

Now, before you start thinking “this blog is a bit down beat” it is worth mentioning that Garry asked me because I’d told him that I have two picture books coming out next year (and a sequel to one of them the following year) all with Egmont.

Next year’s books came about as a result of much easier and more pleasant writing experiences. Perhaps this is because they both came about as the conversations of with my daughter. It may have helped that they are not rhyming texts. The first, The Lion on the Bus came about when a rendition of The Wheels on the Bus got silly. I sent it to my agent’s assistant (my agent was on maternity leave at the time). She had various concerns (too much going on visually, too much peril, not enough countries know the song… and so on). All very sensible things to bring up but, I responded saying I didn’t have anything else so please would she submit it anyway.

Thankfully she did. My new publisher’s enthusiasm for these books has been wonderful and I am very excited about the next stages in the process, (which I will probably blog about later this year).

And yet, I still feel like an imposter and, as I said at the beginning, I don’t actually mind feeling like that. I’m not looking for reassurance - at least not in this aspect of my career. I like the fact that I go into each picture book with the same wide-eyed innocence of the intended audience.

Lots of us do feel like imposters a lot of the time – especially when you are making your way in the world as a writer. And certainly, if you can find ways to tell yourself that you are the real thing, then that’s great. Do that. But maybe it’s also OK sometimes to admit that you are out of your comfort zone. Feeling like an imposter, for me, keeps me on my toes and ensures I work all the harder to write picture book texts that work.

Gareth P Jones is the author of 40 books for children of all ages. Both his picture books are published by Andersen and illustrated by Garry Parsons. His next picture books will be published by Egmont in 2021. His next non picture book to be published is both his 41st and his 1st, as Dragon Detective: Catnapped is a republished version of his first ever book The Dragon Detective: The Case of the Missing Cats. The first in the series of four books is published by Stripes, February 2020. You can find out more on Gareth's website www.garethwrites.co.uk, listen to the Dragon Detective theme tune here or follow him on Twitter @jonesgarethp.