Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays #1: East of the Sun West of the Moon

Hey there!  Welcome to "Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays," a new feature on my blog where I discuss about some fairy tales and folktales I have read throughout the years. 

East of the Sun West of the Moon

Type: Folktale

Country of Origin: Norway/Scandinavia

Main Character Hero or Heroine: Heroine

Recommended?: Yes!

Basically, this story is about a peasant family who was so poor that they could barely feed themselves and their large family.  One stormy night, a great white bear came to visit the peasant family and promised them that if they give him their youngest daughter, then he will make the family as rich as they are poor.  The family then agreed, despite the youngest daughter not being happy with this arrangement and the youngest daughter ended up going with the bear.  The youngest daughter spent some months with the white bear and she ended up becoming good friends with the white bear.  But whenever the young girl went to bed every night, she noticed that a young and handsome man laid in bed with her, but she was never able to see his true face due to the room being too dark and the young man disappearing during the day.  One day, the young girl told the white bear that she wished to see her family again and the white bear agreed to take the girl back to her family for a visit.  But, the bear made the girl promise that she should never tell her family what is really going on with her life with the white bear or else she will make them both very unhappy.  The young girl agreed, but as soon as she started talking to her mother, she accidentally revealed her life with the white bear and also spoke about the young man who laid in bed beside her every night.  Her mother than told the girl that in order to see the young man, she must take a candle with her and light it up whenever the young man comes into bed with her.  The young girl did as her mother told her and she took a candle with her and used it to light it up when the young man came into her bed that night.  Unfortunately, it turned out that the young man was under a spell by an evil troll queen as he was turned into the white bear during the day and a young man during the night and the only way to break the spell was to find someone who would love him as a bear during the day.  The young girl felt ashamed and asked the prince what she could do to save him.  The young prince told the girl that she must journey east of the sun and west of the moon to the troll queen's castle to break the spell and it was then that the young girl went on a journey to rescue the prince from the clutches of the Troll Queen!

I seriously loved this story!  Even though I haven't read much folktales from Norway, I have always enjoyed this tale because the heroine in this story actually goes and save the prince of her dreams instead of the other way around like in most fairy tales and folktales.  I also loved the fact that the winds play a huge role in this story as they help the girl get to her destination to the Troll Queen's castle and it was very unique in seeing winds actually take part in the plot of a folktale!  So far, the only version of this tale that I had read was the Rabbit Ears' version of this tale where Max Von Sydow narrated the story and it was fantastic! I would highly recommend this tale to fans of strong heroines and Norwegian folktales! 

1. What are your thoughts on the girl's parents suddenly giving up their daughter for riches?

For me, I was personally disgusted by this since I don't think that any parent should give up their children just for money, unless they couldn't afford to take care of their children.

2. Does this story remind you of "Beauty and the Beast?"

Yeah, this story reminded me a bit of "Beauty and the Beast" since both stories has the main heroine spending time with a beast or animal and must learn how to accept that beast or animal for who they are while making them see the power of true love.

3. Is the main heroine a good role model for children?

Definitely yes!  I think that the girl in this story did a great job at owning up to her own mistakes and tried to fix it in the end by rescuing the young prince after she accidentally broke her promise to him.  I think this would be a good lesson for children to learn about trying to fix any mistake they made so that they would take their responsibilities more seriously in the near future.

4. Would you like to be carried off by the winds?

Since I always have this strong desire to fly someday, I wouldn't mind being carried away by the winds as long as I am not thrown on a place that would kill me like a pointy building or several feet off the ground.

5. Have you read any other Norwegian folktales? 

So far, "East of the Sun West of the Moon" was the only Norwegian folktale I've read so far, but I am planning on reading more Norwegian folktales in the near future.  Please feel free to contact me about more Norwegian folktales to check out!

East by Edith Pattou

East of the Sun West of the Moon by Mercer Mayer

East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon by P.J. Lynch

East of the Sun West of the Moon by D.J. MacHale

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

 

The Six Servants

Feature and Follow Friday #11: A Close Call

The Feature and Follow Friday Meme isHOSTED by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and basically what this meme is all about is that you get to new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogging Community by following eachBLOGGER!  All you have to do is leave your name and your blog name on the post on the main Feature and Follow Friday Meme page and then create your own post on Feature and Follow Friday and link back to the main page and then you visit as many blogs as you want and you tell the other bloggers "hi!" in their comments (on the post that has the Feature and Follow Friday Image). You follow that blogger and they follow you back!  Just make sure to follow back if that blogger follows you back!

Hey fellow readers!  I'm still trying to read up on "Grave Mercy," even though that book is so long that I probably won't be able to finish reading it within July!  Also over the weekend, a terrible thing had happened at our store.  We just got robbed and even though I wasn't there when the incident happened, this robbery had gotten me on edge and I just pray for the employees who were there and I'm just glad that no one was hurt during the robbery.

Question of the Week: If you had the money what would your own personal library look like? What would be in it? What colors, decorations, etc would you put in it? - Suggested byThe Realm of Books

Awesome question!  I have so many ideas about what my perfect personal library would look like and I've always wanted my personal library to have blue colors for the room and have a nice place to sit by the window so I could have a comfortable place to read while looking at the beauty of the outside world.  But, here are some images that shows what I want my personal library to look like:

So, what would your own personal library look like?

Please comment down below!

[BOOK REVIEW] Saga Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan

Title:  Saga Volume 4


Author:  Brian K. Vaughan


Artist:  Fiona Staples

Genre:  Adventure / Family / Fantasy / Science Fiction

Year Published:  2014

Year Read: 7/8/2015

Series:  Saga #4

Publisher:  Image Comics


Source:  Purchased


Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Strong Language)

Introduction:

YES!!!

It is finally here! I finally got the chance to check out the newest volume in Brian K. Vaughan’s “Saga” series and it was amazing!  I am seriously going to be gushing over just how awesome this volume was compared to the previous three volumes!

What is this story about?

Marko and Alana finally landed on the planet Gardenia in order to start a new life with their daughter Hazel, who is now a toddler at this point.  Alana even got a new job as a TV Action Star; but unfortunately, things are not turning out well for the two lovers.  First of all, Alana’s new job is causing her to spend less time with her family, which is causing Marko to get irritated by all this. Secondly, Marko appears to have met a friendly dance teacher, which he starts spending some time with while Alana is away, so you can imagine where all this is going… Meanwhile, Prince Robot IV’s son is finally born, despite the fact that Prince Robot IV is away somewhere around the galaxy and his wife continues to wait for his return.  Everything seems all well and good, right?  WRONG!  Now it appears that a lowly janitor named Dengo has kidnapped Prince Robot IV’s newborn baby and is planning an all-out war against his own planet!

What I loved about this story:

Brian K. Vaughan’s writing: Wow!  I must admit that I have always been pleasantly surprised with how Brian K. Vaughan’s “Saga” series is progressing in each of these volumes, but I never would have thought that I would read a volume that has so many shocking twists and turns all at once!  Brian K. Vaughan, as always, has done an excellent job at writing this story as I really enjoyed seeing Alana and Marko’s relationship with each other develop even further and it was great seeing Hazel growing up as a toddler in this volume.  I was also impressed with how many twists and turns Brian K. Vaughan brought to the plot of this volume as many of the situations that happened were extremely shocking to me!  I mean, who would have thought that Alana and Marko would actually be seen fighting with each other (verbally, of course) and who would have thought that Prince Robot IV’s newborn son would be kidnapped?  These were twists that really made the story interesting for me and I was hoping that everything would turn out alright for everyone as the series progresses!  I also loved the snarky humor that Brian K. Vaughan incorporated into this volume as I loved hearing everyone comment on various situations that they are currently in, especially from Klara the ghost girl!

Fiona Staples’ artwork:  Fiona Staples’ artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at, especially of the images of laser beams and explosions as they look so effective in the artwork.  I also loved the way that Fiona Staples drew each character from different planets, such as seeing images of alligators being nurses, a tree like creature who works at the TV station and of course, the royal robot characters with TV sets for heads.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I took off half a point from a six star rating (this story is still a five star read, but I usually give the “Saga” series six stars for being so good), was because the first half of the volume was a bit weak in developing the situations for the characters and it did felt like I was waiting for a long time for the actual story to get going (and the actual story did not actually get going until the second half of the volume).  Also, this volume has a lot of gory scenes and strong language that might not go over well for some readers.

Final Thoughts:

My overall verdict for “Saga Volume Four” is…GO AHEAD AND BUY IT!  You will not be disappointed with this installment in Brian K. Vaughan’s “Saga” series and I definitely cannot wait until the fifth volume comes out!

Top Ten Tuesday #16: Top 10 Hyped Books I've Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

So today’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is my top 10 Hyped Books I've Never Read!


So, here's my top 10 hyped books I've never read (in no particular order).

1. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

I have read most of Karen Marie Moning's "Fever" series, but I haven't gotten around to reading "Shadowfever" yet, which was pretty heavily hyped up as one of the best books in the series!


2. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

After reading "Cinder," I just had to check out the second book in the "Lunar Chronicles" series, "Scarlet," which most of my book friends have said was even better than the first book.  But, alas I haven't been able to get around to this book and I am trying to make it my goal to read this book!

3. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Another book that was apart of a series that I really enjoyed, the "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" series and everyone has been saying that this was probably the best book in the entire series, so I definitely have to check this book out!

4. The Shining by Stephen King

I have seen the movie "The Shining," but I've never been able to read the book that the movie was based off of. So, now I'm making it my goal to check this book out!

5. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Another book that my book friends have been heavily recommending to me and it definitely looks pretty interesting to read!


6. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Seriously!?  How could I not check this series out, when there's already a TV series going on at this point?  Well, this is another hyped up book that I got to read soon!


7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Even though I'm currently reading this book, I really need to finish this book, especially since I've heard so many good reviews about this book!

8. The Martian by Andy Weir

This is one hyped up book that I am really excited to check out! I've heard that it was pretty interesting and witty, so I'm definitely checking this book out!

9. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

After reading "The Assassin's Blade" and hearing so many good things about Sarah J. Maas' "Throne of Glass" series, I just had to check this book out and see where the main heroine has to go at this point!

10. Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson

This is definitely one comic book that I've heard so many good things about (mainly because we actually have a more diverse Ms. Marvel in this comic), so I'm definitely looking forward to this comic!

So, what hyped books you haven't read yet? Please feel free to comment below!

Posted on Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The Sunday Post Meme (26)

Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer! The goal of this meme is to share news you have on various books and things you’ve read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog! Book hauls can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books and you can share these finds with other book bloggers!

Hey everyone! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!  I actually had a lot of fun on the 4th of July, even though I still had to work that day (ugh!)  But, me and my family had a nice cookout and I really enjoyed scarfing down on some burgers, hot dogs and potato salad!  I hope everyone else had a nice 4th of July too! 

 What's in Fox's Sack? by Paul Galdone Review

Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci Review

Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp by Mercer Mayer Review

June Monthly Wrap Up!

Feature and Follow Friday #10: Happy 4th of July!

WWW Wednesdays #2: July 1, 2015 

•  I am looking for some co-bloggers for my other blog Rabbit Ears Productions Blog!  Please check out this post for more information and please feel free to join in!

• Check out Happy Indulgence's reviews on Brian K. Vaughan's Saga series!
• Check out Please Feed the Bookworm's Monthly Wrap Up for May and June!
• Check out For the Love of Words' Monthly Rundown of June!

Well, that’s the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various books I’ve read in the near future!

Posted on Sunday, July 5, 2015.

 

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci

Title:  Cinderella Skeleton

Author:  Robert D. San Souci

Artist:  David Catrow

Genre: Fairy Tale / Horror / Retelling

Year Published: 2000

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Frightening Images)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Cinderella Skeleton” is a Halloween version of the classic fairy tale by the master of storytelling, Robert D. San Souci, along with spooky illustrations by David Catrow. This book is about a young and beautiful (according to her spooky world) skeleton named Cinderella Skeleton who wants to go to the Halloween Ball and dance with Prince Charnel. “Cinderella Skeleton” might be a bit too scary for smaller children, but older children will definitely love this creepy retelling of the classic fairy tale.

Robert D. San Souci has done a terrific job at retelling this classic fairy tale in a more Halloween spirited tone as all the characters in this book are skeletons and monsters instead of human beings that the original story portrayed, which makes this book extremely creative to read since it is Halloween themed. Robert D. San Souci makes the story perfectly spooky yet creative as the story is told through a rhyming prose while using such effective words such as “mausoleum” and “bombazine” to describe the haunting world that Cinderella Skeleton lives in. David Catrow’s illustrations are delightfully creepy yet beautiful at the same time as the world around Cinderella Skeleton is dark and bleak and Cinderella Skeleton herself is beautiful (as opposed to the dark world she lives in) as she wears a white torn silk dress that looks like it is made of spider webs which makes her look hauntingly elegant. Also, the image of Prince Charnel himself is somewhat frightening yet he has a handsome physique and he wears a soldier’s uniform that is covered with roaches and he carries a large red, white and black striped snake around the left side of his shoulders, giving him an elegant yet eerie appearance.

Parents should know that there are some genuinely frightening images in this book such as the images of the various monsters that attend the Halloween Ball as some of them have eyeballs missing from their heads and even the skeleton characters look somewhat frightening as they have holes in their eye sockets that look empty and eerie. Another image that might scare smaller children would be the image where Cinderella Skeleton losses her foot at the ball (even though she is a skeleton) and small children might worry that they might lose their feet too. Parents might want to read this book first before they show it to their children to see what their reactions are to such haunting images.

“Cinderella Skeleton” is a truly uplifting and haunting retelling of the classic fairy tale that many children will love for a long time. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to the frightening images and some complicated words like “mausoleum.”