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Jen Pace Dickenson

Shelf Life

 

It’s almost time for summer learning at the library!

The theme this year is Imagine Your Story, so I am sharing some fairy tale retellings for all ages. Visit Columbus Library, Saluda Library or polklibrary.org to sign up for the program starting June 8. Kids and teens can earn brag tags and entries into our weekly prize raffles and all ages will get entries into our grand prize raffles.

KIDS

The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz

Practice makes perfect in this fractured fairy tale. Why does this wolf think he can come to town and blow all the houses down? These three little pigs just aren’t going to take it from that bully anymore! The book combines clever dialogue and tongue-in-cheek with Dan Santat’s spunky illustrations.

A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm fairy tales. An irreverent, witty narrator leads us through encounters with witches, warlocks, dragons, and the devil himself. As the siblings roam a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind the famous tales, as well as how to take charge of their destinies and create their own happily ever after.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

This is a funny and original take on the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears from the brilliant mind of Mo Willems, the author/illustrator of the Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and the Elephant and Piggie series. Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs, who decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, prepare pudding of varying temperatures, and go… someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!

TEENS

Part of Your World by Liz Braswell

What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula? It’s been five years since the infamous sea witch defeated the little mermaid and took King Triton’s life in the process. Ariel is now the voiceless queen of Atlantica, while Ursula runs Prince Eric’s kingdom on land. But when Ariel discovers that her father might still be alive, she finds herself returning to a world she never imagined she would see again.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This is the first book in the New York Times bestselling Lunar Chronicles series. Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl… Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction.

ADULTS

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

A tale about Peter Pan and the friend who became his nemesis, a nemesis who may not be the blackhearted villain Peter says he is. There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost boy to his greatest enemy.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

This winner of the Nebula Award and finalist for the Hugo Award is described by Publishers Weekly as “Breathtaking… A tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible.” Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Jen Pace Dickenson is the youth services librarian for Polk County Public Libraries. For information about the library’s resources, programs, and other services, visit polklibrary.org or call 828-894-8721.