Fairy Tales Retold

Hungry for Once Upon a Time..., but craving a twist? Here are some picture books from recent years that might satisfy.

Updated January 12, 2023
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Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon
Compestine, Ying
Paper Book
In Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon, award-winning author Ying Chang Compestine reimagines the classic fairy tale from a Chinese perspective, filled with action and humor--with stunning color illustrations by Joy Ang. By now, you have...
Jo Bright and the Seven Bots
Underwood, Deborah.
Paper Book
A bot-building princess engineers her own happy ending in this futuristic fairytale, a follow-up to the acclaimed Interstellar Cinderella. Once upon a planetoid surrounded by her friends, a girl, Jo Bright, loved building bots ...
It's Not the Three Little Pigs
Funk, Josh/ Taylor, Edwardian (ILT)
Paper Book
Meet the three (ahem--four!) little pigs as they convince the narrator to tell a slightly different version of their fairy tale: First, there's Alan, the one pig in the bunch who is actually a builder. He's got a BIG problem with building a home out of flimsy straw. Next, there's Alfred, who...
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Barnett, Mac.
Paper Book
Instant New York Times bestseller! The MOMENTOUS debut of a groundbreaking Fairy Tale series -- a brilliantly crafted, hilarious twist on this beloved classic, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, from renowned, award-winning, and New York Times bestselling duo and...
The real dada mother goose: a treasury of complete nonsense
Scieszka, Jon
Paper Book
The classic nursery rhymes we know and love--upside-down, backward, in gibberish, and fresh out of bounds--as only Jon Scieszka could stage them Mother knows best, but sometimes a little nonsense wins the day. Inspired by Dadaism's rejection of reason and rational thinking, and...
The little wooden robot and the log princess
Gauld, Tom
Paper Book
A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book of the Year   In this fresh new fairy tale, a wooden robot embarks on a quest to find his missing sister-- making for a memorable contemporary bedtime story in acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Gauld's first...
Juno Valentine and the magical shoes
Chen, Eva
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller! Featured in Oprah Magazine's Holiday Gift GuideRecommended by Rachael Ray as the perfect holiday giftFeatured in InStyle's Holiday Gift Guide Juno Valentine's favorite shoes don't light up. They...
Interstellar Cinderella
Underwood, Deborah
Paper Book
Once upon a planetoid, amid her tools and sprockets, a girl named Cinderella dreamed of fixing fancy rockets. With a little help from her fairy godrobot, Cinderella is going to the ball. But when the prince's ship has mechanical trouble, someone will have to zoom to...

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