The Oddly Specific Things I Love in Books Tag // ingredients, chess, and mishaps...what could possibly go wrong?

Hello, friends!

I wanted to get one more post in before the end of February and tags just so happen to be the perfect thing for that, and the lovely Sarah Seele has provided exactly what I needed!

Oddly Specific Things I Love in Books Tag:

The Rules:

1. Link back to the tagger: who for me was the delightful Sarah Seele! 
2. Share the graphic on your blog.
3. Share the outline on your post.
4. Share a detail you love about the season of summer into fall: below!
5. List at least 7 random/specific things YOU love to read about in books, big or small.
6. Tag 7 people! 

Seeing as how I was tagged for this in November, one would think that I'd have ample time to make observations about such specific things I love to read about. One would be correct, but I also did not write those things down...so they are lost in the abyss of my mind. So I've started over, documenting everything this time, which resulted in this post.

This year I've been in a very big reading slump and have so far not finished a single book, which grieves me deeply, but I hope this will get me back into it! I've tended recently to live in movies more than literature so let's break out of that!

Maybe I should hide what I'm reading in a magazine.

My Favorite Thing about Summer into Fall:

The month of September seems to last longer than any other month, filled with celebrations and cooling days and work which fills and fulfills the days.

The Oddly Specific Things:

1. First person, present tense 

This is my absolute favorite way to experience a story: to be inserted directly into what is happening to the character and ready for action! It feels so personal and intimate as we are experiencing things the moment that the character is and we get to see their immediate reactions.

We get to read their thoughts and ponderings and sense that the past is lurking under the surface as it slowly is revealed.

It's just solid. 'Nuff said.

2. A quest with a long list of ingredients

A cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow sorry, that's a movie.

My face when I see what the next step to take is.

While the quest for The One Thing is fun, I like when there are steps. Such as finding ingredients for a potion; this is what got me barreling through the first two Land of Stories books, The Wishing Spell and The Enchantress Returns. My younger sister thought they were boring/predictable, oh the horror! But I like making lists and then being able to check things off, so even if some of the items seem obvious then it's in a way that says "look, we know this one it will be easy!" (though it seldom is) that puts me at ease even if the end stakes are higher.

Or if it's not ingredients to get, I also love rules to follow (see below for me being the rule follower) and this can show how far off track the story has gotten, which is delicious. The Narnia book that I've read the most, The Silver Chair, does this excellently.

This doesn't have to be fantasy either, as The Q - by Beth Brower uses a list so well, and changes the stakes even more by not telling the reader what the list is. 

3. Chapters that are just a couple of sentences

A great way to highlight something notable happening.

All the Crooked Saints - by Maggie Stiefvater does this in chapter 5 and I remember that it's chapter 5 because it makes an IMPACT. I have read books with some terribly long chapters *glares at The Count of Monte Cristo* and usually I wish there could be a little break.

Because, you see, I'm a rule follower (lawful neutral for the win) and it feels like I'm breaking a rule if I just stop at a random spot on a page. I'll do it from time to time, but it always makes me feel like I've committed a faux pas. It also depends on how much I respect the book because on books that I don't like I don't really mind doing it.

I just quit reading a book (which I will return to one day) which in addition to having loooooong chapters, had loooooooooooooooooong paragraphs that would go on for PAGES and that also stressed me out, because worse than stopping in the middle of a chapter is stopping the middle of a PARAGRAPH. Unimaginable. But I had to do it many times.

This isn't to say long chapters don't work! North & South - by Elisabeth Gaskell has some long chapters and there was one that I read in a single sitting that to this day that was the most focused I've ever been in my life. I was locked in. I just really really like when a big thing is highlighted by having its own brief chapter. It makes me happy and also satisfied because I just read a whole chapter.

4. Characters with names that either speak to their personality and they are struggling to live up to

As a writer, every single one of my characters has a name for a reason, and while it can be an obvious ploy, I love it. If every one was like this that could be intense, but a couple of my favorites include:

• Hercules Beal from The Labors of Hercules Beal - by Gary D. Schmidt: the book is about Herc grappling with his namesake as he tries to do homework assignments that mimic the Greek legends. Herc is PRECIOUS and so much greater than the original Hercules in terms of heart.

• Wren from Wild Bird - by Wendelin Van Draanen: I just LOVE how this title is then directly referring to Wren. She hates the name and doesn't want to feel like a delicate little bird but is learning how to take flight herself. I looooooove this book (my computer is probably not loving my excessive use of the "o" key tonight so if words start to be missing it that means my computer has given up) and the challenges she goes through are inspiring.

• Stanley Yelnats III from Holes - by Louis Sachar: Our protagonist Stanley is always cursing his ancestor who got him into this mess (being unlucky due to being a no good pig stealer), which happened to be the first person who thought of naming a Yelnats child Stanley because Stanley is Yelnats backwards. The book is about him not just following in his family's footsteps as he breaks the mold while breaking ground. Literally.

• Ulysses from Flora and Ulysses - by Kate DiCamillo: Ulysses is a squirrel, but he feels that his name makes him invincible.

Then I have a couple whose names are spoilers which is also fun and brilliant, because all of a sudden they live up to their name and so it is revealed and ACK good times.

If you're my favorite character, you're not invisible to me!

5. Characters getting themselves into lighthearted mishaps

My sister and I were talking about morally grey characters yesterday on the phone and I've decided that I don't like the traditional literary examples of morally grey characters where they just mope around and find temporary people to fill the void before throwing them away like a used tissue.

What all these characters claim to be doing...

Instead, I love characters who are grappling with conflicts. Or I especially love characters who get in trouble from doing well meaning things...just not thought through. Characters who are trying their best but making bad decisions.

Anne Shirley, of Anne of Green Gables fame, is the QUEEN of this and one of the reasons I read those books again and again. Dying hair, falling through roofs, making questionable food and drink, she does it all. As it is, my moping looks a lot different than the literary works, and I'm instead more likely to get myself into ridiculous situations.

Just the other day I had this WHOLE thing with my boss's car and how her dog wouldn't get out but I needed to go pick up a lady and---

And you guys probably don't need to hear all of that. Just read some Anne of Green Gables or Hercules Beal for things right up this same alley. Some people might say that's what sitcoms are made out of, and that's true, but I don't need to see it on a screen, I can just read it on the pages of some of my favorite books.

Especially because I sympathize with these precious souls because I had (*cough* have) a fear of getting in trouble when I was little which usually led me to do crazy things and then--you guessed it--get in trouble. I love to see the way characters rely on their friends to help them get out of these situations, too!

6. Math and/or chess

What can I say, I'm a nerd at heart? Even in my studies of math I couldn't leave chess out of the picture. I'm addicted to Alice Through the Looking Glass. Including chess or math elements will make me remember a book when i would otherwise have forgotten it, as even though I didn't like Everything, Everything - by Nicola Yoon I still think of it by "life was explained through math!" It made me smile.

Then there's the precious Doug Swieteck in Okay For Now - by Gary D. Schmidt who lists out the stats for everything. Or Harriet Manners in Geek Girl - by Holly Smalle drifts into math tidbits every once in a while in the mix of her other adorably geeky knowledge base.

Math can be an element in movies, too, but it often feels like just the technical jargon that people use to wave their hands and just say that it works. Meanwhile, in books I've seen it used as more introspection and subtle commentary on how the word fits together. It just happened in the audiobook that I'm listening to and I was squealing for joy. Which the people who encouraged me to read this book, including Sarah Seele, should be happy to hear. Chess is more successful in movies, but when they had the ultimate opportunity to give Alice Through the Looking Glass justice they made it about time?? Time?? Where is my chess??

7. An ode to stories

This happens in movies, too (as mentioned in my last review), but it feels especially meta when you're reading a book talking about how books are life-changing and how stories are an essential part of our being.

This can happen if there's a story within a story, and some books that do that excellently are My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - by Fredrik Backman and The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner - by Erin Stewart.

Likewise having a character who is a writer is a joy. Jane Penderwick from The Penderwicks - by Jeanie Birdsall made me want to be a writer, so that's the power words have.

Those are the oddly specific things I love! I'm curious about what these people love, so I'm tagging:

- Katie Hanna of I'm Charles Baker Harris (and I can read)

- Olivia of Meanwhile in Rivendell

- Sally of 18 Cinema Lane

- Heidi of Along the Brandywine

- Samanthawise Gamgee of Bookshire

- Sam the Library Mouse

- and YOU! If you're reading this, feel free to steal it!

Thanks for reading! When have you encountered these oddly specific things? Do you like them? Where can I find more chess? Do you think lists make a story predictable?

Chloe the MovieCritic

Inklings // January 2026

Hello, friends!

Today the Olympics are ending, which is super sad, but to console myself I'm participating in Heidi's monthly link-up, Inklings!

How it works:

1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back to Heidi's blog in your post.

2. Make sure to come back and leave a link to your entry in the box on that month's post: Heidi's post for January 2026.

This month's prompt is:

A scene with a horse in book or film

I struggled a lot with filling this prompt! That's because I've seen a lot of "horse movies"---which is a genre in and of itself---so would start thinking of a scene with a horse, but then it would devolve in me thinking about the entire movie.

I had to keep reminding myself that it doesn't have to be a movie, even though that tends to be my focus here at Movies Meet Their Match. 

AND THEN, just like for the October 2025 Inklings, the audiobook that I am currently listening to supplied the answer. 

The scene that I'm looking at is from Return of the Thief - by Megan Whalen Turner, the 6th book in the Queen's Thief series.

There are even a couple of horses on the cover!

Some of the fans would say one shouldn't say ANYTHING about any of the books to someone who hasn't read them. And that's fair! I just thought it was an amusing little episode that could be enjoyed both by those who have read it and those who haven't. I've made this as spoiler-free on my end as possible, but if you don't want to know a single scene beforehand, I get it! This scene is about 3 hours in to an 11 hour long audiobook and is kind of its own thing, not needing the context of the previous books.

Also, apologies for misspellings of names and odd paragraph formatting. I'm typing this up going off of what I can hear the audiobook saying and am doing my best to guess where one sentence/paragraph ends and a new one begins.

 

"The beautiful war horse...was as indolent as he was handsome...naming him Frist, after the Braile god of winter and Frist appeared determined not to live up to fierceness of his name. Built like a marble temple on legs, he was as placid as the king was excitable and preferred going around obstacles instead of over them. Or, better yet, not going at all. Given any opportunity to stand still, he did. 

'Faster, your Majesty!' called the stable master. 'Faster!'

Too late.

Frist balks at the fence the king wanted him to jump. When he stops dead, the king sailed over the fence into the dirt on the other side of it. The queen looked up briefly before returning to her embroidery.

Lying on the ground, the king shouted, "I think I've broken something!"

"Nothing important, I'm sure," she called back.

"My pride!"

She laughed.

He got very nimbly back to his feet to glare over the fence. When he leapt back onto Frist, the king drove him in a circle to try the jump again. This time, when the horse balked the king flew even higher into the air. Frist's head went down and the king went up, rotating in mid-air to land upright, flourishing his arms like an acrobat jumping a bull.

The queen clapped, the king bowed, and Frist flicked his ears, looking interested for the first time that day."

I just love the description of Frist as "built like a marble temple on legs!" 

Thanks to Heidi for hosting and thanks to all of you for reading! What are some of your favorite "horse movies?" Do you have a scene you can pinpoint as a favorite or do you just think of the whole film? Has an audiobook ever solved a problem for you? Have any of you read The Queen's Thief series? It's taken me almost 3 years to get through them all, but I'm so close!

Until next time, don't get thrown from any horses!

Chloe the MovieCritic

Movie Review: Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

Fee-fi-fo-fum, the time to talk about tall tales has begun!

A trend for fantasy movies in the early 2010s was to embrace a darker and grittier version of well known fairy tales. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and Maleficent (2014) were two popular examples, but sandwiched between them was another entry in this sub-genre that had hopes for being killer. So let's see if, as folks say nowadays, it "slayed."

Spoiler warning: This movie follows the basic outline of the fairytales Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer and as those are relatively well known in their outcomes, I'll reference those more than I usually do when talking about the endings of movies in my reviews. As for the unique elements of this film, I'll talk about some details but leave how it actually turns out a surprise for you!

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013):

Premise: Jack is a big dreamer, having developed a love of reading from a young age by the stories his father read to him. Unfortunately, dreaming doesn't create food for one to eat, so Jack's uncle sends him to market to start selling some of their belongings. However, the legends about giants may have an element of truth, and evil Lord Roderick is looking for the way to the skies, and that way falls right into Jack's hands: magic beans. Meanwhile, Princess Isabelle keeps trying to escape her arranged marriage, much to the chagrin of Elmont, the captain of the guard assigned to keeping her safe. Both Isabelle and Jack are thrown into a bigger adventure in the sky as they try to get home before a clash between the worlds is created.

Genre(s): Fantasy, Fairytale retelling, Adventure.

Length: approx. 114 minutes.

Age Range: It's rated PG-13 for some intense violence, usually in the form of CGI/fantasy brutality rather than one on one combat.

Crew: Directed by: Bryan Singer. Produced by: Neal H. Moritz, David Dobkin, Bryan Singer, Patrick McCormick, & Ori Marmur. Written by: Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie, Dan Studney, & David Dobkin. Music by: John Ottman.

Starring: Nicholas Holt, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor, Eddie Marsan, Ralph Brown, John Kassir, and Cornell John, Andrew Brooke, Angus Barnet, and Ben Daniels (credited as giants with the names Fee, Fye, Foe, and Fumm, which I appreciate).

General Thoughts:

This movie is relatively unknown as compared to others in this sub-genre, and I think it suffers most from critics due to the quality of the CGI. The visuals were laughably bad, which makes the violence (which, warning, includes popping eyeballs and skewered tongues) all the more eyebrow raising because THIS is what they came up with? For me drags the movie down a little but to give it some credit, there is also motion capture involved not just computer simulations. Battle choices aside, what impacts the quality the most is in the design of the giants. All of the giants are purposefully made to be grotesque and unnatural, when I feel like it could very well have just been made with people and special effects or makeup.

Comparatively, Snoke is a masterpiece.

It makes me wonder if making the giants look as gruesome as possible is an attempt to compensate for the body counts later, because the viewers surely wouldn't care! It's their comeuppance! In a fantasy world it is typical to make an us vs. them (see the orcs in Tolkien's work), but here it lacks nuance. I would've liked to see the fairy tale element of one outside the norm, i.e. one of the giants helping the little people out. In fact, the original tale is marked by the compassion of the giant's wife who helps Jack hide but there is no such show of heart for these giants in the sky. It did feel like it was missing something (maybe the Bechdel test?); making everyone bad or good and not have any grey area feels a little lazy. Maybe I'm used to Big Friendly Giants, but it rubbed me a little wrong.

This isn't to say I don't like the movie! I'll talk about what I liked it a minute, and it will show how the rest of my nitpicks made me go "huh" but didn't really change my enjoyment of it. 

The script isn't anything spectacular, as it has some cliches, but those can also be seen as part of the fairy tale genre that starts ("Once upon a time...") and ends ("happily ever after") almost every story the same way. The film walks the line between being serious and being tongue-in-cheek so I think it would've been more successful if it had picked a lane? But success is overrated, as I vibed with the nonchalant yet adventurous attitude, which felt apropos of fairy tales, even if it was unconventional in the movie sphere.

I'm not sure if it would go as far as being called plot holes, but I definitely have questions about how the magic works in this land because it seems conditional; I counted the beans getting wet many more times than the plot counted them getting wet. That is, if this even is a different kingdom, as suddenly--with a jolt--we were England? I don't know if they ever considered a sequel, but there was some potential through some loose threads that didn't get wrapped up. If they had considered a continuation, it would've been fun to see even more classic fairy tales included!

Now to talk about what I liked, it's time to mention the blog party this is for!

For the blogathon: 

This review is my last contribution to Hamlette's We Love Fairy Tales Week!

My favorite part of this film is that it is an ode to storytelling and fairy tales themselves, as both our young protagonists grew up listening to and believing in fairy tales. While that is frowned upon at first by others as a foolish pastime, it is their creativity and ingenuity that was nurtured by these stories that helps them to solve problems and get out of sticky situations.

This is a combination of two fairy tales: Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer.  For an adaptation, they did a good job of keeping enough of the elements so the story feels familiar and comfortable, but also adding in new plots and goals to keep the viewer wanting more. They introduced and developed characters to make it suitable for a 2 hour format, and I'll always be won over by in-depth characters.

I relate to Jack and his tendency to dream, as shown by my frequent daydreaming when I should've been writing this post that I said I would over a month ago...

Jack was sweet and I liked how he was clever and just distracted at times. The scene where Isabelle is blaming herself and Jack totally reshapes her perspective was darling. 

There's a bit of a romance, which makes my reviewing this on Valentine's Day appropriate. 

This film's biggest asset is the cast because you can tell they are all having so much fun. They take their roles seriously, but in a way that is also lighthearted? I can't really describe the attitude, but it's a fun time.

Evil Stanley Tucci played up the villain role to the max. I also really liked Eddie Marson as Crawe, the second in command for Elmont as well as Ewen Bremner as Wicke, the minion to Lord Roderick. I love a good sidekick and I thought they played their opposing archetypes with the right amounts of camp.

Warwick Davis has a cameo which was a delight but also not enough! I wanted more because it was great fun contrast for telling a story about giants.

The whole cast pulls its weight and at times I thought "why are we focusing on Jack!?" when I was equally intrigued by what was happening to the other characters and I had to remind myself that he is indeed the titular character, so it checks out.

Though, if it was up to me, this movie would be about my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE, character, Elmont. He had the exact right amount of snark, loyalty, and energy. He was brilliant and along for the ride. As a bonus, Ewan McGregor just looks like he's having the time of his life. So I can count this a Valentine's Day movie for me watching him.

Thanks to Hamlette for hosting this blog party! Check out the wrap-up post for the blog party to make sure you didn't miss out on any of the entries.

What do you guys think of this sub-genre of gritty fantasy fairy tales? Do you have a favorite "ode to storytelling"? Who are some of your favorite characters who are not the main character? Do you think there should be some nuance for fairy tale creatures? What fairy tales could you see connected to this one in a sequel?

Thank you for reading and happy Valentine's Day!

Chloe the MovieCritic

The We Love Fairy Tales Week Tag! // having a crisis over a dream cast for my favorite picture book

Hello, friends!

I hope you're having a magical day. This week we're celebrating all things fairy tale with Hamlette's We Love Fairy Tales Week! She's had an ode to all kinds of stories through the "we love" format for many years now and our favorite childhood fables are the theme this year. Today I'm answering the questions in the tag!

The Questions:

1.  What's your favorite fairy tale?

Based on how I will watch anything with Cinderella in the title (then usually regret it), one would think that would be my favorite fairytale. It is my kryptonite as I love to see the same story told over and over again but in different settings. What can I say, I have a ball with it!

CinderSabrina?

Maybe Cinderella is my subconscious favorite, but I usually say Beauty and the Beast as I love the idea of falling in love with what's below the surface. This theme comes up in other fairy tales, like The Black Bull of Norway!

But those are themes. My ALL TIME favorite fairy tale is The Four Gallant Sisters, which is an adaptation by Eric A. Kimmel and Tatyana Yuditskaya of TWO Grimms fairytales: "The Four Skillful Brothers" and "The Twelve Huntsman." 

I always thought it was its own thing, and just learned about the dual inspiration yesterday! I read both original stories and while I think The Four Gallant Sisters is iconic and sails above the individual stories, there is quite a hilarious line in "The Four Skillful Brothers": 

"'Come with me and be a thief.' ' 

No,' he answered, 'that is no longer regarded as a reputable trade...'"

Why makes me wonder...was thieving ever a reputable trade? I guess it depends on who you talk to.

2.  If you could cast any actors and actresses ever in a movie version of that fairy tale, who would you pick?

Because The Four Gallant Sisters is probably unknown, here's a quick premise to show you the roles I'm trying to cast!:

When their mother dies, four sisters disguise themselves as men and go out into the world to learn a trade, resulting in a tailor, a hunter, a thief, and an astronomer. Four years later, they get back together and their talents capture the eye of the king, but the queen thinks something is off about them. Tests and adventures ensue...complete with a dragon. What's not to love?

The question gives some grace by adding in the word "ever" which means this doesn't have to be realistic, it doesn't have to be the right age or time of their life to do these roles. However, my brain won't accept it any other way and I went for as accurate as possible. Hence, this post is out later than I'd hoped, but that's also because I was trying to do it while watching the Olympics, and let's just say getting distracted by the Olympics is the best excuse ever.

People aren't actually going to make this happen, but a girl can dream, can't she? 

The oldest sister/the tailor: Tallulah Greive. I've only seen her as Princess Gwen in Cinderella (2021), and I love how spunky and sassy she was. I think she would have some great needling comments (get it, 'cuz she's a tailor? sorry, my puns are terrible today) and have great energy to be the leader of the sisters, if you will. She's a little bit older than the rest of the gals I have cast, but I think that could lend itself to the other sisters looking up to her.

The second sister/the hunter: Freya Parks. This sister gives me the same energy as Scarlet from The Lunar Chronicles, being someone who can have a loud personality but also let her shots speak for her. I really like Freya's intense performance as Hester in The School for Good and Evil (2022) and I'd like to see that same attitude here.

The third sister/the thief: Sophia Lillis. One of my favorite parts of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is Doric's escape from the palace, and I totally want to see a similar scene here with the invisibility belt (did I forget to mention that all of the sisters have fantastic tools at their disposal?). She has a quieter presence which could go well with sneaking around. It makes it more notable when she does speak up, and her sisters should then listen to her warnings.

The youngest sister/the astronomer: Isis Hainsworth. The youngest sister needs a bit of an ethereal look to her--starry eyes and full of wonder, if you will. I liked what Isis did as Aelis in Catherine, Called Birdy (2022) and therefore want to give her a bigger part here!

I made it extra difficult for myself by trying to make the sisters look alike but I am also the first to know that sisters do not always look alike in conventional ways, such as hair and eye color. I really had to restrain myself from just making all of the sisters look like the illustrations and instead play to the personalities, so the fact that I didn't cave to that is a success!

The queen: Penelope Cruz. The queen is such a key character in this story with how she's trying to prove that these "men" are not what they seem and I think Penelope could pull off her being skeptical brilliantly. She's a little younger than in the book, but I think her magnificent presence is what counts.

The king: Javier Bardem. Now that I'm thinking of it, the king and the prince might be the same person, but I just want to see the dynamic duo of Cruz and Bardem in more things, so we'll split the role. Then we can set this kingdom in a fantasy-esque Spain.

The prince: Álvero Rico. I have to be honest here and say I have not actually seen Álvero Rico in anything. But I needed someone who could reasonably be Cruz and Bardem's child, even with the correct age. And it was very important to me that everyone was actually Spanish (totally didn't have someone who was Italian in the role of the prince for a hot second there...). I have seen quite a few Hispanic actors with Latin American roots, but no one seemed the right age. So, he's what I got from looking through lists of "Spanish actors in their late 20s/early 30s." He looks a little more intense than what I was originally going for, but I think he could be a good surprise!

You can tell I'm a little too immersed in K-dramas right now, because as soon as I thought of casting the princess from far away I went to my K-drama casts without a hesitation. In the story I believe it is a princess and her four brothers, yet as much as I LOOOOOOOVE my k-dramas, it's actually really rare/unheard of to have FIVE siblings in Korean culture. So maybe they're cousins instead of siblings? That still feels like a weirdly big family, but just roll with me on this and we can figure out the logistics later when I'm getting paid to cast this, haha.

The princess: Kim Se-jeong: This is purely because I'm watching a k-drama with her at the moment (Business Proposal) and I find her fun and spunky but also able to have slower moments. She just captures one's attention immediately which I think is important for her small role. Which we should totally make bigger, though, if we're making this into a movie anyway.

The brothers/cousins: Kang Tae Oh (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Doom at Your Service), Cha Eun-woo (True Beauty), Lee Chae-min: (Crash Course in Romance), and Kim Min-gi (True Beauty). I will not consider myself well versed in K-dramas until I have seen 10, so this is a very biased pick of just some people I like, were the right age, AND kind of looked similar enough to possibly be related distantly. I don't actually like Kim Min-gi's performance that I've seen, but he was the youngest that I could find and he previously played an annoying youngest brother, which, I figured, could work here.

There you have it! My childhood favorite picture book come to life. Or, at least, giving my dreams a visual element...for now...

3.  Do you have a favorite fairy tale movie?

Into the Woods (2014). I love the aesthetic, I love the casting, I love the songs, I love all of it. That's all that needs to be said.

4.  Do you have a favorite book that retells a fairy tale?

I have a favorite book that retells a fairy tale 6 times: The Rumpelstiltskin Problem - by Vivian Vande Velde. I talked about briefly years ago, but I'm still thinking about it as it was so fun and creative. That's the joy of fairy tales retellings, is that we get to ask some "what ifs?" and here it's not confined to one, but many!

5.  If you got to be in a stage or film production of a classic fairy tale, what fairy tale would you want to be in, and who would you like to play?

My sisters and I used to act out plays of fairy tales for our parents on their anniversary, and my favorite role was when I was the Narrator in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I might also have been the prince; there were only 3 of us, so we had to double up the roles. Our most creative moment was that we decided to narrate the building of the coffin in darkness and just use sound, so for "sawing" I was scratching a cardboard tube with my fingernails. Maybe I should work in sound design.

Nothing quite can top that, but I do think it would be fun to be a villain of some sort. Let's say it's a stage play of Rapunzel, and I'll be the "Mother Gothel" character. We can do some fun rigging--complete with all safety mechanisms--and stage combat to make it look like I push the prince out of the tower.

That's my curtain call.

6.  Do you like fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Grimm Brothers best?  Or someone else's?

We had this book when I was little which had fairy tales from all over the world. From there, I remember my absolute FAVORITE fairy tales were the ones from Czechia/Slovakia. Do I remember what they were about? No clue. I just remember being blown away, even though I was only all of...9 years old? I just remember thinking they were THE BEST.

 I just went and dug it out and it was book 1 of The Young Folks' Shelf of Books series, Fairy Tales and Fables.

For this blogathon I thought I should go through and count all of the collections of fairy tales that we have but one glance made me think otherwise. You should just know that we have A LOT. It's reminding me again and again of my love for fairy tales. Generally, I'd say I like the themes from Hans Christian Andersen a biiiiiiiit better than the Brothers Grimm.

This was another favorite, so well done, Arthur Rackman 

7.  What more obscure fairy tale do you think more people should know about?

I've been thinking about The Three Sillies a lot recently and think it is very applicable in today's world. It's about a guy who, after an incident, thinks his fiancee and her family are ridiculous and says he won't marry her until he finds three other such silly people in the world. That's not necessarily my favorite, but it talks about thinking things through but also giving people some grace when they get stuck on things. I have the neurodivergent urge to get stuck on things a lot and am grateful for the people around me to talk me through some of these things.

The Tinder Box is another perennial favorite of mine, that as wacky as it its, I feel like I reference it a lot? I mean, explaining crazy fairy tales is one of my favorite pastimes, actually, but people wouldn't have to sit through that if they already knew it. It's about a solider and a witch and a princess and three HUGE dogs. It's a good time.

Amazing illustrations help.

Oh, or the actual ending of The Little Mermaid! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the 2023 version, but just for cultural understanding I think it could be beneficial if people knew the original tale, so then they can appreciate the changes that are made in retellings!

And, sadly that's the end of the tag!

But have no fear, there will be all kinds of fairy tale goodness all week long! Just make sure to check out the master post HERE so you don't miss anything!

What do you guys think? Has anyone else heard of "The Four Gallant Sisters" or its source material? Would you watch a movie of it with my cast? Does anyone else want to dramatically (but safely!) push someone out of a tower? Do you have multiple collections of fairy tales?

Thanks for reading! May you all live, "happily ever after!"

Chloe the MovieCritic