Heidi Anne Heiner

Fairy Tales, Linguistics, and Feminism, July 8 2004

Recently, Catherine Orenstein authored a book about Little Red Riding Hood through the ages, titled 'Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked', studying the tale's influence in popular culture and vice versa. The book made great armchair reading for anyone slightly interested in the subject.

Now Alessandro Levorato has published a more scholarly study of the famous fairy tale in 12 versions published over the past 300 years. She takes the seldom used linguistics approach to studying the tale, breaking down each tale into word choices and meanings, as well as other nuances of grammar and language usage. This is not easy reading, but it is meaningful. Levorato's study is divided into six main… Read more

Complete your Jim Henson's The Storyteller Collection, July 2 2004

Last year, fans were thrilled to find Jim Henson's The Storyteller Collection on DVD for the first time featuring the fairy tales crafted for the series. Thanks to the success of that DVD, the Greek Myths are also being released this year. While the effects of the series are somewhat dated, the series is still spectacular, incorporating the genius of Jim Henson and those he gathered around him. Also note that the storyteller in this series is Michael Gambon, the new Dumbledore in the third Harry Potter movie.

And to let you know what is on the DVD, here is the episode info provided by Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment:

DAEDALUS AND ICARUS: Daedalus, one of the greatest inventors… Read more

Excellent collection of essays, Jun 29 2004

This collection of sholarly articles on the fairy tale are diverse and interesting. No one school of thought dominates the collection, providing a wide sampling of contemporary fairy tale studies. I especially enjoyed the article on Maria Roalfe Cox by Pat Schaefer and Graham Anderson's article that essentially summarizes his longer book, "Fairytale in the Ancient World." While the emphasis is on European and North American fairy tales, some scholars travel further, such as Mary Brockington in her article about tales from Southern Asia.

Although the book is scholarly and thus costly, it is recommended for avid fairy tale enthusiasts as well as the traditional academic… Read more