Title:  Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales and Other Stories: Thumbelina, the Talking Eggs, The Fisherman and His Wife, the Emperor and the Nightingale

Author:  Rabbit Ears

Genre:  China / Fairy Tale / Folktale / Magic / Animals

Year Published: 2006

Year Read: 2009

Series: Rabbit Ears Treasury

Publisher:  Listening Library (Audio)

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Rude Behavior and Intense Moments)

When I first heard that Rabbit Ears was finally releasing their classic stories on audio CDs, I was so excited and happy because not only will I have the pleasure of listening to these fantastic classics over and over again, but now everyone will have a chance to listen to this fantastic series! “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales” is an audio cd that is full of various fairy tales created by Rabbit Ears and with a vast array of famous celebrities along with engaging music for each story, this audio cd is a delightful treat for both children and adults!

Since I have reviewed half of these stories already, I am just going to briefly summarize each story on this audio cd:

The Fisherman and his Wife 
Told by: Jodie Foster
Music by: Van Dyke Parks
In this Brothers Grimm tale, a meek fisherman stumbles upon a magical flounder who promises the poor fisherman that he will grant him several wishes if he frees him. When the Fisherman told his wife about this, his wife suddenly gets greedy and she starts wishing like crazy.

The Talking Eggs
Told by: Sissy Spacek
Music by: Micheal Doucet dit Beausoleil
A kind girl named Blanchett learns about the importance of being kind towards other and how it brings its own rewards.

Thumbelina
Told by: Kelly McGillis
Music by: Mark Isham
A tiny little girl named Thumbelina, who is no bigger than a thumb goes on a wild adventure in the outside world that changes her life forever.

The Emperor and the Nightingale
Told by: Glenn Close
Music by: Mark Isham
An Emperor learns about the importance of the real thing when the real nightingale has to save the Emperor from a horrible fate.




Oh my goodness!! Never would I have thought that I would enjoy this series now as much as I did as a child! Every narrator on this audio CD has greatly contributed enough excitement and tenderness to each of these stories that will have any child and adult listening to this series over and over again! Out of all four of these stories presented in this audio cd, my favorites were “The Talking Eggs” and “The Emperor and the Nightingale.” In “The Talking Eggs” Sissy Spacek has indeed done an excellent job at narrating this story as she provides a Southern flair to the story and actually puts so much emotion in her narration whenever she is enacting a character yelling or being soft-hearted. Micheal Doucet dit Beausoleil’s music is clearly catchy and inspiring as it has a slight country theme that will have many children toe-tapping to the music until the very end of the story! In “The Emperor and the Nightingale,” Glenn Close does a splendid job at narrating this story as she sounds extremely tender and soothing and Mark Isham’s music provides a magnificent presentation of Chinese inspired music that will have everyone be mesmerized by the music.

The only problem I had with this audio CD was that it did not come with a book or in this case, books, to accompany each story. For anyone who has grown up with the Rabbit Ears series since they were children might possibly be disappointed in not receiving a book to go with each story. However, because the celebrities’ narrations are so effective and creative, this audio cd is still a treat to listen to. 

Overall “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales” is a fantastic audio cd for both children and adults who love reading old classics and fairytales and will be an instant treat for many years!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Thriller



Year Published: 2011



Number of Pages: 402 pages



Date Read: 7/14/2016
 

Publisher: Amulet Books

“Go away princess. Leave your outlaw alone. You won't change him... go away, Anna, far away, and don't ever come back. The fairy tale doesn't have a happy ending.”

Okay…I am seriously at a loss of words in how to describe my feelings for this book…I mean seriously; I had never, EVER read a book that turned out quite like this! Alright, so before I go into details about my thoughts about this book, this book is called “The Storyteller” by Antonia Michaelis and was translated from German by Miriam Debbage and I have to say that this was one of the most shocking and heartbreaking romance novels I had ever read!

Anna Leeman was your average high school student who dreamt of exploring more in her life than just studying and hanging out with her inner circle of friends all the time. One day, however, Anna’s life changes when she finds a child’s doll on the floor of the student lounge and finds out that it belongs to Abel Tannatek, the school’s Polish peddler drug dealer. Anna then becomes fascinated with this drug dealing loner and wanted to learn more about him by following him everywhere. When Anna follows Abel to his home, she discovers that Abel is living with his six-year-old sister Micha and he has been trying to take care of her, despite the fact that he is too young to be her guardian. Anna then begins to help Abel avoid the social services who want to take Micha away from him and during that time, she ends up falling in love with Abel. Unfortunately, at the same time, several people, who have close connections to Abel and Micha, ended up getting murdered and Abel is the prime suspect!

Can Anna prove Abel’s innocence or is Abel not as innocent as he looks?

Read this book to find out!

Whoa…just whoa….This was one of those books that I could not decide on how to voice my opinions on the whole experience because this book has things that are so wrong that you should find yourself hating this book for how certain things turned out; but at the same time, it was one book that really kept you on the edge of your seat and you just found yourself wanting more from the characters and the story itself! I mean, who would have thought that I would be reading a romance novel that has murder in the center of the plot and pulls off quite a plot twist that I did not see coming a mile away? Antonia Michaelis has truly woven an extremely intense and tragic tale about the joys and dangers of having a romantic relationship with a mysterious bad boy. What made this book stand out from the other romance novels was the fact that it was deconstructing the ideal bad boy hero archetype that we often see in romance novels and actually turned this aspect into something disturbing and tragic for the main anti-hero of the story. Antonia Michaelis really made the characters stand out in this book as they were each deconstructions of the typical romantic archetypes found in most romance novels. Anna Leeman, the heroine of the story, is shown to be innocent and yet yearns for more adventure in her life. However, she is shown to be less unsure of what she really wants and due to being extremely young, she does not know the dangers of the real world very well. Abel Tannatek is shown as your typical bad boy hero who is mysterious and is often moody towards people; but he is shown to have an extremely dark and dangerous side that might put his relationship with Anna in jeopardy. Bertil is shown as a jealous boy who expresses great hatred towards Abel due to him being a romantic rival for Anna, but it is shown that his distrust towards Abel may be founded for a reason. Gitta is shown to be Anna’s best friend, but she is rarely there for Anna, especially when Anna starts distancing herself from Gitta throughout the story. But probably my most favorite part of this book was the storytelling segments told by Abel regarding the little queen and her dangerous journey to the mainland! I loved the way that Antonia Michaelis made the storytelling segments relate to the real life struggles of Abel and Micha as it helps give the readers clues as to what is really going on with Abel and Micha’s life and also pointing out that just because the story that Abel is telling is a fairy tale, does not mean that everything that happens in real life will wrap up nicely like in most fairy tales.



For those of you who do not like strong language and violence, this book does have some strong language such as some mentions of the “s” and “f” words and some violence, which involves several characters getting shot and killed.

[There are some disturbing and troubling scenes in this book, but probably the most prominent for me was the scene where Abel rapes Anna. Even though this was the point in the book where we start to see Abel’s true nature, it was still unsettling for me to see a rape scene in this book since I do not take well to rape scenes. But what troubles me more about this scene was how Anna took it as even though we still see Anna reeling over from Abel raping her, the fact that she still loved him even after he raped her makes me feel uneasy. I guess if I was in that situation (and I really, REALLY hope I never do get in that situation), I would not be as forgiving as Anna. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, “The Storyteller” is easily one of the most disturbing yet most heartbreaking and shocking novels I had ever read and anyone who loves reading about books that deconstruct the romance genre should definitely give this book a try!


Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre:  Family / Feminism / Medieval Ages / Children's Book

Year Published: 2001

Year Read:  2011

Publisher: The Chicken House

I was reading this book for the Children's Book Picture Book Club for the theme of royalty and I was so into this book! “The Princess Knight” is a children's book by Cornelia Funke along with illustrations by Kerstin Meyer and it is about a young woman named Violetta who ends up competing with the other knights to become the best knight in her father's kingdom. “The Princess Knight” is a truly brilliant book that shows women in a strong light that every child will definitely love for many years!

If you think that you have read any fairy tale that has a female knight, then you will definitely enjoy this rare gem that features such a strong and clever female knight! Originally published in Germany and being Cornelia Funke's first picture book to be published in English, “The Princess Knight” is definitely one phenomenal tale that should be well known to children everywhere! Cornelia Funke has done an impressive job at writing this book as it is a cute yet inspiring tale about a young woman's determination to become the best knight her father's kingdom. What I really loved about this book was the main character Violetta as she was truly a clever and strong woman whose determination and independent nature made her a successful character at the end. I loved the way that Violetta handled the situation about being married to one of the knights if they win since she used her cleverness and strength to get out of the situation. Personally, I totally understand how Violetta felt about having her father chose who she should marry because I would have been upset myself at the idea of marrying someone that was based on another person's opinion and not my own. I believe that only you would know who you want to spend the rest of your life with and what to look for in a successful relationship because the other person might choose a spouse that might either hurt you or does not share the same interests as you do. That is not to say that whoever your friends and family chose for you always comes out bad, but once again, only you have the power to say who you want to be with.

The only problem I had with this book were the illustrations by Kerstin Meyer. Now, I still gave this book a five star rating anyway because of the story itself, but the illustrations were just too simplistic and confusing for me to follow. What I mean is that whenever I try to read the story, the illustrations are shown differently from the story and they tend to kind of run ahead of the story that I get confused about what is really happening with the illustrations. Also, the illustrations rarely have any color to the characters and the background rarely have anything to indicate where the characters are positioned at.

Overall, “The Princess Knight” is a truly amazing book that children who love reading about strong heroines will definitely enjoy for many years! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this story.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre:  Fairy Tale / Germany / Audiobook / Family

Year Published: 1991

Year Read:  2006

Publisher: Rabbit Ears Books

Series: We All Have Tales 

Rabbit Ears Productions is widely known for their celebrity narrated stories. The production also many stories that were highlights of the 1990s. “Rumpelstiltskin” is a popular story from Rabbit Ears “We All Have Tales” series and is greatly enhanced by Kathleen Turner’s narration, Tangerine Dream’s haunting music and Peter Sis’s delicate drawings.

Kathleen Turner’s narration is extremely brilliant as she uses a somewhat menacing voice foreshadowing Rumpelstiltskin’s ulterior motives. Also, Turner does an excellent job at being brilliantly scary towards the end of the story when Rumpelstiltskin meets his demise. Tangerine Dream’s haunting music provided the perfect mysterious atmosphere to the appearance of the little man to enacting Rumpelstiltskin’s frightening dance number when the queen searches for him. Peter Sis’s drawings are delicate yet haunting, especially of the image of Rumpelstiltskin pulling off his mask, revealing a skeleton face.



Parents should know that younger viewers may be frightened by the theme of Rumpelstiltskin trying to take the child away from the queen. Since, many children are getting kidnapped in the world today; many young viewers may worry about being kidnapped by a little man. Also, since Rumpelstiltskin’s reasons for wanting the child is made unclear, children may fear that Rumpelstiltskin may hurt the baby boy.

“Rumpelstiltskin” is another Rabbit Ears story that is mysterious and haunting, just like “The Fisherman and his Wife,” and is full of engaging music and images that create a wondrous world full of mystery and enchantment. This is a great film for the whole family watch, but parents must warn their children about the theme of child-kidnapping before letting them watch this video.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre:  Family / Fairy Tale / Travel / Royalty / Magic

Year Published: 1986

Year Read:  2015

Publisher: Holiday House

Now, I have read many stories from the Brothers Grimm and I had enjoyed every single one of them! So, imagine my surprise when I finally came upon one of the Brothers Grimm’s stories being put into a singular children’s book called “The Water of Life” retold by Barbara Rogasky along with illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman and enjoying it immensely!

The story starts off with the king becoming extremely ill and everyone thought that the king might die since there was no cure to be found. One day however, while the king’s three sons were grieving over their father’s illness, a little old man told the sons of the Water of Life and that it might cure their father. The oldest son then decided to seek the Water of Life; merely because he wanted to inherit his father’s kingdom and he goes on a journey to find the Water of Life. Along the way, the oldest son meets a small dwarf who asked him where he was going and the oldest son rudely shoved the dwarf away. The dwarf then angrily cursed the oldest son to remain trap in a ravine between two mountains for a long period of time. When the oldest son did not return, the second son decided to search for the Water of Life and he also met the small dwarf along the way and treated the dwarf rudely when the dwarf asked the second son where he was going. The second son then ended up in the same fate as the older brother for being too prideful towards the dwarf. Finally, the youngest son went to search for the Water of Life himself and he actually showed kindness towards the dwarf by telling him that he was searching for the Water of Life. The dwarf then eagerly tells the youngest son how to find the Water of Life and the trials he must overcome to get the water.

Will the youngest son be able to get the Water of Life?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! This book was amazing! I have always loved the Brothers Grimm’s tales and it was great seeing one of their stories showing up in a picture book format! Barbara Rogasky’s writing is truly fantastic as Barbara Rogasky really captures the medieval spirit of this tale and I really loved the fact that the youngest son is shown to have a kind heart and that he is rewarded for his kindness. I like the fact that the story teaches readers that having a kind heart will give you your own rewards in life. I also really enjoyed the magical aspect of this story as we have a dwarf who curses people for being arrogant and a jug of water that can cure any kind of illness inflicted on people as they make me wonder about whether or not such magical abilities should be allowed in the real world and how they would help the world become a better place to live in. Trina Schart Hyman’s artwork is truly gorgeous as they really capture the Medieval times the story takes place in and I enjoyed seeing images of castles and magical creatures occupy this magical world. I also loved the fact that the characters are drawn realistically as it gives the story a mature yet mesmerizing atmosphere and also make the characters stand out.

Overall, “The Water of Life” is a truly fantastic tale about true kindness that every fan of the Brothers Grimm should definitely check out!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog