First up is NAUGHTY CINDERELLA.  Cinderella works as a prostitute to bring money into her family so her stepsisters and her stepmother can live the life they feel they deserve.  When the prince comes to the town square to announce a ball, they laugh when Cinderella says she wants to attend.  Though she found a beautiful gown, they destroy it and go to the ball without her.  She sits in a tub knowing her life will end.  Her fairy godmother appears and gives Cinderella all she needs to go to the ball including crystal slippers with the admonition to return home by midnight.  Will she?  Will she amaze the prince?  Will he marry her?

I enjoyed this tale.  It follows a lot of the CINDERELLA fairy tale with a few differences.  Her stepsisters may be beautiful on the outside, but they are ugly on the inside.  She is the most beautiful woman at the ball and the prince knows it.  As he says, “it’s in the eyes.”  When midnight comes Cinderella runs out.  She manages to make it home but just barely.  I liked the differences.  I liked how the prince could identify her.  I also liked the secret he shared on their wedding night.  I hope nothing but good comes to them.

Next is RIDING RED HOOD.  Red is running through the woods trying to outrun cannibals.  Suddenly the cannibals are attacked and killed by a beast-like creature.  The next morning Red is in her own bed.  But how did she get there?  She has no memory when her fiancée asks her as the Chief Protector.  He sends her to his detectives for questioning.  They question her story.  She gets angry especially when she learns attacks had been happening for some time.  Her fiancée and his men set out to find and kill the beast.  Red decides to find him first.  Who will find the creature?  What is the creature?  Why is Red so interested in him?

I liked this story.  It’s a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood but a lot more grown up and without the woodsman to kill the big bad wolf.  I liked Red and Kull, the creature.  There was more passion between them then between Red and her fiancée.  He was a jerk!  I was not crazy about the ending, but I liked it rather than how it could have ended with Red and her fiancée.  An interesting story.

Last is BEAUTH AND THE BEAST WITH TWO BACKS.  Belle’s father goes off with his mistress to the Beast’s castle.  There he picks a black rose for his mistress.  The Beast catches him and in exchange, Belle’s father offers her up.  Belle comes and stays while her father and his mistress leave along with their retinue.  Belle tries to keep her distance from the Beast but gradually spends more time with him and develops a friendship with him.  Her father sends word that he wants to see her before he dies.  Will the Beast let her leave?  If he does, will she come back?  If she comes back, what will she find?

I enjoyed this story.  It follows THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST more than the other stories followed their fairy tales.  I liked Belle and Beast.  They had to learn to trust each other.  I liked the trust Beast placed in Belle.  Belle learned a lot from Beast.  She finally learned not to not accept bad behavior and to stand up for herself.  It is an interesting end.  Not one I was expecting.  I wonder what does happen when the tale is finished.

Willa loves getting treasure that falls into the Monkey Pit at the zoo even if it means she has to climb onto the ledge to get it. Getting in trouble for going on the ledge means that mama takes her dangly earring treasure. Thinking of an idea to get it back, Carter, a little boy, comes to look at the Monkey Pit and has a conversation with her. He also leaves his new backpack and he needs it for school tomorrow so Willa decides to leave the zoo and find Carter.

I enjoyed this story. I found it fun and interesting. I liked that Willa made friends outside of the zoo. The best ones were the chipmunks. Exploring the world outside the zoo was fascinating as Willa learned what was good and what was unsafe. Meeting some mean critters and people taught her to hide but she does not let it deter her quest. The other characters, especially Carter, are good. Villains abound as Willa tries to help. A good story for beginning readers.

A wonderful collection of short stories some dark some a little weird but all cleverly written. There is a loose connection theme running along side the clear prose that is always prevalent in Japanese literature. Highly recommended.

TITLE:  Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth

AUTHOR:  J.R.R. Tolkien

EDITOR:  Christopher Tolkien

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DESCRIPTION:

 "Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories.

The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf’s lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End; the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand; and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan.

Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Númenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantíri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were edited by Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father’s writings."

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REVIEW:

I found the sections involving the Third Age most interesting.  These include a fuller narrative of what happened to Isildur on the Gladden Fields (and the interesting things Aragorn finds in Saruman's tower), several extended narratives on the politics and friendship between Gondor and Rohan, a "missing chapter" of the Battle of the Fords of Isen where Theodred was slain, and a hilarious extra "chapter" on Gandalf's quest to convince Thorin to take a hobbit with him to claim his Kingdom Under the Mountain.  There is additional juicy information about Ringwraiths, Gollum, wizards (there were 5 of them!), Seeing-Stones and a peculiar race of humans called the Druedain.  

It really is a pity that Tolkien didn't manage to add some of these "unfinished tales" into his novels, even as appendices.  This book provides a selection of additional material for those who need to know more about Middle-Earth.  However, I do suggest reading The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, before reading Unfinished Tales to get the most out of this book.