Our Story
Not so long ago, in a city you most likely have heard of and may even have been to, a soon to be middle-aged, balding dad was lying in bed reading good night stories to his little baby daughter.
While lying there with the little one in his arms, he noticed something strange. It seemed that all princesses in these fairy tales needed to be saved and that their most important characteristic was their beauty.
He did not like that at all. He didn’t want his daughter to grow up in this kind of world. So, while reading, he started changing little words here and there. All of a sudden a ‘beautiful’ princess became a ‘brave’ one and he saw the sparkle in his daughter’s eyes!
From this came the idea of Fairy Tales Retold, with a simple, yet powerful premise:
Changing one word can change everything!
He did not like that at all. He didn’t want his daughter to grow up in this kind of world. So, while reading, he started changing little words here and there. All of a sudden a ‘beautiful’ princess became a ‘brave’ one and he saw the sparkle in his daughter’s eyes!
From this came the idea of Fairy Tales Retold, with a simple, yet powerful premise:
Changing one word can change everything!
In 2019, we self-published our first book, a retelling of Snow White in English and German. Despite the challenges of 2020, we are delighted that people have enjoyed our book in over 30 countries!
We published an first activity book in July, and partnered with UBS in September to share some of our books with primary schools in London.
All children belong in fairy tales and deserve to see themselves in literature. We are trying to do our bit towards this, but know that there is so much further to go and so much more work to do.
If you enjoy our retelling, or have ideas on how to improve our future work, we would love to hear from you!
Our Team
Stephan Kalinski
Stephan developed the original concept of Fairy Tales Retold. His 2 children keep him busy the rest of the time!
Claudia Piras
An artist in Sardinia, Claudia created the illustrations for Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs.
Iain Botterill
A Geography teacher in London, Iain leads on production and on editing audio content for Fairy Tales Retold.