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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.

Estrella Bonilla

The editor of Rabbel Magazine, Estrella is a socio-cultural anthropologist studying for a master in inclusive design. Estrella leads on our social media strategys

Reviews

Our latest customers

96 reviews
95%
(91)
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(3)
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C
Aschenputtel (Deutsch)
Clara Schröder

Aschenputtel (Deutsch)

M
Snow White (German)
Melanie Hub
Much better version

I bought the German version of Snowwhite and love it. My daughter, too. I have to read it a lot.

Endlich ein Märchen, was in diese Zeit passt :)

Schneewittchen neu erzählt ist wunderschön divers geschrieben! Es gibt viele erfrischende Ideen, wie beispielsweise die Darstellung des Königs als alleinerziehenden Papa. Auch das Ende ist perfekt!
Allein die Charaktere der Zwerge hätte noch etwas ausgeschmückt werden können.
Auch die Illustrationen sind wunderschön bunt und divers!
Insgesamt ist die Neuerzählung wirklich gelungen! :)
Ich freue mich auf eine Fortsetzung von Schneewittchen und/oder weiteren Märchen von euch!

A
Snow White (German)
Annika Ulich
Wollen Fortsetzung, sofort ;)

Hallo ihr Lieben

Und ein herzlcihes Danke für dieses wahnsinnig tolle Buch! Ich habe es am Holzmarkt für eine befreundete Familie gekauft und als ich sie nun an weihnachten nicht gesehen habe, gestern mit meinen Kindern gelesen (3 Jungs, 2x7 und 1x6 Jahre). Wir waren alle begeistert und kurz vor Ende mein kleiner: Gibt es da auch ein zweites von? (Im Sinne einer Fortsetzung).

Meine Frage: Gibt es schon ein neues Buch in der Reihe in Planung? Ich wollte mir gleich alle Märchen bestellen, sehe aber es ist bislang nur das eine?
Ich freue mich auf einen Hinweis oder eine Art Newsletter, wenn es wieder ein neues Buch gibt.
Ganz liebe Grüße und danke für das tolle Buch,
Annika

With little change HUGE difference

I got the book initially from a friend when my second child was born. I loved it so much that i bought 3 books to gift to mom-friends' children. The book has just a few small changes to the 'original' (because let's face it, folktales have a lot of different versions) but it makes it more inclusive to people of colour, empowering to both men and women and so much more 'active'. The protagonist is actually in charge of her own life, as are all the other persona. LOVE! I am Dutch, so I translate 'on the go', but if you need someone to translate it to Dutch so all Dutch parents can read it to their children I would love to do that!