The Best Fairy Tale Retellings for Kids (That They'll Actually Want to Read)

For centuries, fairy tales have been retold, reimagined, flipped, and fractured, leading to ongoing generations of beloved stories. Princesses get to be heroes. Witches get to be good. What we think we know is wrong, and we are invited to embark on adventures that lead us to new versions of happily ever afters. 

I’ve often found that fractured fairy tales are great ways to get reluctant readers excited about books; they turn familiar characters and plots on their heads, and who doesn’t want to see what happens when Cinderella is a spy or a fairy or an adventure? Of course, they’re also ideal for avid readers who are more than content to tear through a book in one sitting (raising my hand here; this is still my ideal Saturday afternoon).

Note that these are just my opinions, and this is far from an exhaustive list. There are so many terrific, magical books, and I’ll continue to add to this list!

[AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you purchase through my links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps support my writing — and you'll be supporting independent bookstores at the same time. Win-win. Why do I use Bookshop.org links? It works directly with local bookstores to ensure they receive the profits, supporting our communities, bookstores, and writers!]

best fairy tale retellings for kids

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Oh, there are few words to describe how much I love this book. I read it as a kid, I read it as an adult, and it brings me so much joy.

In Ella Enchanted, Ella is cursed at birth with the "gift" of obedience, and she must do whatever anyone tells her. It flips the traditional Cinderella narrative with a strong, spunky, bold heroine (my favorite kind) who is determined to break her curse and refuses to accept her fate. No wonder that it’s a Newbery Honor book and a classic.

(If you’ve read The Princess Swap #1, you’ll notice a nod to Ella Enchanted during Belle’s story! I wanted to pay homage to one of the best fairy tale retellings.) 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The title alone is so beautiful, which should give you a sense of what is to come.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a wondrous and magical adventure where every year, people in a town leave a baby as an offering to a witch who lives in the forest. Except that the witch is actually kind, and she feeds the babies starlight as she transports them to loving families on the other side of the forest. When she accidentally gives a baby moonlight, the child develops magical powers, so the witch decides to raise her. But as the girl grows up, a man decides to defeat the witch to free his people. 

The book won the 2017 Newbery Medal and heaps of other critical acclaim. It’s such a stunning exploration of what fairy tales can be.

Fairy Tale Reform School series by Jen Calonita

When I was younger, I adored the TV show “Once,” and I am obsessed with almost anything that brings fairy tale characters into the same world. And it’s just as much fun as you’d hope in this series. 

When 12-year-old Gilly is caught stealing (in order to feed her younger siblings), she’s sentenced to three months at a reform school run by former villains - think the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother. But as Gilly makes friends with the other students, she discovers that there might be more to this school, and the reformed villains, than she expects. 

I would consider this more upper-middle grade, so better suited for readers 12 years and older.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I first read this book as an adult (for older readers, I had stumbled upon the delightful A Sorceress Comes to Call and wanted to explore more Goose Girl retellings), and I was beyond enchanted. The world-building is so compelling and the characters so rich that I wanted to sink into these pages and never, ever leave. 

The book follows Crown Princess Anidori (“Ani”) who grows up able to talk to animals. She is sent away to a faraway land to be married, but when her lady-in-waiting betrays her and takes Ani’s identity, Ani has to work as a royal goose girl in order to save herself and her kingdom.

The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani

I am actually obsessed with this series. It’s so smart, clever, and in conversation with many great fairy tale authors while creating something utterly original.

Best friends Sophie and Agatha are headed to - guess where - the School for Good and Evil. Beautiful and kind Sophie knows she’s destined for the School for Good, while Agatha seems like she’s headed to the School for Evil. But when the girls end up at the wrong school, they learn more about themselves, question what it means to be good or evil…and put the school and all of the students into danger.

It’s also a Netflix movie, so fun for readers who love to see their favorite books adapted for the silver screen. 

The Labryinth of Souls by Leslie Vedder

This fun, spooky book nods to Tim Burton while inviting readers into a new magical school. Ix is such a bold, captivating main character who learns to embrace and harness her differences (a reminder we all need!).

Ix Tatterfall is able to enter the dangerous Labyrinth of Souls, and, because of this, she’s invited to join a mysterious academy filled with other students with magical powers. But things start to go wrong in the Labyrinth when a mysterious and terrible Nightmare gets free. It’s on the hunt for someone. And that someone happens to be Ix.

While this might be more on the fantasy side of things, I consider this a fairy tale because Leslie Vedder, the author, says some of the original thinking for this book came out of a desire to write an Alice in Wonderland retelling. (And I love how a story can change its shape in so many ways as it goes from first idea to finished draft.)

The Princess Swap Series by kim bussing

Of course, I’m going to sneak my own books on this list! The NYT-bestselling Princess Swap series is essentially the Brothers Grimm meets Freaky Friday, and in each book, two fairy tale princesses have their stories swapped.

Princess Swap #1 features Belle and Cinderella, where Belle finds herself trapped in a wicked stepmother’s cellar and has to team up with a prince in order to save herself and her family, while Ella is locked inside a Beast’s castle and has to race against time to break a curse.

These books emerged from a long-time love of fairy tales and a desire to tell my own versions, ones where the girls were the heroes and were perfectly capable of saving themselves.

——

What books am I missing on this list? Did you end up reading a book I suggested? Send me a note and let me know!