Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

Cassie and Laura continue our Arabian Nights era with book one in the Once Upon a Time series from Simon Pulse -- The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey. There's a bit more chatter up top in this episode than usual, so if you want to get straight to the discussion and bypass Toddler Tales and the history of the Once Upon a Time series, skip to 10:55! Laura and Cassie go off on sever...

Cassie and Laura kick off our Arabian Nights era with one of the earliest -- Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher. We get into the way she deftly weaves a story presenting complex topics in a way that is accessible for younger readers without talking down to them, how she represents the cycle of resentment and forgiveness, and discuss the ways we did have to stretch our suspension of disbelief once or...

It's time to bid another farewell to our second (riches to) rags to riches girlie and introduce ourselves to the ultimate storyteller Shahrazad, in any of the many many ways her name has been spelled. Cassie and Matt start us off with our final thoughts on The Goose Girl , including our ideas for how we would like to retell the story ourselves and how easy it is for Cassie to shoehorn Anonymo...

Cassie, Matt, and Daurie come together to discuss the Goose Girl retelling that started it all -- The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale . Join us as we gush about the audio book, rhapsodize about how Shannon Hale names her characters, offering our opinions on the musical-in-progress, and teach you all the most important lesson you can learn from literature - what to do if you're being kidnapped. Joi...

Join Matt and Cassie as we discuss Thorn by Intisar Khanani, a book with a fascinating path to publication. We discuss another intricately built world and a second veritable buffet of trauma responses, the worst version of Conrad, the power struggle inherent in who gets to choose the narrative, horses vs. Horses, and the beauty of an ambiguous ending. Trigger warnings for this book and episode inc...

Finally tackling one of Drew's all time favorites, Matt and Cassie come together to discuss Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, our loosest retelling this era, but a wonderful look at what happens to this story when we focus on and humanize the servant girl who forced the switch. Join us as we discuss intricate world building, incredible enemies-to-lovers banter, a veritable buffet of trauma res...

Cassie and Matt begin Goose Girl Month with the Goose Girl episode from Tom Davenport's Tales from the Brothers Grimm featuring Helen Stoltzfus, Allison Brody, Sam Carter, Gene Morrill, Bo Patterson, and more. This series from the 80s reset classic fairy tales into settings from Appalachian history, specifically in one of the earliest American settlements for The Goose Girl. We discuss how th...

It's time to bid another farewell to our (riches to) rags to riches girlie and introduce ourselves to . . . ANOTHER riches to rags to riches girlie!  Cassie, Daurie, Laura, and Matt begin this episode with our final thoughts on Cinderella , and the potential for future adaptations. As always, we discuss our ideas for how we would like to retold the story ourselves. Then Cassie and Matthew beg...

In the final episode of our third Cinderella era, Daurie and Cassie come together to discuss the classic  Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix,  an exploration of what happens after Happily Ever After, when life for Ella has become an endless round of lessons and restrictions and even worse, Prince Charming turns out to be more like Prince Boring. Why can't she talk with him the way she can...

For episode two of our third Cinderella era, Cassie is joined by Matt to discuss  Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, a retelling of the Russian Cinderella-esque story Vasilisa the Beautiful. When Vassa’s stepsister sends her out to buy lightbulbs in the middle of the night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beh...

"I'm your fairy godmother! Didn't you see me poof?" In the first week of our third Cinderella era, Cassie and Laura discuss Faerie Tale Theatre's Cinderella, staring Jennifer Beals as Cinderella, Matthew Broderick as Prince Henry, and Jean Stapleton as the Fairy Godmother. We talk about sassy fairy godmothers, dorky princes, abruptly frank stepmothers, and much more! Join...

Meet new cohosts Daurie, Laura, and Matt, and hear their thoughts on fairy tales in general, and this month's line up of Cinderella stories in particular.

We're coming back! See you all in one week, and Merry Christmas! -Cassie

Drew Rothhaar February 16, 1990 - February 21, 2023 "To die will be an awfully big adventure." Thank you all so much for being part of our lives the past two years.

Sadly, we are here to wrap up our final thoughts on Of Slippers and Spindles. Drew and Cassie return for one last episode to explain the sudden hiatus that began in December and has now led to the decision to end the show. In true Of Slippers and Spindles style, we each give three final book recommendations: three retelling novels we wanted to cover on the podcast and are disappointed we didn&apos...

Drew and Cassie begin our journey into The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen with a look at the 1977 anime film from Toei Animation. The anime is a pretty straightforward retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's tale, although it takes several cues from Six Swans by the Brothers Grimm as well. We discuss our experiences with anime, Avatar: The Last Airbender, the incredible sound effects, E...

It's time to tie up one fairy tale and fly into the next one! Drew and Cassie begin by giving their final thoughts on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, including our ideas on how we would interpret the story ourselves. Then we begin our discussion of The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen, which starts with the story of Six Swans by the Brothers Grimm. We talk through each of these stories and...

For our final week of Rumpelstiltskin Month, Drew and Cassie are delighted to be joined by Bethanie from Prince Kai Fan Pod to discuss Gilded and Cursed, the recently-completed YA duology by Marissa Meyer . This duology centers around Serilda, the daughter of a miller who was blessed by the god of fate and fortune and who is known for the fantastical stories she tells. When she comes face-to-face...

Drew and Cassie are thrilled to be joined by Kimmy and Ryan from the Aloreing podcast for our third week of Rumpelstiltskin Month! We return once again to Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre to discuss the second episode of the series, Rumpelstiltskin , starring Shelley Duvall herself as the Miller's Daughter. This episode of the show is a relatively straight forward adaptation of the B...

It's week 2 of Rumpelstiltskin Month, and Drew and Cassie are back to dive into Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen . This is the story of two spinners. The first, a man who renames nameless throughout the book, hones his craft at a stolen wheel, crippling his leg, turning a room full of straw into a golden dress for his beloved - and losing her in the process. The second is Saskia,...

For our first week of Rumpelstiltskin Month, Drew and Cassie are discussing A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce . This 2008 YA novel follows Charlotte Miller, a young woman who inherits her father's mill upon his death. Although there are rumors that the mill is cursed, Charlotte has never believed them - but it's hard to deny the bad luck that piles up as workers depart, impossib...

It's our 100th episode! Drew and Cassie celebrate by answering questions sent in by our amazing listeners, patrons, and supporters. We tell the origin story of the podcast and then we dive into the amazingly thoughtful questions you all sent in. We discuss our favorite episodes of the podcast, fairy tales we'll cover in the future, favorite tales from outside Europe, favorite books and T...

It's time to climb down from the pile of mattresses and start spinning a new tale! Drew and Cassie begin this episode with our final thoughts on The Princess and the Pea , including our disappointment in the presence of the concept of the divine right to rule. As always, we discuss our ideas for how we would like to retold the story ourselves. Then we begin our journey into a new story for No...

"It wasn't the pea, it wasn't the pea, it wasn't the pea at all!" For our final week of The Princess and the Pea Month, we are discussing the ultimate retelling of The Princess and the Pea: Once Upon A Mattress , the 1959 Broadway musical with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. We focus our plot discu...

It's week 3 of The Princess and the Pea Month! Drew and Cassie return to the Once Upon A Time series of YA books from the 2000s to discuss Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguié . This book centers around Violet, the daughter of a farmer who encounters her kingdom's prince when he is found unconscious in their fields after a storm. The two quickly fall in love - but Richard's parents want him...