Episode 45: Once Upon a Fairy Tale Retelling
From Booklist's Shelf Care by Booklist's Shelf Care Podcast
November 25, 2025 · 57 min
About this episode
This episode explores the trend of fairy tale retellings and features discussions on audiobooks in education and unique picture books.
Fairy tale retelling are having a moment, a moment that has extended for, like, millennia, but now the trend feels particularly hot. Host Susan Maguire sat down with librarian and Booklist reviewer Lucy Lockley about what’s behind the fanfare and some titles and authors you should know. Then Audio Editor Heather Booth spoke to an art educator Heather Kostal about how she uses audiobooks in the classroom. Finally, Books for Youth’s Ronny Khuri and I chatted about picture books about poop and other topics. We cover everything! Here's what we talked about: Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine The Kingdom of Sweets, by Erika Johansen The Swallowed Man, by Edward Carey A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher Alice, by Christina Henry Horseman, by Christina Henry Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Wicked, by Gregory Maguire Mary McMyne After the Forest, by Kel Woods Sistersong, by Lucy Holland Song of the Huntress, by Lucy Holland Uprooted, by Naomi Novik The Summer War, by Naomi Novik The Witch’s Heart, by Genevieve Gornichec A Spindle Splintered, by Alix E. Harrow Thief Liar Lady, by D. L. Soria Hemlock & Silver, by T. Kingfisher After Happily Ever: An Epic Novel…
People in this episode
Host: Susan Maguire
Guests: Lucy Lockley, Heather Kostal, Ronny Khuri
Topics covered
- fairy tale retellings
- audiobooks in education
- picture books
- literature
- children's books
Keywords
- Ella Enchanted
- The Kingdom of Sweets
- Wicked
- audiobooks in the classroom
- picture books about poop
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Once Upon a Fairy Tale Retelling, Ella Enchanted, The Kingdom of Sweets, The Swallowed Man, A Sorceress Comes to Call, After the Forest, Song of the Huntress, The Summer War, The Witch’s Heart, A Spindle Splintered
More episodes of Booklist's Shelf Care
- Episode 49: Audiobook Listeners Tell All · May 25, 2026 · 39 min
- Episode 48: Summer Scares 2026 · March 23, 2026 · 1h 14m
- Episode 47: Three Conversations about Reading · January 26, 2026 · 48 min
- Episode 46: Editors' Choice 2025 · December 22, 2025 · 41 min
- Episode 44: A Tale of Two Sara(h)s · September 29, 2025 · 37 min
- Episode 43: Live from ALA! · July 28, 2025 · 36 min
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