Green

[library_mama]

The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. Decorations by Charles Vess. I was both excited and surprised to find this book in the children’s fairy tale section at the library; I am most familiar with these editors for bringing fairy tales back to adults. And while this book seems geared towards a younger audience than some of their other anthologies, featuring mostly teen protagonists, it does have some language and situations that are more appropriate for teens than younger children. Still, assuming that mostly adults are reading here, it is a really wonderful collection. Just including the names of authors I’m familiar with, stories are by Charles DeLint, Neil Gaiman, Kathe Koja, Tanith Lee, Gregory Maguire, Patricia McKillip and Jane Yolen. Stories range from modern settings to more traditional fairy tales,(or traditional fairy tale settings twisted), from gritty to humorous to lyrical. In Delia Sherman’s Grand Central Park, a girl meets the Fairy Queen in Central Park, and discovers that her childhood fantasies weren’t so fantastic. In Tanith Lee’s Among the Leaves so Green, a poor younger sister gets her wish to be rescued from her cruel mother and older sister – and the older sister finds that her punishment is the better deal. Midori Snyder’s Charlie’s Away explores the grieving of a boy about to leave for college for his deceased younger sister. In Emma Bull’s Joshua Tree, an encounter with a Joshua tree forces a high school girl to let go of the girl she thinks she’s supposed to be and find who she really is. Without describing all the stories, I’ll just say that if you’re jonesing for some good solid magic, this will fix you up.