If You Like, Then Read is a feature where we offer reading suggestions based on books you already like, scheduled once a month. If you have more suggestions, feel free to tell us in the comments! You can check out the rest of these lists here. To read part one of this series, featuring stories based on “The Brave Little Tailor,” “Bluebeard,” “Baba Yaga,” and more, click here.
The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson (“Tam Lin”)
When seventeen-year-old Mississipi girl Violet Dancey comes across a wounded Union soldier in the woods, she quickly realizes that someone else has been tending to his wounds–but not for reasons of kindness. Now Violet must confront evil in order to save the people she loves.
Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine (“The Princess on the Glass Hill”)
When King Humphrey IV announces that anyone who can climb a glass hill to reach his daughter will win her hand in marriage, Ellis sees the perfect opportunity to test some of his new inventions on the glass, including his sticky powder. Then he realizes he’s actually in love with the princess. Can his inventions help him reach her in time or will someone else climb the hill first?
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (“Maid Maleen”)
After Lady Saren refuses to marry the man her father wishes, he shuts her along with her maid Dashti in a tower. For a time Dashti hopes that Saren’s true love will rescue them, but Saren will not speak to him and soon his visits cease, as do the deliveries of food. Faced with starvation, Saren and Dashti must find a way to escape the tower and begin a new life with new identities.
The Witch’s Curse by Keith McGowan (“Brother and Sister”)
The sequel to The Witch’s Guide to Cooking with Children follows siblings Sol and Connie as they enter an enchanted wood where a witch transforms children into animals to be hunted. Can they escape in time or will they join the taxidermy exhibit?
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine (“Puss in Boots”)
Twelve-year-old Elodie leaves her home to apprentice herself to an actor in the city of Two Castles, but instead finds herself the assistant to a detective dragon named Meenore. When an ogre commissions them to find his lost dog, Meenore suspects the case involves more than a missing pet and that someone intends to harm their new client. Elodie must enter the ogre’s castle to keep him safe, but she does not know whom she can trust.
Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler (“Six Swans”)
Princess Meriell’s new stepmother has turned her six brothers into swans. Now she must complete an impossible task before winter falls and her brothers migrate south–or die in the attempt.
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