Baba Yaga is a character from Slavic folklore who has two opposite roles. In some motifs she is described as a repulsive and/or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is a nice old woman, who helps out the hero. According to folklorist Vladimir Propp's folktale morphology, Baba Yaga commonly appears as either a donor or a villain, or may be altogether ambiguous. She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in a mortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut standing on chicken legs.
Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson that tells the story of high school freshman Melinda Sordino. After Melinda is raped at an end of summer party, she calls the police, who break up the party. Melinda is then ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police. Unable to verbalize what happened, Melinda nearly stops speaking altogether, expressing her voice through the art she produces for Mr. Freeman's class. This expression slowly helps Melinda acknowledge what happened, face her problems, and recreate her identity.
The Goose Girl is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same title, published by Bloomsbury in 2003. It is Hale's debut novel and the first in her Books of Bayern series. It follows the story of Anidori-Kiladra "Ani" Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, as she travels to the neighboring kingdom of Bayern to wed their crown prince. On the journey, she is usurped by her jealous lady-in-waiting and must prove her true identity as the princess. Critical reception of the novel was mostly positive. The book won the 2003 Josette Frank Award for fiction and has been published in English, Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, Japanese, and Vietnamese.
Hannah Moskowitz is an American author of young adult and middle grade novels.
The School for Good and Evil is a fantasy fairytale hexalogy of books by Soman Chainani. The first novel in the series was published on May 14, 2013. The series is set in a fictional widespread location known as the Endless Woods. The original trilogy follows the adventures of best friends Sophie and Agatha at the School for Good and Evil, an enchanted institution where children are trained to become fairytale heroes or villains, respectively. The second trilogy follows Agatha and her true love King Tedros ascending to the role of Queen and King of the legendary kingdom, Camelot, and Sophie re-forming Evil into a new image. The final book in the original series was released on June 2, 2020, with the first book in a prequel series debuting in 2022. A film adaptation by Netflix was released on October 19, 2022.
Angie Thomas is an American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give (2017). Her second young adult novel, On the Come Up, was released on February 25, 2019.
Wolf in the Snow is a 2017 wordless picture book by Matthew Cordell. The book was favorably received by critics and won the 2018 Caldecott Award. The story has drawn comparisons to fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood. The nearly wordless book tells the story of a girl and wolf who each get lost in the snowstorm. Cordell used distinctive illustration techniques for the girl and the wolf.
Julie C. Dao is a Vietnamese-American fantasy author. She is best known for her debut novel, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, an East Asian-inspired retelling of the Evil Queen legend from Snow White, and its sequel Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix.
Anna-Marie McLemore is a Mexican-American author of young adult fiction magical realism, best known for their Stonewall Honor-winning novel When the Moon Was Ours, Wild Beauty, and The Weight of Feathers.
Scary Stories for Young Foxes is a 2019 children's book written by Christian McKay Heidicker, with illustrations by Junyi Wu. The book, published by Henry Holt and Company, was first envisioned to be similar to some of the Berenstain Bears' scary stories, but was rewritten into a collection of tales based on classic horror stories.
Dhonielle Clayton is an American author and chief operating officer of We Need Diverse Books.
Legendborn is a 2020 debut young adult fantasy novel by Tracy Deonn. Called "a modern day twist on Arthurian legend", it follows a black teenage girl who discovers a secret and historically white magic society. The book is the first in the Legendborn series. It was released on September 15, 2020, and it was published under Simon & Schuster/McElderry. Legendborn received the Coretta Scott King Award/John Steptoe Award for New Talent as well as a nomination for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
We Hunt the Flame is a 2019 young adult fantasy novel written by Hafsah Faizal. It is the first book of the Sands of Arawiya duology, followed by We Free the Stars in January 2021.
Anna and the Swallow Man is a young adult historical fiction novel by Gavriel Savit, published January 26, 2016 by Knopf. The book is a New York Times best seller and received the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers and the Odyssey Award.
The Ogress and the Orphans is a children's book written by Kelly Barnhill and published on March 8, 2022, by Algonquin Books. It counts the events of a small fictional town, where the library is burned down and an orphan goes missing, which leads to its citizen blaming an ogress who had just moved in.
We Set the Dark on Fire is a 2019 young adult fantasy novel by Tehlor Kay Mejia.
The House With Chicken Legs is a 2018 middle-grade fantasy novel by Sophie Anderson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. Inspired by traditional Baba Yaga tales, the novel follows a young girl, Marinka, who lives with her grandmother in a magical, sentient house, traveling the world while her grandmother helps support and guide newly deceased people to the afterlife.
The Castle Of Tangled Magic is a 2020 middle grade fantasy novel by Sophie Anderson, illustrated by Saara Soderlund. The story follows 13-year-old Olia as she journeys into a magical land to save her family and home.
Sophie Anderson is a Welsh author. Among other honors, her books have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal three times.
The Thief Who Sang Storms is a 2022 middle grade fantasy novel by Sophie Anderson. Inspired by a Russian folk poem about Nightingale the Robber, the novel follows Linnet, a 13-year-old girl who chooses to take a stand against oppressive forces.
