New Releases by Gail Carson Levine

Ever since Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine introduced the magical village of Snettering-on-Snoakes in the faraway Kingdom of Biddle, young readers have been laughing their way through her hilarious retellings of famous and not-so-famous fairy tales. Now, for the first time, the six beloved Princess Tales are together in one magnificent volume: The high jinks begin in The Fairy''s Mistake, which pokes fun at a meddlesome fairy whose plans for good go terribly awry. In The Princess Test, the author spoofs the notion that a pea can prove a person''s pedigree. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep features a genius of a princess, a hundred years of snooze, two princes, and a flock of balding sheep! Cinderella is a boy in Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, and the glass slipper is a glass hill. In For Biddle''s Sake, Parsley tries to forget her beloved prince and get used to life as a Biddlebum Toad. The road to happily-ever-after isn''t easy when a baker''s son and a princess fall in love in The Fairy''s Return. Elements of the classics are woven into these not-so-typical retellings of "Toads and Diamonds," "The Princess and the Pea," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Princess on the Glass Hill," "Puddocky," and "The Golden Goose." The fresh and funny twists on favorite fairy tales will win the hearts and capture the imaginations of young readers everywhere.

In Writing Magic, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine shares her secrets of great writing. She shows how you, too, can get terrific ideas for stories, invent great beginnings and endings, write sparkling dialogue, develop memorable characters—and much, much more. She advises you about what to do when you feel stuck—and how to use helpful criticism. Best of all, she offers writing exercises that will set your imagination on fire. With humor, honesty, and wisdom, Gail Carson Levine shows you that you, too, can make magic with your writing.

Un terrible ouragan s''est abattu sur le Pays Imaginaire. Si l''œuf de Maman Colombe n''est pas réparé au plus vite, le Pays disparaîtra. Entourée de la courageuse Rani et de Vidia l''insoumise, Prilla gagnera-t-elle sa place parmi les Fées en accomplissant la mission qui sauvera le Pays Imaginaire ?

Wilma Sturtz is invisible and miserable at school. So when an old lady on the subway offers her a wish, Wilma immediately asks for popularity -- in fact, she asks to be the most popular kid at school. Suddenly, Wilma has more friends than she can keep track of, forty dates to the Grad Night Dance, and a secret admirer writing her love poems. Everything is great, until she realizes there''s a loophole in her wish, and her time in the spotlight has almost run out.

La llegada de un huracán les trae muchos problemas a los habitantes de Nunca Jamás. La hada Prilla con otras dos hadas son escogidas para una travesía para salvar el secreto de las hadas.

In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Parce que son père adoré est mort et que personne dans sa famille ne veut s''occuper de lui, David Caros se retrouve pensionnaire au Foyer Hébreu pour Garçons, à Broadwav. Très vite, il rebaptise l''endroit la Funeste Halte ou le Foyer Haï pour Garnements. Comment faire autrement, avec un directeur tortionnaire, un surveillant sinistre et des " gredins " chargés de vous ôter le pain de la bouche ? Heureusement, la nuit, David s''évade. Il a fait le mur une fois et il est tombé sur Solly, un vieux monsieur à la barbe d''enchanteur Merlin, qui le fait passer pour son petit-fils et l''entraîne dans un tourbillon de spectacles, de têtes, de concerts de jazz, de rencontres merveilleuses... Nous sommes à New York, au beau milieu des années folles. David quitterait bien l''orphelinat pour de bon. Mais voilà, il doit d''abord récupérer son objet fétiche, son seul souvenir: une Arche de Noé eu cerisier, sculptée par son père, que le directeur lui a volée...

A história de ''Ella enfeitiçada'' começa no dia do nascimento de uma jovem que recebe o ''dom da obediência'' de uma de suas fadas-madrinhas, a temperamental Lucinda. Infelizmente, o presente revela-se uma maldição, já que Ella passa a ser obrigada a fazer tudo que lhe ordenam, por mais perigosas que tais imposições possam ser. E o que é pior, não consegue nunca retardar o cumprimento da ordem por muito tempo. Em vez de torná-la dócil o feitiço fez dela uma pessoa rebelde. A situação agrava-se depois que o pai da garota se casa com uma mulher cruel que tem duas filhas mimadas e dispostas a tudo para humilhar a nova irmã. Determinada a encontrar Lucinda e convencê-la a retirar o encantamento, Ella acaba conhecendo o jovem príncipe Charmont, que se apaixona pela moça. O livro é um conto de fadas, com direito a ogros, gigantes, elfos, sapatos de cristal, carruagens, encantos, madrastas malvadas, amores à primeira vista, magia e encantamento. Uma história sobre a busca da independência e da maturidade, e sobre a importância do amor.

Il est loin le temps où Drualt le preux, le héros national de Bamarre, combattait les ennemis au péril de sa vie. Désormais, le royaume est en peine, ogres, spectres, griffons et dragons le cernent, les fées l''ont déserté, les pleutres y règnent. Et la Mort grise le frappe à nouveau, après avoir emporté la Reine, il y a plus de dix ans... On raconte qu''un remède existe à ce mal qui tue en douze jours, mais que seuls les fées et les dragons le connaissent. Or les fées sont invisibles et les dragons sont dangereux. La princesse Meryl, la batailleuse, s''était juré, quand elle était petite, de partir à la recherche de ce fameux remède. Mais voilà qu''elle tombe malade à son tour... Alors c''est sa sœur, Addie la peureuse, Addie la romantique tout juste capable de broder des scènes héroïques, qui décide de se mettre en chemin avec pour tout bagage l''épée de Meryl, Sanguinaire, et une paire de bottes de sept lieues offerte par Rhys, un apprenti sorcier qui ne lui est pas indifférent. Direction : la grotte de Vollys, la dragonne...

When plague strikes Bamarre, Princess Addie must fulfill an ancient prophecy. Brave and adventurous, Princess Meryl dreams of fighting dragons and protecting the kingdom of Bamarre. Shy and fearful, Princess Addie is content to stay within the safety of the castle walls. The one thing that the sisters share is their unwavering love for each other. The tables are turned, however, when the Gray Death leaves Meryl fatally ill. To save her sister, meek Princess Addie must find the courage to set out on a dangerous quest filled with dragons, unknown magic, and death itself. Time is running out, and the sisters'' lives—and the future of the kingdom of Bamarre—hang in the balance.

"Adelina y Meryl, las dos princesas del reino de Bamarre, viven sin preocupaciones en un hermoso castillo, y sus únicas aventuras son la que leen o sueñan. Pero la descracia acecha ... Meryl cae enferma y nadie conoce la cura de su misterioso mal. A pesar de los buenos propósitos de todos, en la corte nadie parece muy capacitado para emprender un peligroso viaje en busca de un remedio. Adelina no es valiente, ni fuerte, ni demasiado intrépida, pero daría la vida por su hermana. Pese al miedo que le inspira lo desconocido, se lanza sola e esa aventura incierta, adentrándose en un mundo asombroso, repleto de peligrosos dragones, ogros y espectros. Gracias a la ayuda de algunos regalos mágicos y de su buen amigo Rhys, el aprendiz de brujo, la tímida princesa logrará superar pruebas dificilísimas y derrotar a los enemigos más fieros ... e incluso descubrir el valor y la fuerza de los sentimientos."--Page 4 of cover.

When she was born, Ella was accidentally given the curse of having to obey any order given to her. When her loving mother dies, she''s left with a mostly absent father and then a mean stepmother and sisters. Rather than giving in to fairy Lucinda''s curse, Ella rebels against it. She sets out to find Lucinda to make her undo the curse. Along the way, with wit and spunk, she fends off ogres, finds friends among the elves, and falls in love with a handsome prince who needs a bit of rescuing, himself.

When granted her wish to be the most popular girl in school, Wilma, an eighth grader, forgets that she will graduate in three weeks and her popularity will vanish.

There she was, chartreuse and warty and smiling at him. Such a nice smile. Something in his heart fluttered. The young maiden, Parsley, will eat nothing but parsley, which in Snettering-on-Snoakes grows only in the fairy Bombina''s garden. All is well -- until Bombina is released from the fairy queen''s dungeon. Her crime? Failing to get along with humans. And turning them into toads! Meanwhile, twin princes Randolph and Rudolph are causing trouble at Biddle Castle and pinning everything on their younger brother, Tansy. Prince Tansy cares about Biddle. Randolph and Rudolph don''t. But one of the twins will be king, unless Prince Tansy accepts help from a green Biddlebum Toad! A delightful retelling of the little-known German fairy tale "Puddocky." this fifth Princess Tale from Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine shows that nothing is quite as it seems and that anything is possible, with a dash of magic and a barrel of love.

Publisher Description

In this humorous retelling of a Perrault tale, a lonely young farm lad uses his unusual inventive ability to pass a nearly impossible test and win the hand of the neighboring princess.

Lorelei, la fille du forgeron, n''est pas précisément une joyeuse nature. Durant son enfance, elle n''a ri que deux fois et souri que quatre. Le reste du temps, elle a pleurniché, geint, gémi, râlé, protesté, sous prétexte que tout n''était pas absolument parfait. Ensuite, elle s''est mise à tomber malade au moindre courant d''air et à provoquer des catastrophes. Bref, Lorelei est pénible. Une véritable chichiteuse. Une enquiquineuse de première, oui! pense Trudy, sa gouvernante, qui a beaucoup de mal à la supporter, et qui envisage même de se débarrasser d''elle en la perdant au fond des bois, comme font les parents dans les contes classiques... Mais il faut croire qu''au royaume de Biddle, il y a un bon Dieu pour les enfants gâtées. Car au fond des bois, Lorelei rencontre le prince Nicolas. Ses parents veulent le marier à une vraie princesse. Lorelei n''est que la fille du forgeron, certes, mais elle a des caprices de star, des délicatesses d''héritière du trône, des bégueuleries de Miss Biddle. Tant et si bien qu''il se pourrait que parmi soixante-dix-neuf candidates, ce soit elle qui gagne le concours de princesses...

Imaginez un peu que vous soyez une fée. Une fée comme toutes les fées, soucieuse de justice et désireuse de faire le bien. Vous apprenez l''existence de deux sœurs jumelles dans le village d''Aspic-sur-Sène. Lune, Rosella, se tape toutes les corvées, dort par terre, mange les restes, et endure son triste sort avec bonne humeur. L''autre, Myrtle, est odieuse, grossière, cupide et, pour couronner le tout, la préférée de sa maman. Vous êtes très choquée. Et vous décidez de donner à chacune selon ses mérites. À Rosella, la récompense de sa gentillesse et de sa modestie : des pierres précieuses dégoulineront de sa bouche sitôt qu''elle prononcera un mot. À Myrtle, la punition de son sale caractère : des insectes répugnants sortiront de ses lèvres au moindre souffle. Et toc ! Vous pensez avoir bien fait ? Vous vous trompez complètement, ma pauvre. Car grâce à sa malédiction, Myrtle obtient tout ce qu''elle veut par chantage. Et à cause de son cadeau, les gens ne cessent de persécuter Rosella pour lui voler ses diamants. A vous de trouver une solution. Et vite.

If nobody wants him, that''s fine.He''ll just take care of himself. When his father dies, Dave knows nothing will ever be thesame. And then it happens. Dave lands in an orphanage -- the cold and strict Hebrew Home for Boys in Harlem -- far from the life he knew on the Lower East Side. But he''s not so worried. He knows he''ll be okay. He always is. If it doesn''t work out, he''ll just leave, find a better place to stay. But it''s not that simple. Outside the gates of the orphanage, the nighttime streets of Harlem buzz with jazz musicians and swindlers; exclusive parties and mystifying strangers. Inside, another world unfolds, thick with rare friendships and bitter enemies. Perhaps somewhere, among it all, Dave can find a place that feels like home.

Il fait nuit dans la nurserie royale, mais la petite princesse Sonora ne dort pas. Avant même d''être en âge de marcher, elle a su qu''un jour elle devrait se piquer avec un fuseau et s''endormir pour cent ans. Alors elle se dit qu''elle aura bien le temps de dormir. Outre la beauté, la grâce et cette malédiction tristement connue, Sonora a reçu en cadeau des fées une intelligence dix fois supérieure à la moyenne. C''est ainsi que, très vite, elle possède bien plus de vocabulaire que ses parents, et qu''au lieu de pleurer ou de gazouiller quand on lui change sa couche, elle se confond en excuses. C''est ainsi qu''elle a décidé, sans le dire à ses parents, qu''elle choisirait elle-même le moment où elle se piquerait la main. Mais qu''est-ce qui est le plus puissant, la malédiction d''une fée ou le cerveau d''une petite surdouée ?

When she was born, Ella was accidentally given the curse of having to obey any order given to her. When her loving mother dies, she''s left with a mostly absent father and then a mean stepmother and sisters. Rather than giving in to fairy Lucinda''s curse, Ella rebels against it. She sets out to find Lucinda to make her undo the curse. Along the way, with wit and spunk, she fends off ogres, finds friends among the elves, and falls in love with a handsome prince who needs a bit of rescuing, himself.

A spiteful fairy. A beautiful princess. An outstretched finger. A spindle. A hundred-year snooze. A charming prince. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients. But wait! Where did that extra prince come from? And those fairy gifts that were never there before? And what does a flock of balding sheep have to do with anything? Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over the old standby of "Sleeping Beauty" and presto! It reappears, transformed, sparkling and hilarious. Chuckles and giggles are guaranteed.

Gail Carson Levine charmed the world with Ella Enchanted, her spirited retelling of the Cinderella story. Now this award-winning author turns her attention to two more classic fairy tales, and deftly turns them upside down and inside out with her trademark wit and hilarity. In The Fairy''s Mistake, two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she''s meted out justice just right--until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life! In The Princess Test, King Humphrey has decided its time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith''s daughter. She''s no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests? In these first two delightfully entertaining, laugh-out-loud Princess Tales, Gail Levine gently spoofs the notion that fairies are always right and that tests can never prove a persons worth, but holds fast to the notion that true love will always win in the end.