Books like King Midas and the Golden Touch
By M. Charlotte Craft
For the kid who's already asking what happens if you get everything you wish for, this retelling makes the answer unforgettable. Lush, painterly, and weighty — a fairy tale with real consequences.
A witch famous throughout Russia for eating children is secretly a lonely old woman who longs for a grandchild, so she disguises herself as a village babushka to find one.
A hermit magically transforms a helpless mouse into a cat, then a dog, then a mighty tiger to save it from jungle predators — but the tiger grows proud and forgets its humble start.
Cursed bald at birth by the wicked fairy Malevola, a princess grows up and wishes for golden hair — only to find that too much hair brings its own troubles.
After spotting three dazzling mermaids on the subway, a boy transforms his home into a lagoon of imagination, fashioning his own mermaid costume from a curtain and some ferns.
A girl and her house full of rescued, misfit creatures grow restless and decide to move on — but when every one of her careful plans falls apart, she has to find another way forward.
A younger brother lists the strange, arbitrary rules his older brother makes up all summer — never be late for a parade, never ruin a perfect plan — as their bond drifts between play and real danger.
A mistreated girl endures her stepmother's and stepsisters' cruelty until a fairy godmother steps in with magical help, leading her to a meeting with the prince.
A foreign exchange student named Eric moves in with a suburban family, asking curious questions his hosts can't always answer, until his farewell leaves behind an unforgettable surprise.
A friendly ghost named Leo loves drawing and making snacks, but when a new family misunderstands his attempts to help, he leaves home to find where he truly belongs.
A janitor and his loyal dog, cramped and weary of their crowded one-room life, accept a mysterious bird's offer of paradise on a floating island — only to discover the price of that easy life.
A young donkey finds a magic pebble that grants wishes, but a panicked wish during a scary encounter with a lion turns him into a rock — with no way to wish himself back.
After causing havoc in his wolf suit, a boy sent to bed without supper sails to an island of monstrous Wild Things, who crown him king before he chooses to sail home.
