A mixture of two stories, but it works quite well. I like the motif of an unlikely hero in fairytales: you can be ridiculed for having artistic leanings or different interests compared to others, but it's the character that determines one's fate. Sure, Perrin wouldn't have survived without the magic whistle, but he was rewarded with it precisely because he was brave and wanted to make his mother happy. Unfortunately, Sanderson's illustrations in this one were not for me. I think she tried to make them look like tapestries, but they're not quite there, just a little less detailed than her normal work.

I picked up a huge volume of stories from the Arabian Nights when I was quite young. I didn't read all of them because it was incredibly thick and dusty book so at that point I had no patience yet for all of them but I really liked the exotic tales of sultans, wizards and brave adventurers. Now I own the new edition of the three 1930s Finnish volumes with beautiful illustrations and along with Grimm's Fairy Tales I'll always cherish it.

I added this to my stash of fairytales on another library trip, thinking Papa Gatto is just another name for Puss in Boots, but it's actually an amalgam of different Papa Gatto versions. Essentially, it's about how outer beauty sometimes makes people blindly trust others, thinking outer appearance is a reflection of their inner beauty, and how some beautiful people think they're entitled to everything because they're worshipped. The real curveball happens at the end, though, when the girl refuses to marry the prince because they don't know each other. She'd rather be with the cats she's grown to care about!

I'm not familiar with this story at all, so I'm not sure how it compares with the other versions, but it seems that Sanderson chooses the "cleaner" ones to accompany her artwork, so I definitely want to check out the rest.

Suitable for a young target group, but I think it's sad how the father's knowledge of the abuse was chosen to be included in this version. The father isn't malicious, just controlled and afraid, yet he's another parent who chooses his significant other over his child (doesn't matter much that he comes to his senses at the end).

I've never thought about this before, but it also feels a bit awkward that Cinderella is rewarded with all the nice things out of nowhere. "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Mm, doesn't sit well with me.

I'm also not a fan of the fact that the stepmother and the stepsisters don't receive a proper punishment. A house arrest (enforced by birds, ha) for keeping Cinderella practically in slavery? Really? Again, though, that's a target group issue. Just not my preferred ending.

Um, so, I wasn't supposed to borrow any of Sanderson's original stories, but this one I had to grab from the shelf because it's about a castle full of cats. Catscatscats. I had fun exploring the detailed paintings and laughing at all the oh-so-true mild annoyances and delights related to cats. Let's face it: these pages describe my absolute dream life.

Another original Sanderson story, except she uses so many typical fairytale motifs (things coming in threes, three brothers of which the youngest is the hero, wise woman etc.) that it doesn't seem original enough. I'm still giving this four stars because of her illustrations, though. They're my favorites of hers right after The Snow Princess.

A great homage to 1950s horror comics, Creepshow is actually the comic adaptation of the 1982 movie of the same name (at some points a direct scene by scene copy). The slanted angles, bright colors and comic-style visuals make the movie a pretty decent and fun re-creation, but the upside of the comic version is that you don't have to suffer through Stephen King's terrible acting (not that he's the only one who hams it up, but he's extra special).

I can imagine myself dipping into this every once in a while. I want to collect all the Tales from the Crypt comics someday, and Creepshow definitely won't have to be ashamed sitting next to them.

The first place in the Creepshow universe, however, goes to the 2019 anthology TV show. Not only does it have amazing old school practical effects(!), but the stories are great as well (with one or two exceptions, but that's to be expected in an anthology) and you can even spot a few horror icons along the way!

"There was something magical about an island—the mere word suggested fantasy. You lost touch with the world—an island was a world of its own. A world, perhaps, from which you might never return."

One of the most well-known Christie novels is also one that breaks both the mold of a usual whodunnit and the mold of Christie's own more conventional mysteries.

Ten people on an isolated island with no means of escape when things take a turn. The island acts as a purgatory of sorts, each character waiting if their individual judgment day to be cast in hell arrives and in what way. Because of this dark premise, the prevailing mood is hopelessness. It was even more so now that I read this the second time and after seeing the stage play a few years ago, because you see how cold and calculating the murderer is. The end is not nigh, it's already here, and the atmosphere is so well done that Christie's alternate ending (used in many adaptations but thankfully not in the novel) feels jarring and out of place after such a suffocatingly bleak cat and mouse game.

The mystery itself is pretty much impossible to solve. I noticed a few things that might be clues as to who the murderer is, and paying attention to what one of the characters is saying can prove to be helpful. The twist, however, is such a clever one that it (and a few aspects in the execution of the murders) veers a bit towards implausibility, but it doesn't matter much when the novel as a whole is so brilliant.