Tales from the Palace of the Fairy King

First-time author Lieberman draws on classic fairy-tale conventions while infusing them with modern sensibilities in seven well-told and entertaining original stories. Many traditional elements are present—star-crossed lovers, stalwart peasants, beautiful princesses, terrifying monsters, and enchanted artifacts—and most of the stories result in some sort of happily ever after. However, Lieberman also throws in a few twists that subvert expectations—good deeds are rewarded, but noble hearts don’t always win out. One recurring theme has protagonists dying for an unrealized love, only to find an unexpected reward. Absentee and neglectful parental figures make several appearances (the self-involved king and queen in “The Princess and the Goatherd,” fed up by their newborn daughter’s crying, leave her at the castle and take a long vacation), a seeming statement about modern consumption and distraction. While there are some oddities (the very brief “The Little Cloud” reads like a fable, “The Dark Forest” like a short middle-grade fantasy), Lieberman generally achieves the goal of creating stories that feel like lesser-known tales that have slipped through the cracks over the years. Ages 11–up. (BookLife)