Books like 'Transformations'
Readers who enjoyed Transformations by Anne Sexton & Kurt Vonnegut Jr. also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy 20th century classics retellings fairy-tale myths university dark lgbtq
-
The Jolly Postman by Janet Ahlberg, Allan Ahlberg
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsNow republished in a larger format, this classic depicts amusing correspondence from one fairy tale or Mother Goose character to another, giving readers a chance to follow-up on some favorite tales. Full-color illustrations... -
![Strega Nona: An Old Tale by Tomie dePaola]()
Strega Nona: An Old Tale by Tomie dePaola
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsWhen Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works... -
![The Complete Stories and Poems by Lewis Carroll]()
The Complete Stories and Poems by Lewis Carroll
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThis commemorative oversized volume of the complete collection of stories and poems of Lewis Carol showcases his ingenious use of word play, inverted logic and satire. Lewis Carroll was the pen name and, it could be claimed, the alter ego of the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematician, writer and photographer...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale humor retellings 20th-century action-adventure anthologies children -
![Bony-Legs by Joanna Cole]()
Bony-Legs by Joanna Cole
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen a terrible witch vows to eat her for supper, a little girl escapes with the help of a mirror and comb given to her by the witch's cat and dog... -
-
![Frederick by Leo Lionni]()
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIllus. in full color. "While other mice are gathering food for the winter, Frederick seems to daydream the summer away. When dreary winter comes, it is Frederick the poet-mouse who warms his friends and cheers them with his words."--Wilson Library Bulletin... -
![Telephone Tales by Gianni Rodari]()
Telephone Tales by Gianni Rodari
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsReminiscent of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights, Gianni Rodari's Telephone Tales is many stories within a story. Every night, a traveling father must finish a bedtime story in the time that a single coin will buy... -
![The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges]()
The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of Borges's shortest stories, The House of Asterion was written over a period of two days. The story explores themes of death, redemption, and the nature of monstrosity. Its narrative style has been referred to as a "literary puzzle", with the narrator's identity not fully revealed until the end of the story... -
![Flower Fairies of the Summer by Cicely Mary Barker]()
Flower Fairies of the Summer by Cicely Mary Barker
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsExperience the beauty and the magic of Cicely Mary Barker's famous Flower Fairies, with a new edition of Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies of the Summer.The magic and loveliness of Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies is being reissued with an updated, contemporary look that is a perfect gift for Flower Fairies fans and a new generation of readers... -
![Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg, Allan Ahlberg]()
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg, Allan Ahlberg
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsViking is proud to reissue a special 25th anniversary hardcover edition of Each Peach Pear Plum, Janet and Allan Ahlberg's engaging and beloved adaptation of "I spy." A true classic, this book starring a cast of familiar nursery rhyme characters is the winner of the 1978 Kate Greenaway Medal (the U.K. equivalent of the Caldecott Medal) and an American Library Association Notable book... -
![Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis]()
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsIn this timeless tale of two mortal princesses- one beautiful and one unattractive- C.S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale high-school myths retellings university 20th-century action-adventure -
![Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke]()
Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsTo Rilke himself the Sonnets to Orpheus were "perhaps the most mysterious in the way they came up and entrusted themselves to me, the most enigmatic dictation I have ever held through and achieved; the whole first part was written down in a single breathless act of obedience, between the 2nd and 5th of February, without one word being doubtful or having to be changed." With facing-page German... -
![Tales from Ovid by Ovid]()
Tales from Ovid by Ovid
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhen Michael Hofmann and James Lasdun's ground-breaking anthology After Ovid (also Faber) was published in 1995, Hughes's three contributions to the collective effort were nominated by most critics as outstanding...Categorized as:
classics myths retellings university 20th-century adult ancient-civilization audiobook -
![The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter]()
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTHE TALE OF MR. JEREMY FISHERThe Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, like Peter Rabbit, began life as an illustrated letter to a young child. It was written when Beatrix Potter was on holiday in Scotland where her father and his friends enjoyed fishing expeditions. Mr. Jeremy has a day full of the worst fisherman's mishaps when he sets out to catch minnows for his dinner...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale humor retellings 20th-century action-adventure animals anthologies -
![The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter]()
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBeatrix Potter loved the countryside and she spent much of her otherwise conventional Victorian childhood drawing and studying animals. Her passion for the natural world lay behind the creation of her famous series of little books...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale humor retellings 20th-century animals anthropomorphism audiobook -
-
![Flower Fairies of the Garden by Cicely Mary Barker]()
Flower Fairies of the Garden by Cicely Mary Barker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCelebrates and introduces children to the flowers and plants that grow in the garden by making them magical... -
![Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life by Peter J. Leithart]()
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life by Peter J. Leithart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the tradition of Grimm's fairytales, Peter Leithart has produced a wonderful collection of whimsical, yet meaningful, bedtime stories. The characters in each story are as varied as the biblical proverbs they reveal. Meet a chatty squirrel with a secret, or find out what happens when you run up against the Ministry of Nasty Smells... -
![Flower Fairies of the Trees by Cicely Mary Barker]()
Flower Fairies of the Trees by Cicely Mary Barker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor the first time in over 10 years all eight Original Flower Fairies Books[trademark] are being re-designed. Inspiration has been drawn from the original publishers' connections with The Glasgow School of Art to produce an exquisite new cover... -
![Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various]()
Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture... -
![Flower Fairies of the Spring by Cicely Mary Barker]()
Flower Fairies of the Spring by Cicely Mary Barker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSuitable for all Flower Fairy enthusiasts, this title celebrates the annual rejuvenation of the natural world at spring and introduces children to the season's flowers by making them magical... -
![The Land of Green Ginger by Noel Langley]()
The Land of Green Ginger by Noel Langley
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis beloved classic is a funny, clever, and original novel that opens with Aladdin, now Emperor of China, trying to decide what to name his new son, a child who won't stop talking and is already far too articulate for his own good... -
![The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict by Calvin Miller]()
The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict by Calvin Miller
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Singer quickly became a favorite of evangelists, pastors, artists, students, teachers and readers of all sorts when it was originally published in 1975... -
![Про Федота-стрельца, удалого молодца by Leonid Filatov]()
Про Федота-стрельца, удалого молодца by Leonid Filatov
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings`В нашей пишущей стране пишут даже на стене. Вот и мне пришла охота быть со всеми наравне!` Так в шутливом интервью объяснил когда-то Леонид Филатов, с чего это он вдруг взял и сочинил `Про Федота`. Его сказки - блистательные, искрометные, живые - не перестают смешить и восхищать нас... -
![Flower Fairies of the Autumn by Cicely Mary Barker]()
Flower Fairies of the Autumn by Cicely Mary Barker
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis new edition of Cicely Mary Barker's classic Flower Fairy title features a beautiful and catwalk-inspired cover. Intricate and reminiscent of lace, the new cover pays homage to the delicate beauty of Cicely's original illustrations... -
![The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel, Gianni Guadalupi]()
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel, Gianni Guadalupi
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Atlantis to Xanadu and beyond, this Baedeker of make-believe takes readers on a tour of more than 1,200 realms invented by storytellers from Homer's day to our own. Here you will find Shangri-La and El Dorado; Utopia and Middle Earth; Wonderland and Freedonia. Here too are Jurassic Park, Salman Rushdie's Sea of Stories, and the fabulous world of Harry Potter... -
-
![The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart]()
The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn the valley of Sorrows, a monk is brutally murdered for a worthless manuscript, and the abbot of the humble monastery calls upon Master Li and Number Ten Ox to investigate the seemingly senseless killing. The most likely suspect is the infamous Laughing Prince, founder of the valley, whose murderous frenzies have made him a legend... -
![The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain]()
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsrelates the adventures of Satan, the sinless nephew of the biblical Satan, in Eseldorf, an Austrian village in the year 1702. Twain wrote this version between November 1897 and September 1900. "Eseldorf" is German for "Assville" or "Donkeytown"... -
![Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić]()
Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsIn this collection of six tales, Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić masterfully fuses her original narrative plots with ancient Slavic folk mythology. The result is a rich, fantastic world often compared to those of Hans Christian Andersen or J. R. R. Tolkien... -
![The Classic Fairy Tales by Iona Opie, Peter Opie]()
The Classic Fairy Tales by Iona Opie, Peter Opie
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis volume contains twenty-four of the best known fairy tales in the English language, presented here in the exact words of their first English publication or of the earliest surviving text...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale myths retellings 20th-century anthologies children children-books -
![Little Long-nose by Wilhelm Hauff]()
Little Long-nose by Wilhelm Hauff
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLittle Long-nose is the mysterious tale of little Jacob, stolen from his family to serve a wicked witch for seven years. While the author, Wilhelm Hauff, is not as well known today as the Brothers Grimm, he was considered in his time to be a literary phenomenon... -
![The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World by Ethel Johnston Phelps]()
The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World by Ethel Johnston Phelps
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Maid of the North weaves together tales about a woman's right to freedom of will and choice. In this collection of mostly nineteenth-century folk and fairy tales, Ethel Johnston Phelps's heroines successfully portray women as being spirited, courageous and smart... -
![Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov by Robert Chandler, Aleksandr Afanasyev]()
Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov by Robert Chandler, Aleksandr Afanasyev
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor fans of fairy tales and the literary supernatural: a unique collection of Russian short stories from the last 200 years In these folk tales, young women go on long and perilous quests, wicked stepmothers turn children into geese, and tsars ask dangerous riddles, with help or hindrance from magical dolls, cannibal witches, talking skulls, stolen wives, and brothers disguised as wise birds...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
![Helen in Egypt by H.D.]()
Helen in Egypt by H.D.
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe fabulous beauty of Helen of Troy is legendary. But some say that Helen was never in Troy, that she had been conveyed by Zeus to Egypt, and that Greeks and Trojans alike fought for an illusion. A fifty-line fragment by the poet Stesichorus of Sicily (c. 640-555 B.C.), what survives of his Pallinode, tells us almost all we know of this other Helen, and from it H. D. wove her book-length poem... -
![The White Deer by James Thurber]()
The White Deer by James Thurber
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHere is a Thurber world of enchanted deer and seven-headed dragons, of wizards and witches, of riddles and spells, of false love and true. It is the story of a beautiful princess, transformed from a deer, who assigns each of three princes a perilous labor to perform in order to win her hand. Drawings by the Author... -
![Ka by Roberto Calasso, Els van der Pluym]()
Ka by Roberto Calasso, Els van der Pluym
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Calasso turned ancient legends into modern literature and created a postmodern novel out of the ancient myths of classical Greece...in Ka, Calasso attempts to do the same with the far more sprawling and elusive corpus of classical Sanskritt literature...The result is a book as brilliantly original as anything I have ever read on Hinduism.. -
-
![The Brown Fairy Book: Illustrated by Andrew Lang]()
The Brown Fairy Book: Illustrated by Andrew Lang
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Brown Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. This wonderful collection of fairy stories, put together by Andrew Lang at the end of the 19th century, gathers many of the best loved tales of childhood to have pleased generations... -
![Cinderella by Amy Ehrlich, Charles Perrault]()
Cinderella by Amy Ehrlich, Charles Perrault
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCinderella's transformation from poor girl to princess never fails to captivate young ones, and this stellar retelling, exquisitely illustrated by Susan Jeffers, is a must for every library. When the original version of this book was published in 1985, Publishers Weekly called it "a treasure for all ages," and The New York Times declared, "Fairy-tale aficionados will be mesmerized... -
![Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall]()
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratings?What a sweet child,? says a newcomer in town about Goldilocks. ?That?s what you think,? a neighbor replies. For Goldilocks is one of those naughty little girls who does exactly as she pleases?even if that means sampling the three bears? porridge, breaking Baby Bear?s chair, and sleeping in his bed... -
![Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz]()
Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA renowned Nobel Prize-winning novelist refashions the classic tales of Scheherazade in his own imaginative, spellbinding style. Here are genies and flying carpets, Aladdin and Sinbad, Ali Baba, and many other familiar stories, made new by the magical pen of the acknowledged dean of Arabic letters... -
![Mules And Men by Zora Neale Hurston]()
Mules And Men by Zora Neale Hurston
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsMules and Men is a treasury of black America's folklore as collected by a famous storyteller and anthropologist who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed an oral history of the South since the time of slavery... -
![Tales from the Perilous Realm by J.R.R. Tolkien]()
Tales from the Perilous Realm by J.R.R. Tolkien
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe definitive collection of Tolkien’s classic “fairie” tales, in the vein of The Hobbit, illustrated by Oscar winner Alan Lee. The book is the perfect opportunity for fans of Middle-earth to enjoy some of Tolkien’s often overlooked yet most creative storytelling...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure anthologies audiobook -
![The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault]()
The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn this sequel to The King Must Die Theseus defies the Gods’ and claims the throne of Athens a move that culminates in the terrible, fateful destruction of the house of Minos -- the Minotaur...Categorized as:
classics lgbtq myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure ancient-civilization audiobook -
![Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff]()
Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis brilliant reconception of the Arthurian epic cuts through the familiar myths and tells the story of the real King Arthur: Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century... -
![L'Enchanteur by René Barjavel]()
L'Enchanteur by René Barjavel
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsQui ne connaît pas Merlin ? Il se joue du temps qui passe, reste jeune et beau, vif et moqueur, tendre, pour tout dire Enchanteur... -
![Norma Jeane Baker of Troy by Anne Carson]()
Norma Jeane Baker of Troy by Anne Carson
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNorma Jeane Baker of Troy is a partly spoken, partly sung performance piece by poet, essayist, and scholar Anne Carson, and an exploration of the lives and myths of Marilyn Monroe and Helen of Troy—iconic beauties who lived millennia apart... -
-
![Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott]()
Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsZomo the rabbit, a trickster from West Africa, wants wisdom. But he must accomplish three apparently impossible tasks before Sky God will give him what he wants. Is he clever enough to do as Sky God asks? “The tale moves along with the swift concision of a good joke, right down to its satisfying punch line... -
![Mythologies by W.B. Yeats]()
Mythologies by W.B. Yeats
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBanshees and faeries, demons and curses, village ghosts and mystic poets work their Gaelic magic in this enthralling collection of supernatural tales from the pen of William Butler Yeats... -
![Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa]()
Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe magic of Miyazawa's tales reaches out to people of all ages and lands. The sophisticated reader can savor them consciously as literature, while the younger reader can delight in them as imaginative stories that comment on and deepen his own experience. The underlying themes are universal, but the forms and treatment can be appreciated at many levels and vary subtly from piece to piece... -
![The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris]()
The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsLife for the young orphan Terence has been peaceful, living with Trevisant, the old Hermit in a quiet, isolated wood. That is, until the day a strange green sprite leads him to Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, who is on his way to Camelot hoping to be knighted. Trevisant can see the future and knows that Terence must leave to serve as Gawain's squire...Categorized as:
classics fairy-tale high-school humor myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure -
![Sleeping Beauty: And Similar Tales (Fairy Tale Classics Collection) by Charles Perrault, Jacob Grimm]()
Sleeping Beauty: And Similar Tales (Fairy Tale Classics Collection) by Charles Perrault, Jacob Grimm
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeven good fairies are invited to be godmothers to a long-awaited baby princess. They bless the baby with beauty, wit, grace, dance, song, and goodness. But one old fairy is angry that she was not invited. She curses the infant to prick her finger on a spindle and die. All the spindles are burned and the child is hidden away, but it is not enough to escape the curse... -
![Madwomen: The Locas Mujeres Poems of Gabriela Mistral by Gabriela Mistral]()
Madwomen: The Locas Mujeres Poems of Gabriela Mistral by Gabriela Mistral
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA schoolteacher whose poetry catapulted her to early fame in her native Chile and an international diplomat whose boundary-defying sexuality still challenges scholars, Gabriela Mistral (1889OCo1957) is one of the most important and enigmatic figures in Latin American literature of the last century...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
