Early Australian fairy tales

Should Ernst’s works (or any oral or literary fairy tales)  be reprinted, revised or modified to meet the needs and preferences of a twenty-first century audience? We know t he re-working of fairy tales is common. When the Brothers Grimm published their first volume of   Kinder- und Hausmärchen [ Children and Household Tales ](Grimm, 1812) containing eighty-six numbered and collected fairy and folktales they could not have foreseen the variety of adaptations of the tales two hundred years later.     Hundreds of versions in different languages, audio books, cartoons, anime, horror and interactive worlds  now exist.   It could be argued that Grimm’s Fairy Tales should not enjoy continuing popularity in an era where the riddle of Rumpelstiltskin’s name could be easily solved using a search engine (Gollob, 2012) but they continue to be adapted for our era. In 2012, in readiness for the two hundred year anniversary of the publication of the Grimm’s first collection, a number of new fil

A garden always has a point .  ―  Elizabeth Hoyt (The Raven Prince)  The garden influences the type of fairy tales, folk tales, myths that are seeded in it. What is the point of the garden, the bush, the landscape in folktales? With my colleagues, and friends, Christine, Phillippa we took our audience down a wonderland ‘rabbit hole’ as we explored the impact of transplanting traditional tales into new natural environments: the garden, the bush, the island. With the aid of illustrations we presented a dialogue (trialogue?) that challenged and questioned if, how and why, various natural settings have impacted on the mannerisms, behaviours and appearance of characters in retold/ adapted fairy tales and mythologies.  ·         What is an ‘authentic' fairy garden? ·         Does the oral tradition of fairy tale gardens and forests preclude all other variations? ·         How do socio-cultural factors impact on the portrayal of the natural setting? Reilly McCarron's

Congratulations to editors Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario, Nike Sulway and Belinda Calderone.  I appreciate their editorial expertise. Into the Bush: Australasian Fairy Tales  is an intriguing and enchanting read for those researchers and lovers of fairy tales. Robyn Floyd: Fairies in the bush: The emergence of a national identity in Australian fairy tales