This wonderful collection of original, contemporary fairy tales is a delight to read that can be enjoyed by young and old. The tales keep you on your toes with their twists and turns on old motifs that shed new light on the meaning of 'fairy tale.' These are tales that happened not so long ago, and not so very far away. Beware of trolls and computer malfunctions, goblins and swimming pools, winter sprites and refrigerators. These modern tales will help you discover what happens to the socks that get put in the washing machine never to be seen again. They will explain why the mouse ran up the clock at the Hickory, Dickory Dock, and why the cow jumped over the moon. After you have read them, you will never look at birthdays or Halloween the same way again. Are you prepared to embark on an adventure into today? Then these tales will take you to the Bounding Main and the Deep, Dark Forest, where you will learn if dead men really tell no tales, and be given a commonplace patent charm against evil spirits. Go back to school with sorcerer's apprentices who do not seem to have mastered the art of reading, with trolls who cannot spell, and with dragons whose mastery of the written word is extraordinary. Those with a taste for the macabre will learn what happens to recycled vampire teeth and why the Grim Reaper decided to start using modern technology. There are also silly rhymes along the way to entertain you on those otherwise blank pages before the beginning of a new story.

Judge's comments from the Writer's Digest Book Awards:
"I found the concept of Once More Upon a Time intriguing. I was pleasantly surprised to find refreshingly new twists on plots of old fairy tales, with characters who were charming and spontaneous. Each story has its own plot, with new twists and turns that caught me off guard. Throughout the book, the characters seem compelling and interesting. The dialogue appears natural and not forced. Each story starts like a fairy tale beginning, and each ending has a take-away message. The storytelling is consistent throughout all the stories in the book. I found myself smiling at various points all the way through."

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