Once Upon A Time II Challenge!!!

Carl is hosting his second Once Upon A Time Challenge. March 21rst through June 20th 2008.

The Journey

This is really as simple as the name implies and is to Once Upon a Time as the experience was to The Sci~Fi Experience. It means you are participating but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. All reading is a journey, perhaps none more so than reading fantastical fiction. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to at least read one book within the four categories during March 21st to June 20th period. Just one book. It has always been of utmost importance to me that the challenges that I host be all about experiencing enjoyable literature and sharing it with others. I want you to participate. Hence, The Journey.

Quest the First

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

Quest the Second

Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proved to be one of the more difficult quests last year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I was fascinated watching how folks worked to find books for each category.

Quest the Third

Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the reading of this farcical love story.

I will be signing up to do Quest the First: 5 books from any/all categories. I'm committing to five. We'll see how it goes. My list will probably change as the weeks go by. Adding and subtracting at will.


The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (May 6th Publication) (Hyperion)*
Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner (April Publication) (Random House)

Sisters Grimm: Magic and Other Misdemeanors by Michael Buckley (Harry Abrams)
Sisters Grimm: Tales From the Hood (May 1 Publication) (Harry Abrams)
Out of the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst (June Publication) (Razorbill/Penguin)

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott
The Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Wings by E.D. Baker
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

For those looking for titles to add to their own list, I can't recommend the following highly enough:

Cupid by Julius Lester
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner
Iris, Messenger by Sarah Deming
Book of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Mira, Mirror by Mette Ivie Harrison