From the earliest days of stories, when hunters told of their exploits around the campfire while gnawing on a leg of beast, to the era of kings in castles listening to the storyteller at the royal dinner feast, to the time of TV dinners when whole families sit for dinner in front of a screen to watch a movie, stories and eating have been close companions. So it is not unusual that folk stories are often about food. Jack's milk cow traded for beans, Snow White given a poisoned apple, a pancake running away from those who would eat it, Hansel and Gretel lured by the gingerbread house.

Fairy Tale Feasts is more than collection of stories and recipes. Here, Caldecott-winning author Jane Yolen and her daughter, Heidi Stemple, imagine their readers as co-conspirators. Alongside the stories, readers will find a history and fun facts and anecdotes designed to encourage future cooks and storytellers to make up their own versions of the classics. And, of course, recipes, from the Perfect Pot of Porridge to Stone Soup to Snow White's Baked Apples. With illustrations by Philippe Béha.

Softcover children's book, 198 pages. 2014.