Traditional folk tales are a continual source of entertainment and inspiration, embellished and ever-evolving as they were passed on from generation to generation. What Fayers has cleverly done is add her own contemporary twist to collection of stories originating from Wales.

“A wealth of Welsh myths, legends and ghost stories are reimagined for contemporary younger readers. Meet Idris, the teenage giant king on a quest to collect stories. As he travels across Wales readers encounter a vengeful house goblin, a ghost that steals life, dwarves that have moved in beneath someone’s garden, a tea party of lady ghosts, a furry trickster goblin and many other fascinating and devious fairy folk. These seventeen adventures, fairy tales and ghost stories from across Wales are retold and reimagined by the author as the traditional stories are given new life through the contemporary storyteller’s lens: a feisty, inclusive and relatable cast in a mix of traditional and contemporary settings.”

What I really enjoyed whilst reading this book was that each story was a perfectly bite-sized treat. I could dip in and read a whole story in just a couple of minutes! I think younger readers will also like this format.

At the start of each story is an interesting introduction, explaining the traditional origins of tale and the inspiration for the twist Claire Fayers decided to put on it. I can see this inspires budding writers to start innovating the tales they are familiar with to come up with something entirely new.

If you read this and loved Claire’s writing as much as I did, you may like to try one of her longer titles, such as ‘Storm Hound,’ which is also steeped in legend and adventure!

Jo.

*Many thanks to Firefly Press for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour*