Friday, December 31, 2010

Announcing the 2011 Fairy Tale Challenge!

This past year, I have ventured into the land of fairy tales through the weekly feature, Fairy Tale Fridays, with a small devoted group supporting and contributing along the way.  We explored stories from the well-known Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm as well as tales from around the world.  We have visited some well-known favorites, discovered those that were new to us, and even explored some modern takes on the classics.  Some of the tales I enjoyed.  Others I appreciated more as an adult.  A few took me by surprise.  And, a couple I simply did not care for.  When I started the feature, I had planned on it only taking place for one year.  That time is up and I still desire the reading of fairy tales!  Therefore, the birth of the 2011 Fairy Tale Challenge is the result!

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe 

During Fairy Tale Fridays, we had the opportunity to read the short tales, explore the longer ones, and even watch a film or two; therefore, in this challenge, we will be exploring any or all of the above, depending upon the level you wish to participate in.  Let's take a look at the levels . . .
  • Fairy (Level 1):  Read 1 original tale.  Read 1 modern tale.  Watch 1 film. (Total of 3 selections.)
  • Dwarf (Level 2):  Read/watch any combination of original tales, modern tales, or films, resulting in 6 total selections.
  • Royal Prince or Princess (Level 3):  Read/watch any combination of original tales, modern tales, or films, resulting in 9 total selections.
  • Happily Ever After (Level 4):  Read/watch any combination of original tales, modern tales, or films, resulting in 12 total selections.

Here are a few other thoughts to share that may or may not be important to you . . . 
  • The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
  • Selections can include any age level or genre, from picture books and classics to young adult and even graphic novels.  Creativity is completely acceptable here!
  • You do not need to determine your list of fairy tales.  Go with what moves you at the time!
  • You need not have participated in Fairy Tale Fridays to participate in the 2011 Fairy Tale Challenge.  It is open to everyone interested!
  • A blog is not required, but it is encouraged.  You are also welcome to keep track of your selections via Goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari, or simply the comments section.
  • Reviews are not required, but are encouraged . . . I just really want to hear your thoughts and recommendations on what you read!  That is just me being selfish!
  • A Mr. Linky will be posted at the beginning of every month for you to share your selections if you do choose to review them.  Comments are also fine for sharing as well.  You will be able to refer to the direct links to these posts on the sidebar for easy reference.
  • You can overlap your choices with other challenges.
  • Prizes and guest posts will randomly appear in the monthly review posts to share some fairy tale love with participants.
I think I have covered all of the details, but if you have additional questions, just comment below.

Where to go from here?

  • Post about it on your blog, announcing which level you hope to achieve and linking back to this post.  Feel free to grab the beautiful button art (courtesy of my own special fairy friend)!
  • Post your direct link to your announcement post in the Mr. Linky below.  If you have no blog, then post your profile to your social book network or announce in the comment section.
  • Experience happily ever after in your choice of tales (or not, depending on the tale)!
  • Come back during the month you read a selection and share it with us.

Welcome to the challenge and happy reading!

19 comments:

  1. I was totally done with challenges for the year and really trying to cut back from last year but then I found yours! I'm doing a Fairy Tale Fridays, too so I'm signing on for the Happily Ever After level. Thanks for hosting!

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  2. Lisa . . . I'm glad to hear that you will be joining and I can't wait to hear about your reads! I'm curious about your Fairy Tale Fridays. I've been doing mine for about a year and I'm not sure that I knew you were doing it too! I'm heading over to check out your site now! :)

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  3. I was always so bad at FFF. Friday was never a good day for posting. Can't wait to get started on this one though.

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  4. I'm in, but I'll do my actual sign-up with my Ice Maiden post.

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  5. WVRed03 . . . Yeah!!!! I'm so glad you will be joining in!!

    carolsnotebook . . . I'm so excited that you will be joining me again!! I have loved reading your posts and can't wait to see what you read for the challenge!

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  6. I didn't participate in Fairy Tale Fridays but I'm excited for this challenge!

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  7. I'm in. I'm hoping to read well beyond the 12!

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  8. Erin . . . And, I'm excited to have you!! :)

    MommyWantsToRead . . . Yeah!!!! Can't wait to see what you read!

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  9. I was trying to cut myself off from anymore challenges, but I just can't resist this one. I'm in! Thanks for hosting!

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  10. IntrovertedJen . . . Yeah!!! I'm excited to have you join in!! :)

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  11. You know I loved Fairy Tale Fridays and I didn't know it was only going to be a year long feature which makes me a little sad that I didn't discover your super awesome blog until September and missed most of the fun! (But it also makes me glad that I did discover your super awesome blog in September and got to join in on the Fairy Tales that I did post about!) I'm not really into challenges, but I think I definitely need to sign on for this one. And since I'm all about "Go big or go home," I guess I'm going whole hog and taking on the Happily Ever After level! I figure 12 fairy tales is around once a month so hopefully I'll get in at least that many. Thanks for hosting such a fun meme and now a great challenge!

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  12. I thought I was done signing up for challenges, but then I remembered my friend, Lisa (Lit and Life) mentioning this challenge and I just had to sign up. I love that watching movies is included, although I'll be mostly reading...I think a re-watch of Ever After is in order!

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  13. lisa :) . . . You are so welcome and thank YOU for joining in the challenge! It is actually kind of sad that I will be wrapping up the Fairy Tale Friday meme this week. Carol is planning on continuing with it and I may still continue every so often too. It has been so much fun and I can't let go completely . . . hence, the reason for the challenge! :)

    Michelle @ The True Book Addict . . . . I won't lie . . . I included the movies in the hope to motivate others to read more! :) BUT, some of the movies can be a blast and there are some coming out this year that look amazing!!

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  14. Hi! New follower here :). I'm a fairly new book blogger, so even though I'm pretty late in the game, I'm in the process of signing up for a few reading challenges! This fairy tale challenge caught my eye :). Hope you'll check out my blog and the post I wrote about the challenge...thanks!

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  15. Rebecca ... Welcome to the challenge! I am heading over to your site right now to check it out!

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  16. Even though we're more than mid-way through, I'm joining because as an English teacher I need to read many modern fairy tales and myths for my courses next year, and I'd love to find out more about what other bloggers enjoy in terms of fairy tales.
    Thanks for offering this: I'm in!

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  17. Laurie ... It's great to have you! I look forward to seeing what you read!! :)

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  18. Oh my gosh I am so excited for this challenge! I absolutely love fairy tales

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  19. If possible, I would love to also feature some author interviews or guest posts if they are willing!

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