Join me by the fireside to hear the story known as the “Russian Cinderella,” which is funny and strange . . . and has the most unusual fairy godmother I’ve ever heard of.

This translation of the Russian fairy tale “Vaselesa the Beautiful” was done by Edith M. S. Hodgetts. Mrs. Hodgetts was born in Russia, though I could not discover the year. As a teen or young adult she moved to England, where she died in 1902. Her most famous book was Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar (1890), and the first story in it is “Vaselesa the Beautiful,” in which the Russian Cinderella meets Baba Yaga in the woods, is given the world’s most unusual flashlight, and manages to beat the odds with her especially helpful doll.

Other translations will spell the main character’s name as “Vasilisa” or render the title as “Vaselesa the Fair.” These are translator’s choices. I have preserved the original spelling and punctuation from Mrs. Hodgetts’ book so you can see how she wrote her version.

Star Trek is what first introduced me to Shakespeare, and I wanted to visit the most Shakespearean of all Star Trek productions, which is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

This film is Shakespearean in its structure, characters, plot, and themes, and can be a great way to introduce kids to some truly epic literature.

This episode is a trimmed down version of a livestreamed episode that I did. If you want the full version of that with live chat comments, you can watch that here:

If you like Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, that’s fine. Just keep it far away from me, because I DON’T BRONTË. If you also don’t Brontë, you can get yourself a Wayne’s World style wall plaque from my Teespring Store:

I also share my latest Fireside Fairy Tale, which is my own contribution to the Little Red Riding Hood Tradition. Please enjoy “Little Red Head: A Hillbilly Fairy Tale.”

Join me on a pleasantly mild winter evening to toast a marshmallow and share my translation of “Rödkappchen,” or “Little Red Cap,” the German version of Little Red Riding Hood as collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Kinder- und Hausmärchen, their 1812 collection of fairy tales.

This version is interesting because it has an alternate ending, in which you learn not to mess with a German grandma.

You can also get the commentary-free version of this tale on my storytelling channel:

“What does Star Trek have to do with children’s literature?” you might be asking. Quite a lot. Star Trek introduced me to Shakespeare, and it’s been a franchise that mattered quite a lot to nerdy kids for 60 years now. The new TV series, Starfleet Academy, is aimed at teenagers. It failed to hit the mark, and here is my dorky rant complaining about that.

This Fireside Fairy Tale is a double feature where I share my own translation of the very first Little Red Riding Hood story by Egbert of Liège from 1000 years ago as well as the very first English Translation of Little Red Riding Hood as written by Charles Perrault in his Mother Goose Tales.

De puella a lupellis servata by Egbert of Liège:

The Little Red Riding-Hood by Charles Perrault as translated by Robert Samber:

In this episode, we start off with a clip from our New Year’s Eve livestream in which we highlighted the best book-to-screen adaptaions of 2025. If you want to hear us dunking on the Mid, Meh, and Miserable adaptations of 2025, check that out on our YouTube Channel:

Also, I’ve got some Book Drama for you that came in over the holidays. Santa Claus apparently needs to be decolonized and David Walliams, one of the biggest children’s writers ever, has been dropped by his publisher for alleged bad behavior toward women.

This was recorded a few days after Bonfire Night, when it’s common for massive fireworks to go off in England . . . even right next door! This made for a fun backdrop to one of the darkest stories in Kinder-und Hausmärchen, the collection of tales gathered by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812. This is my own translation of the story.

My treat for this Fireside Fairy Tale is a lovely sugar frosted pumpkin-shaped marshmallow that toasted up beautifully, with the outside crystallizing and the inside going nice and gooey.

You can hear this story without any commentary (or fireworks) at my storytelling channel:

In this episode, you will find:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This episode is taken from my Livestream about the history of Santa Claus. I will be having more Livestreams in the future, so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and join in the fun.

YouTube: The Children’s Literature Podcast

You can also follow my storytelling channel, which just has stories, folktales, and poems with no commentary.

YouTube: Storytime with T.Q. Townsend

Learn the history of Good Old St. Nick, from the allegedly pugilistic Saint at the Council of Nicea to the modern day American folk figure that has been embraced worldwide! You’ll also get my ranking of the best portrayals of Santa on film.