The Children's Classic Collection, Vol. 2

Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–1898), English author, mathematician, and photographer. One of eleven children of a scholarly country parson, he studied mathematics at Oxford, obtained a university post, and then was ordained as a deacon but found true success with his masterpiece, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, now known as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which originated as a story told to a young friend, Alice Liddell, during a boating trip on the Thames. Among his other works are Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, The Hunting of the Snark, and Jabberwocky.

The Brothers Grimm were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors. They are among the most well-known storytellers of European folk tales, and their work popularized such stories as “Cinderella,” “The Frog Prince,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Rapunzel,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” and “Snow White.” Their first collection of folk tales, Children’s and Household Tales, was published in 1812. The popularity of the Grimms’ collected folk tales has endured well beyond their lifetimes. The tales are available in hundreds of translations and have been made into popular Disney films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella.

Charles Perrault (1628–1703) was a French author and intellectual. Known as a founding writer of the fairy tale genre, he rewrote numerous folk tales, including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Blue Beard, and Puss in Boots. His stories, which continue to enjoy worldwide acclaim, have been adapted to opera, ballet, theater, and film.

George Zarr is an award-winning audio dramatist currently based in Chicago. He is the producer, writer, director, and composer of the Hans Christian Andersen musical The Bell, the four-part comedy Hurry! Hurry! It’s Almost Christmas, the mystery collection Dark of the Moon Inn, and the Western comedy musical serial Hoofbeats in My Heart, all four available from Blackstone Publishing.

Diane Vanden Hoven is a Canadian playwright whose credits include This above All, winner of Theatre BC’s National Playwriting Competition, and The Twisted Land, which received an honorable mention in the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competition. Her works have been featured across Canada.