Tales From Beyond the Rainbow : Ten LGBTQ+ Fairy Tales Proudly Reclaimed

The Queerguru team are suckers for a good title such as  TALES FROM BEYOND THE RAINBOW even though we suspcct this book may be intended for people much youmger and smaller than us!   It is a groundbreaking Puffin Classic anthology of LGBTQ+ narratives that has just been published in the US and features stories of love, adventure, and resilience, shining a light on historically marginalized queer characters in fairy tales.

This incredible anthology encourages “young readers” to explore and celebrate diverse identities through fun, varied stories that spotlight queer romance and adventure. It preserves the ancient folklore of queer stories and assure readers that queer stories can have happy endings to.  LGBTQ+ characters have had a bad rap in the past (surprise surprise)  and were excluded or negatively categorized in folklore catalogues due to post-Victorian biases. However, this anthology revives those almost-lost tales, offering a fresh perspective on classic themes while also including artwork from artists that share cultural ties to the stories, spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa.

These are the fairy tales that history forgot—or concealed. Ten tales in which gender is fluid and where queer stories can have a happy ending. Some are rare examples of LGBTQ+ folklore, like “The Dog and the Sailor,” which features a male protagonist who meets his own handsome prince. These stories include folklore from Europe, Asia, and the African savanna. Vibrant illustrations from an international group of artists enhance the multicultural identities showcased here, including artists from India, Germany, Cape Verde, Russia, Canada, China, and more. They remind readers that folk tales are our tales, and invite them to be whoever they want to be. Researcher Pete Jordi Wood has combed through generations of history to collect and adapt these ten unforgettable stories celebrating LGBTQ+ themes and characters.

The timing of its US publishing could not be not be more perfect a treat, as the present political climate is worse than ever : talk about ogres, wicked witches, big bad wolves etc this is a scenario that no fairy story teller could have predicted.  And from we are sitting, unlike these delightful published stories, we will never see a happy ending .  Especially for the queer and trans communities 

Tales from Beyond the Rainbow: Ten LGBTQ+ Fairy Tales Proudly Reclaimed

Written by Pete Jordi Wood

Penguin Workshop; On Sale April 22, 2025

Hardcover: 9780593889725; $18.99 US