Tinder – Sally Gardner & David Roberts – Young Adults Story Sack

Another day, another post, another Story Sack, but todays isn’t the usual story sack; yes it’s constructed around a picture book, but it’s not for Key Stage One children, but for Young Adults, and older adults too! Continuing on our features on stretching the scope, and challenging the pre-conceptions, of Story Sacks we bring you a story sack inspired by Sally Gardner and David Roberts’s beautiful re-imagined fairy tale yarn, Tinder.

Tinder was penned by the hugely talented Sally Gardner who took come the Carnegie medal in 2013 for her novel Maggot Moon, and was inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale The Tinder Box. It’s is a touching story for older YA readers and is beautiful accompanied by David Roberts monotone and atmospheric illustrations, and it was also shortlisted for the Carnegie in 2015, for a full review press here.

I chose Tinder to be the basis for a YA Story Sack for a few reasons; firstly because it’s a wonderful book, and secondly because it is one of a few (but ever increasing) number of highly illustrated books for young adults, and lastly due to the current debates about the changing of Fairy Tales that have recently been in the news, (for find out more press here), my use of Tinder illustrating my opinion that Fairy tales should and have to evolve in order to remain relevant to society and therefore survive.

So as you may know from our previous post story sacks usually have: a picture books, a non-fiction book, a soft toy and a game, that are all to be related to the story in the picture book.

As Tinder was inspire by Hans Christian Anderson’s The Tinder Box, it seemed right to also include a copy of The Tinder box, for comparison, and to see how fairy tales have changed across time and generations. For the non-fiction element I picked Jack Zipes’s What Dreams Come True, which explores the history, eviloution and social life of fairy tales from the sixteenth century to current day, including The Tinder Box. However, being a YA Story Sack I thought it’d be fine to include more than non-fiction books, so if What Dreams Come True looks a little heavy there is also a lighter biographical book about Hans Christian Anderson, and his work.

Adapting the concept of a story sack for young adult readers, has meant that the soft toy and games, can be replaced with alternatives like the little wooden Tinder Box that can be decorated, and the sketchpad and pen, so the reader can try their hand at both penning and illustrating their own fairy tale. Thereby not being childish, but still incorporating the educational element and inspiring imaginative flow.

I believe this show one way that a story sack can be assembled to inspire and interest Young Adults, but there are many more books which would produce equally lovely story sack, like Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls or Marcus Sedgwick’s Ghost of Heaven to name but a few.

Carnegie Shortlist Review - Tinder by Sally Gardner with Drawings by David Roberts

Sally Gardner is no stranger to the Carnegie short-list, in 2013 her novel Maggot Moon scooped up the award (press here to read our review). Now she’s back with the amazingly beautiful Young Adult picture book; Tinder, which isn’t only up for the Carnegie but for the Greenaway too. So it is more than possible that Sally (and illustrator David Roberts) could walk away with an award in each hand!

Tinder is a testament to the power of fairy-tales, and their ability to evolve to be relevant in an ever changing society, as Sally takes her inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen’s dark and twisted tale, ‘The Tinder Box.’

Set in the war torn regions of Germany in the 15th century Tinder is a dark and evocative tale of one solider shun and flee the bloodied battlefields of Breitenfeld betting his future on the roll of enchanted dice.

“ ‘ I wait or no one,’ said Death.

‘You’ve feasted well today,’ I said. ‘What difference would my soul make?’

It was then that Death and his ghostly army vanished.”

The dice guide Otto through perilous forests populated with deserters, thieves and a mysterious stranger that transforms into a wolf by removing his belt. Dicing with death Otto happens by a traveller; a boy who is not quite as he seems.

“’It’s not fair that girls should be bound up in skirts. I would rather be a boy, then I would be free to travel like you’. He took his hat off and threw it down. All about him cascaded fiery curls and a young woman stared at me with defiant eyes.”

The pair fall in love yet in a land soaked in blood and defined by violence, the pair are separated as huntsman come to collect their prey; Safire leaving Otto to follow the dice in search of her.

Otto’s journey is one that brings terror and riches as he comes upon a wooden castle, home to the powerful Lady of the Nail, who sends Otto on a quest into the bowls of the castle to fetch something from under the watchful eyes of three gigantic wolves. The prize, a tinder box, becomes entwined in Otto’s destiny as he ventures on wards to save Safire from an arranged marriage and certain death.

The Tinder box brings blessings; wealth, the command over the three gargantuan lupines and a key to his ‘happily ever-after’ yet its price, a secret, which may well fashion his demise.

Tinder is written with rhythm of a fairy tales and brings a tale that’s woven with enchantment, betrayal, fear, and hope yet brings with it an image of the atrocities of war. In Tinder Sally Gardner explores the brutalities of war and the desperation of survival in a convincing fairy tale world, drawing from werewolf mythology making the story rich and layered. The book is beautifully illustrated on every page with black, white and red drawings by David Roberts that enhance the story adding to its eerie-gothic appeal. Despite the book being highly illustrated, due to some of its subject matter it is a book for older teenagers.