If there is just one thing Audrey wants, it's an adventure. But when she sets out through the forest to see the castle--the heart of the whole kingdom--she must rely on kindness and courage to outwit bandits, rescue a girl and help a prince. This charming tale of a young woman's adventure is told with vivid language and illustrated with classic photography. "A Handful of Gold" is a delightful read-aloud book for a bedtime story and for elementary-aged children. What is a "new" fairy tale? What do classic fairy tales tell children? Too often, women are valued for their beauty, they must be rescued by princes, and a girl's highest aspiration is to attract the eye of the prince. "A Handful of Gold" was inspired by classic fairy tales, but it reveals a fresh, spunky character who needs neither her beauty nor a prince to bravely battle bandits. Audrey is an unlikely heroine who is always willing to share, to help and to have an adventure. Perhaps if "The Paper Bag Princess" (by Robert N. Munsch) were all grown up, she would tell a story like this. Excerpt from A Handful of Gold "[Audrey peers into the grove to find the bandits' camp.]" There were five men-burly and rough, eating with terrible manners, telling crude jokes and yelling insults. One looked mean. The next looked meaner. One looked scary, another looked vile, and the last one looked dangerous. Cowering at the edge of the fire was a dark-haired little girl, just two years old. She was crying, sniffling and afraid. "Shut that kid up!" the mean one yelled to the scary one. "You do it!" the scary one snarled. "Now what shall we do with her?" the vile one asked, his voice slithery-smooth. "We could ask for a ransom." "Too much trouble," the mean one sneered. "We could leave her here in the woods," the meaner one cackled. "We could kill her," the dangerous one hissed. "We could sell her!" the vile one declared, his eyebrows wag