takes an active role in determining the course of her own life. Beauty and Rose Daughter are both versions of Beauty and the Beast, Spindle's End is the story of Sleeping Beauty, and Deerskin and two of the stories in The Door in the Hedge are based on other folk-tales. Besides adapting classic fairy tales, McKinley wrote her own rendition of the Robin Hood story in her novel The Outlaws of Sherwood. McKinley has written two novels set in the imaginary land of Damar, The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Her contribution to the Imaginary Lands anthology and the stories in A Knot in the Grain are also set there. Her standalone novels include Sunshine, Shadows, and Dragonhaven. McKinley says she writes about strong heroines because she feels very strongly about the potential for girls to be "doing things", and she feels that the selection of fantasy literature featuring girls is scarce and unsatisfactory. According to biographer Marilyn H. Karrenbrock, "McKinley's females do not simper; they do not betray their own nature to win a man's approval. But neither do they take love lightly or put their own desires before anything else. In McKinley's books, the romance, like the adventure, is based upon ideals of faithfulness, duty, and honor." Works Children's picture books Rowan (1992), Illustrated by Donna Ruff My Father is in the Navy (1992), Illustrated by Martine Gourbalt The Stone Fey (1998), Illustrated by John Clapp Adaptations Black Beauty Storybook Edition (1986), Illustrated by Susan Jeffers. Originally by Anna Sewell (1877) The Light Princess (1988), Illustrated by Katie Thamer Treheme. Chapter book. Originally by George MacDonald (1864) Tales from the Jungle Book (1985), Illustrated by Jos. A. Smith. Contains versions of "Kaa's Hunting", "Mowgli's Brothers", "Tiger! Tiger!" retold by McKinley and based on the short stories by Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book (1894). Standalone novels Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (1978) - Folktales The Outlaws of Sherwood (1988) Deerskin (1993) Rose Daughter (1997) - Folktales Spindle's End (2000) - Folktales Sunshine (2003) Dragonhaven (2007) Chalice (2008) Shadows (2013) Novels in series Damar The Blue Sword (1982) The Hero and the Crown (1984) Short stories set in Damar include: "The Healer" (1982), "The Stagman" (1984), "The Stone Fey" (1998), "A Pool in the Desert" (2004) Pegasus Pegasus (2010) Collections The Door in the Hedge (1981) "The Stolen Princess" "The