Tori Amos Announces Second Children's Book, 'A Sorta Fairytale'

Tori Amos will publish her second children's book, A Sorta Fairytale, a prequel to her children's debut Tori and the Muses, which became a New York Times bestseller.

The new book centers on saving the town of Rose Dover. It brings back characters from the first volume: Tori, the Muses, and Tori's animal friends in the Emerald Forest. According to the announcement, the story explores a "new adventure" built on the "magic of working together" and aims to inspire young readers to embrace creativity and collaboration.

Demelsa Haughton, who illustrated Tori and the Muses, returns for the sequel. Haughton is also known for her retelling of six Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales, among many other works.

"After I finished Tori and the Muses, I knew there were still stories calling to me, especially from the creatures who helped shape that world," Amos said in a statement. "Stepping deeper into Rose Dover and into the Emerald Forest, I discovered all the stories it held. And working with Demelsa Haughton again, watching her bring this world to life through her exquisite illustrations, was endlessly inspiring."

A synopsis of the book lays out the plot. Tori must save Rose Dover from the evil spell of a character called Mr. Bad Man. She enlists her Friends of the Emerald Forest and the Muses. Through magic and teamwork, they build a special pink piano that breaks the spell.

The instrument is a fitting device. Amos has built a three-decade career at the piano, and the pink piano gives her young readers a direct link to the tool of her own artistry.

A Sorta Fairytale adds to a growing list of books by Amos that sit outside the children's shelf. She published Resistance: A Songwriter's Story of Hope, Change, and Courage in 2020 and Piece by Piece in 2005. Her output in music has kept pace: her 18th studio album, In Times of Dragons, arrived in May.

The title of the new book carries its own resonance for Amos's audience. "A Sorta Fairytale" is also the name of her 2002 single, one of the best-known songs in her catalog. Reusing it for a children's story about a spell-breaking piano signals how Amos continues to fold her songbook into her work for young readers.

With a proven bestseller behind the series, a returning illustrator, and an established cast of characters, Amos has positioned A Sorta Fairytale to reach both the families who found Tori and the Muses and the longtime fans following her from album to page.