Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65352 in Books
• Published on: 1966-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 390 pages

Synopsis
An anthology of children's stories which portray the people and creatures of a fantasy world, includes such tales as "Hansel and Gretel," and "Beauty and the Beast.".

Customer Reviews

Fairy tales for both young and old
I bought this book for my then eight year old daughter two years ago. She reads very quickly and literally seems to eat books. This book and others in the series seemed to draw her back again and again until our copy was quite dog-eared. I recently, rather absent-mindedly, decided to pick it up and have a look at some of the stories for myself. I found myself glued to the sofa for several days, having to move straight onto 'The Grey Fairy Book'. These are as addictive as any modern day media. They are certainly not just for children and I would actually recommend them more to the teenager or young adult.

Not all editions are created equal
If you are new to Lang, it started in 1889 with the blue fairy book, and then a series developed, yellow, crimson, orange, red, and so forth.

The fact that this series has endured to now is a testament to its quality.

As you read, you will discover fairy tales and myths from all over the world, including the well known writers such as Grimm, Andersen, Perrault, and Mme D'Aulnoy.

These are not the politically correct stories you might expect, and I believe you will find them useful whether it's for your own reading pleasure, of for passing on stories to children.

In fact, if you look beyond the surface of the story, there is a cautionary aspect for children who might get lost, and the evil characters they might meet like the wolf in sheep's clothing, or the boy who cried wolf, or the nice person who offers a gift, but is really a wicked queen in disguise.

There may be a young prince who helps a hairy man escape, and the king embarrassed and enraged orders the child to be killed. Naturally the woodsman slaughters an animal instead, and returns the heart to the king as evidence of performance of the deed.

There are stories of boys becoming men, being tested by the princess, and doing great deeds to prove their worth. Some characters are wicked and evil, and so the protagonist has to develop their resources to defeat the deceit, trickery, jealousy, ambition, and wickedness of the people they encounter.

I recommend you start with the blue book, because it has most of the best known stories, for example, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots. You can check the contents of each book at mythfolklore, and even read the stories online.

If you are buying Lang, you need to know which publisher, because there are many editions through different publishers, some are good with nice print and pictures, others have small print and no pictures.

I highly recommend the Dover edition which has pictures and good size print. These pictures are black and white drawings. The Boomer books edition has good size print. If you want a durable hardcover library style book with a red string bookmark, I recommend the D N Goodchild books. Avoid the compilation book, and buy them individually.

One of my favorite stories not in this edition is The wooing of Olwen. It's unusually cruel and bloodthirsty from Wales and King Arthur's court.

I hope you find this review helpful.