Classic. Beautiful. Picturesque. Haunting. ( )

Interesting folk story collection, but as one who grew up on these, they are not for children. ( )

A glorious collection. Sublime story telling and stories. Some of it not suitable for everyone, and some stories are dark and depressing,though this is important art and writing to remember, tried and true lessons on love, and the importance of doing right. Useful in the classroom for a fairy/folk tale unit, inspiring to research H.C Andersen, Scandinavia, paper cuts. ( )

A book that's been in the family as long as I can remember, there isn't much more that I can say about Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales except to say that in a world where the Disneyfication of youth always paints life through rose-tinted glasses, there is a pleasingly chilling nature to many of these original tales that presents an alternative to the frequently cloying happy endings of most of Disney's re-tellings. Kids *like* danger presented through the "safe" lens of a book and I think it is a fantastic way for developing psyches to learn that not every story has a happy ending, but that you generally get what you deserve (bad or good). ( )

the real version of so many disney-fied classic fairy tales. a little gory, somewhat disturbing, often depressing, but excellent story-telling. ( )