Ulla Thynell

I received this as part of LT's Early Reviewer program.

This is a beautifully made book! Everything is so cleverly done: from the cover with glossy accents, to the inner board coverings, to the division of the stories into story 'types' (transformation, wit, and journeys), to the ribbon page marker, to the well-researched Sources section, I immediately loved the look/feel of the book.The art that goes with each story is also beautiful and folk-art ish, so it matches well with the theme of the show more collection. Each story includes its country of origin, and the lengths vary. I hadn't heard of any of these prior to reading this, but all the stories I've picked so far have been charming (haven't read them all yet). The entire vibe of the book had me wanting to make cocoa and read it by a fire in a big cozy sweater.

I also really loved that the collection includes a source list with the original documents and who translated them! (One story even has footnotes to explain terms and translation oddities!)

All in all, a 5/5. This would be really cute to give to older kids in lieu of a traditional fairy tale compilation. show less

This gorgeously illustrated collection was a cozy holiday read.

One thing that really stood out (especially in the first section: "Transformation") was how often people were told to follow specific instructions (with varying results depending on whether they followed the instructions or not). The farmer's son who follows the instructions given by a little mouse receives riches and a princess as a his bride. A young woman who initially disobeys a bear's instructions, gets her act together show more once she realizes he's actually an enchanted prince.

My favorite story was "Mighty Mikko: the story of a poor woodsman and a grateful fox":



The fox is a close literary relative of Puss in Boots. After Mikko saves the fox from a trap (following his late father's instructions, of course), the fox craftily hypes Mikko as a wealthy man, giving him credit for owning all the land and riches of "that wicked old dragon, the Worm," who he eventually defeats. show less

My library just got a bunch of these illustrated books of folktales in. After reading "Irish Gothic Fairytales" I was excited to move on to the Nordic fairytales.
These stories were cute. Most were fun to read. A few (like the last far too lengthy story in the book) were confusing to read and didn't seem to follow much of a plot structure. They were just jumbles of events without a clear progression of plot or character.
My biggest complaint is that I didn't learn much about Nordic cultures, show more other than what I could suss out myself from the folktales. In the "Irish Gothic Fairytales" book I read, each tale started with an explanation of a specific aspect of Irish culture. I learned where the story of banshees came from and the Irish tradition of hiring a woman to wail at a wake. I learned how Irish people feel about fairies. Now, I didn't get any of that with this book. I didn't get any tidbits teaching me about the traditions or cultural beliefs of the Nordic countries. It was just the folktales.
Then I get to the end and read the footnote that all of these stories were taken from public domain works, not changed in any way.
So, it's really a lazy cash-grab for this publisher.
Three stars because some of the stories were still whimsical and fun to read. The book would have been much better if the publisher had added anything new to the works, maybe included some commentary from scholars of Nordic folktales and culture. show less

I absolutely adored this gem of a book. I am familiar with the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen but didn't realize that there were so many folktales out there that needed to be told. These 16 stories from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland are special in their own right and add spice to the tales we do have. The translation is good and the drawings are exquisite. Highly recommended for those who love folktales.