Clever Gretchen and Other Forgotten Folktales

This is a short collection of folktales and fairy tales in which women and girls play leading roles. I have owned this book since I was a child and have read it many times; in fact, these are probably among the first folktales I ever read. The tales are told in an engaging manner and are easy to read. The illustrations are also appealing and have an old-fashioned, old-world feel that suits the tales. The book is short, and I think that a contemporary adult reader might want something more substantial. I would recommend it for younger readers of any gender. This isn't so much a "feminist" book as it is simply a collection of well-told tales with interesting characters.

Written in 1980, this was probably considered unique collection - fairy tales with strong female characters. Thirty-five years later, it's good, but feels a bit bland. With easy to read prose, this would be an easy read for a mid-grade reader. Some of the stories (The Sleeping Prince) feel like a gender-switch Sleeping Beauty, but almost worse, as the princess still goes through a ridiculous amount of danger for a boy. In other stories, the heroine does it to save family (The Black Geese) or her friends (The Hand of Glory) which is nice to read. My favorite story was Mizilca, because she did not get married at the end! Over all, this is an okay collection but nothing special.

Heroines triumph in these folktales. No passive princesses here.