Classic Fairy Tales

Chosen because I wanted to see more art by Gustafson. And I was not disappointed. I think my favorite illustration is Tom Thumb taking a bath in an ornately carved mug.

I like that these are indeed classic tales, none stolen from Andersen or Wilde. I like that they're very slightly enriched from the most common versions, giving a little bit of explanation to what's what and why. I like having several of the most famous stories in one collection so your child can indeed learn of our western cultural heritage.

I still don't like animals in clothes, and of course I don't like the lack of diversity.

And so I hope that your children don't love only these tales. I would have loved this as a child, as I loved fairy tales and pretty pictures... show more but thinking only about princesses etc. did not do me any good. I owned [b:The Red Fairy Book|17622605|The Red Fairy Book|Andrew Lang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363568145l/17622605._SX50_.jpg|2781420], read it over & over again, and was awfully disappointed to learn that no matter how good & sweet & brave I grew to be, I'd never meet a prince among men.

Add this to a good family library; don't use it as the foundation, much less as the only book needed at home. show less

I've always been a cultural traditionalist in weird ways--trying to find value in the traditional because it's so easy to dismiss it with an eye roll--but I'm slowly coming around to the idea that the old stories are outmoded and we need a New Soviet Book of Instructive Parables instead. Like, kids need to grapple with death too but the sheer weight of the blood and the gender stuff (winning the princess etc.) and the gold-lust that is a constant motivation at some point makes it hard to deny that these stories just have really bad values. The Hildebrandt brothers art is a great thing in this volume though.

We never really grow old, do we? Some of my favorite books are those really meant for children, but hopefully that just means I was born young. Or then again, it might have something to do with the fantastic artistry for which a child's book is highlighted. With this book, the reader doesn't just get the basic fairy tale collection, the real gift is in the art by [a:Scott Gustafson|21781|Scott Gustafson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1321310376p2/21781.jpg]. These are N.C. Wyeth-like, as though drawn back in the heyday of American illustration.

There are standouts throughout the book, but for me it's Goldilocks and the Three Bears, mainly for the picture drawn of the bears finding the young girl in junior's bed. The stern face of show more Papa Bear in his Victorian clothing, hands-on-hips, is one I will always treasure. He looks like a gentler version of Bill Sykes. Anyone who can bring a fabled animal to such life deserves five stars.

Book Season = Year Round show less

A delightful collection of eight beautifully illustrated classic fairy tales. Each carefully drawn illustration perfectly matches the content of each tale. The sweetness of Goldilocks and her blond curls is in contrast to the civilized and formally dressed three bears who find that Goldilocks has rudely broken into their house. The innocent and pure beauty of Snow White contrasts the hard beauty of the Queen who wished to always be the "fairest of them all". The Queen's transformation into an old woman who visits Snow White three times in order to kill her demonstrates the depths the Queen would go for her vanity. People who favor the Disney versions of this classic fairy tales will be surprised and delighted by the more traditional show more version of each tale where Snow white is not saved by a kiss but by the dislodging of a piece of poisonous apple in her mouth. The heroes of each tale do live happily ever after as each protagonist triumphs over evil. show less

Since I never really read fairytales and all the other tales as chid, I found this book very interesting. I like how the little "fairy tales" are divided and easy to read. The illustrations were older and painted in a way that was representative of the text. I believe that children who are younger and adults would enjoy this book because it provides multiple stories. For example, in the beginning of the book they include the story of the three little bears. On each of the pages, there is a beautiful picture that would interest the readers. The pictures took up a majority of the pages, however, they are very critical to adding to the meaning of the story. The pictures help with people like me who are twenty and have never heard of these show more stories gather the mental image necessary to understand.The plot is always changing as for the stories are from all around the world.I had the opportunity to read fairytales that I have never heard before such as Rumpelstilkins. I enjoyed reading the little stories, however, I feel like I would enjoyed reading this book in an entirety or hear a longer version of the story from another author. As I skimmed through the stories, I felt like they could have been grouped better. I felt like they were put in order by seeing which ones fit on the page. Im not a fairy tale princess by any means, but I think I could of done better. I think it is important that they folk tales and fairy tales included were honest and able to teach life lessons such as little red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. show less

Very beautiful illustrations. They are paintings to remember. Grimm's fairy tales are well translated and slightly modernized.

I bought this book for two reasons: first, I love fairy Tales and secondly, the artist of the book is so good, everything went alive while I read and watched the pages :) I guess it is an amazing book, if you have kids i am sure they are gonna love it