The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm
by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Randall Jarrell (Translator), Lore Segal (Translator), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
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Twenty-seven newly translated fairy tales from Grimm including many old favorites as well as such lesser-known tales as "The Juniper Tree," "Many-Fur," and "Brother Gaily."Tags
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As much as I enjoy the Grimms' fairytales and Maurice Sendak's illustrations, this book fell a little flat for me. Likely this was because each story only had one illustration from Sendak, so the balance between potential illustrations and text felt quite off. Sendak's work is most fruitful when he's illustrating a whole story, and even though there is a certain value in condensing a story down into one powerful image it really doesn't give Sendak his usual freedom to develop the intimate details that make his pictures so stunning.
For some reason this collection is divided into two separate books. My library sent me volume one, which does not include the title story. I'll look for it online, and I won't care if it's been adapted. This collection prides itself on authenticity to the Grimm originals, but I don't think that's a good thing except for scholars... the nature of the folktale is to be adapted to fit the teller's contemporary audience (within reason). I did not actually enjoy very many of these stories, nor even the illustrations. Sendak's work here is, imo, too polished, even pretentious, and the ugly people are all shaped like toddlers and they all push out the edges of the pages. Blech.
Best for scholars and completists, not so much for children. Some of the tales were all too familiar, others were brand-new (at least to me, and I've read quite a bit). I did like some little bits, as for example the variation of the chant the fisherman uses to call the flounder, or the revelation that the dwarfs kept their cottage quite tidy and did cook, so didn't need Snow White but took her in out of kindness. It was interesting that some of the translations revealed a graceful and poetic storyteller's voice, and others were awkward and incomplete. Overall I'm glad this was a library book and I didn't pay for it. It would make a good companion to [b:I Saw Esau: The Schoolchild's Pocket Book|380645|I Saw Esau The Schoolchild's Pocket show more Book|Iona Opie|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174326665s/380645.jpg|1488774] on a scholar's shelf. show less
Grimm's folktales retold in a vibrant and engaging manner. This was my first time reading the tale called "The Juniper Tree", and it struck me as having that morbid edge that so many folktales contain.
This boxed set is one of my most prized possessions. I love the Sendak illustrations and old Grimm fairy tales.
I enjoyed this book. Some of the tales I knew others I did not. A few were very bleak. The illustrations were well done. I will be looking out for Vol I for this was Vol II.
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Jacob W. Grimm (1785-1863) and his brother Wilhelm K. Grimm (1786-1859) pioneered the study of German philosophy, law, mythology and folklore, but they are best known for their collection of fairy tales. These include such popular stories as Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and The Frog Prince. Commonly referred to now as Grimm's Fairy Tales, show more their collection was published as Kinder-und-Hausmarchen (Children's and Household Tales, 1812-15). The brothers were born thirteen months apart in the German province of Hesse, and were inseparable from childhood. Throughout their lives they showed a marked lack of sibling rivalry. Most of their works were written together, a practice begun in childhood when they shared a desk and sustained throughout their adult lives. Since their lives and work were so collaborative, it is difficult now to differentiate between them, but of course there were differences.- Jacob, who studied for a time in Paris, was fascinated with variant spellings of older words. He articulated "Grimm's Law," the rules of which are still used today to determine correspondences between the consonants of German and languages in the Indo-European family. Jacob was bolder and more experimental than Wilhelm, and was rumored to be a lively dancer. Throughout his life, Jacob kept rigidly to schedule and could be extremely focused on work that demanded close attention to detail. He never married, but was a loving uncle to Wilhelm's children. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are buried side by side in Berlin. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Randall Jarrell was born in Nashville, Tennessee on May 6, 1914. He earned a bachelor's and master's degrees from Vanderbilt University. His first book of poetry, Blood from a Stranger, was published in 1942. During World War II, he served with the Army Air Force as a control tower operator. His other books of poetry include Little Friend, Little show more Friend; Losses; and The Lost World. He won the National Book Award in 1961 for The Woman at the Washington Zoo. In addition to writing poetry, he reviewed it during a brief period spent as poetry editor for The Nation. Poetry and the Age and A Sad Heart at the Supermarket are collections of his essays as a poetry critic. His teaching career included stints at Kenyon College, the University of Texas, Sarah Lawrence College, the University of Illinois, and the University of North Carolina/Greensboro. He also was the 11th Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position that now bears the title Poet Laureate. He was hit by a car in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and died in October 14, 1965 at the age of 51. (Bowker Author Biography) Randall Jarrell (1914-65) was a prolific poet, critic, and translator. His Complete Poems are available from FSG. (Publisher Provided) show less
Lore Segal is a writer, educator, and reviewer. She was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 8, 1928. Segal earned her B.A. in English from Bedford College, University of London, in 1948. Segal taught writing and English at Columbia University, Princeton University, Sarah Lawrence College, Bennington College, the University of Illinois, and The Ohio show more State University. She has published short stories, articles, and reviews in such periodicals as Partisan Review, The New Yorker, New Republic, and the New York Times Book Review. Segal also wrote fiction for both children and adults. Segal received grants from the Council of Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. She was a Guggenheim fellow in 1965-66 and received the Academy of Arts and Letters Award in 1986. Her book, Shakespeare's Kitchen, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Maurice Sendak was born on June 10, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. While in high school, he worked part time as an illustrator for All-American Comics adapting the Mutt and Jeff newspaper comic strip to a comic book format. His first professional illustrations were for a physics textbook, Atomics for the Millions, published in 1947. He later worked show more as a window-display director for F.A.O. Schwartz while attending night school at the Art Students League. In 1950, he illustrated his first children's book The Wonderful Farm by Marcel Aymé. He wrote his first children's book Kenny's Window in 1956 and went on to become a prolific author-illustrator. His works include Chicken Soup with Rice; In the Night Kitchen; Outside Over There; Higglety Pigglety Pop; The Sign on Rosie's Door; We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy; Brundibar; Bumble Ardy; and My Brother's Book. He received numerous awards including the Caldecott medal for Where The Wild Things Are in 1964, the Hans Christian Andersen International Medal in 1970, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the National Medal of Arts in 1996. Characters from two of his books were the basis of an animated television special, Really Rosie, which first aired in 1975. He was also the set designer and lyricist for a subsequent off-Broadway musical of the same title. He was the lyricist, as well as the set and costume designer, for the original production of an opera based on Where The Wild Things Are in 1980. In addition, he has designed sets and costumes for performances of operas by Mozart, Prokofiev, and other classical composers. He died due to complications from a recent stroke on May 8, 2012 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm
- Original publication date
- 1973
- First words
- The Three Feathers
Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons; two were smart and clever but the third did not talk much, was simple, and they never called him anything but Dumbkin. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)My tale is done, there is no more, but there's a mouse upon the floor--the first of you that catches her can make a great big cap from her fur.
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the complete edition of this work. Please don't combine with either volume 1 or 2!
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- 678
- Popularity
- 42,200
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (4.26)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 23
