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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Hmm... This is the same book that I just read in eBook form... So I will give it the same rating!
Maybe someday I'll come back to the physical book and see if there are differences, but now I just don't feel like reading the same stories again!
Maybe someday I'll come back to the physical book and see if there are differences, but now I just don't feel like reading the same stories again!
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've long debated what kind of rating to give this because if I did the math and figured out the average based on each individual fairy tale, it would be pretty low because there's some huge stinkers in here. Alas, I love fairy tales and the ones I love I really love, so I don't have it in me to give this a bad rating.
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
This was far removed from the polished Disney versions we all know. These original stories are much darker, often surprisingly amoral, and sometimes just plain disturbing. It was fascinating to recognize familiar tales in their original forms—many of which I had heard as a child—though with far more unsettling details. I really enjoyed reading through the full collection, even if some stories felt repetitive. The themes tend to repeat—lost children, wicked stepmothers, and an uncanny number of characters being cursed or turned into animals. Still, I appreciated how this collection serves as a great reminder that fairy tales were originally meant to be cautionary and unsettling rather than lighthearted.
This is a beautiful book of fairy tales. Most of the stories I had not heard of before, but there were a few well-known ones, like the Twelve Dancing Princesses (Which was called The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes).
The book contains beautiful illustrations, and the pages are glossy. I found the annotations very interesting and I like sharing the facts with my friends. These annotations are also plentiful and lengthy. They explain parts of the fairy tale that may not make sense, or they may talk about different variations.
There is a section for adult fairy tales, so you may not want to give it to a child. The majority are suitable for all ages, however.
Review By: http://lachatblanc.wordpress.com/
The book contains beautiful illustrations, and the pages are glossy. I found the annotations very interesting and I like sharing the facts with my friends. These annotations are also plentiful and lengthy. They explain parts of the fairy tale that may not make sense, or they may talk about different variations.
There is a section for adult fairy tales, so you may not want to give it to a child. The majority are suitable for all ages, however.
Review By: http://lachatblanc.wordpress.com/
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
I was expecting these stories to be a lot darker, considering the reputation the Grimms have. But most of these stories were just plain boring. And sexist. Which is ironic considering that the person who wrote the introduction tries to make us believe they didn’t espouse patriarchy 🤣
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
A good gift book, but somewhat redundant with Tatar's Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, and like that one, it's meant to appeal to a broader audience. Scholars should instead consider her academic texts, like the Norton Critical Edition of the Classic Fairy Tales, or The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales. I do love her approach on fairy tales, a cross between anthropological and literary, not too caught up by the limitations of either.