Reviews

The English Fairy Tales of Joseph Jacobs for Modern Reader by Joseph Jacobs, Kidlit-O

24marsha's review against another edition

4.0

Kind of fun to read the oldest known versions of our beloved fairy tales. So dark and twisted before Disney got a hold of them.

emays7's review against another edition

4.0

There is something very comforting about reading a collection of fairy tales. I loved the matter-of-fact, colloquial tone and constantly being surprised by very odd details which sprung up out of nowhere! The fantastical element of these stories was charming and intriguing. The stories often reminded me of dream logic - things that just 'make sense' although in reality they really don't.

Some prevalent themes were: retribution, justice, fate, marriage, making one's own fortune (/wealth), and interaction with the reader. I found it interesting to consider the cultural context of the stories, their oral and written evolution, and certain narrative features such as the many repeated refrains and motifs and sudden changes in tense.

The brief nature of these stand-alone stories makes for very light reading and a volume which is easy to set aside for a while and come back to later.

A few good bits:
"Well, that was one big silly."
"So the gentleman turned back home again and married the farmer's daughter, and if they didn't live happy for ever after, that's nothing to do with you or me."
"So Jack climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he reached the sky."
"Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme And monkeys chewed tobacco, And hens took snuff to make them tough, And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!"

crystalmbookshelf83's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

ozblom24's review against another edition

challenging lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

jjjasper12's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

bangel_ds's review against another edition

4.0

Una lettura leggera e divertente. Si ritrovano tanti elementi tipici delle fiabe europee (e non) ed è chiaro e da tradizione che molti elementi si ripetano tra le varie storie raccolte da Joseph. Alcune erano nuove per me ed è stato bello poterle vedere in un'ottica diversa, dopo aver frequentato un meraviglioso corso su Andersen. Il libro rimanda a tantissime altre opere sul grande mondo delle fiabe e presenta paragoni con fiabe di altri paesi, tracciando un filo a dir poco universale.
L'unico motivo per cui ho dato 4 stelle: volevo più storie!

bakybook's review against another edition

3.0

Fairy Tales for grownups

It's interesting to see original fairytales, some of them I knew, some of them have their version in my languange, and some of them are pretty cruel.
Archaic sentences made me skip some parts of stories, and old English isn't that attractive to read.
Nevertheless it's a fine read to fulfill your time, and definitely it's not for children - it's for those who enjoy a good scary old story that borderlines with horror and gruesome descriptions innocent people dying. It also got some stories that are funny.

mangopassion555's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

hazelalaska's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I enjoyed this collection, and it was especially a breath of fresh air after reading only Andrew Lang's collections for a while. I didn't read these aloud as the compiler said they should be, so I guess I can't fault the repetition in some of them because I think kids would like that. However, many of these were quite dark, and I think not all of these are suitable for children, especially "Mr. Fox", even though this collection was created with children in mind. I definitely would not read a lot of these to children before bed because they could be frightening.

Some of these tales are the same that are in other collections, but they have a distinct English twist to them.

Favorites:
The Rose Tree
Childe Rowland
Earl Mar's Daughter

Good:
Tom Tit Tot
How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune
Jack Hannaford
Binnorie
Cap O' Rushes
Jack and the Beanstalk
Molly Whuppie
The Golden Arm
Mr. Fox
Johnny-Cake
The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh
The Fish and the Ring
The Well of the World's End
The Three Heads of the Well

Okay:
The Three Sillies
The Old Woman and Her Pig
Mr. Vinegar
Nix Nought Nothing
Mouse and Mouser
The Story of the Three Little Pigs
The Master and His Pupil
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
The Story of the Three Bears
Jack the Giant-Killer
Henny-Penny
The Red Ettin
The History of Tom Thumb
Lazy Jack
Mr. Miacca
Whittington and His Cat
The Cat and the Mouse
The Magpie's Nest
Kate Crackernuts
The Ass, the Table, and the Stick
Fairy Ointment

Didn't Like:
Teeny-Tiny
Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse
The Strange Visitor
The Cauld Lad of Hilton
Master of All Masters

qui's review against another edition

4.0

A solid book of fairy tales. Some are good, some are bad, some depressing, and some just weird. About what I expected, really.