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Grimms' Tales for Young and Old: The Complete Stories by Jacob Grimm, Ralph Manheim, Wilhelm Grimm
sdb27's review against another edition
5.0
I love fairy tales. I just never realized how similar they all were before I read this book for a class. The stories are extremely formulaic and sometimes ridiculous, but others are quite enjoyable and I loved reading the same fairy tales that I grew up on as a child.
This is a wonderful collection of stories and I loved the ones I hadn't read before.
This is a wonderful collection of stories and I loved the ones I hadn't read before.
caffeinateandread's review against another edition
Just a library book needing returned! Going to read an edition I own instead.
timetoread_more2022's review against another edition
4.0
I loved these tales (in German) when I was a child. Now I'm reading this book to our almost 5-year-old and he loves the stories also. I'm realizing how odd some of them seem in translation, and there sure are a great deal of religious references. But the main stories (Ashputtle, The Bremen Musicians, etc. ) are still classics!
arachne_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I'd feel weird giving this a star rating, as it's the entire set of the Grimms' tales: this is the source for so much fantasy written today, the body of folklore that has been shaped to survive by its curators-- Jacob and Wilhelm's endeavor was not pure collection of folklore, and they edited the stories over the course of different editions. But, it's foundational, and I feel "VERY IMPORTANT" in that grave, heavy meaningful way. I liked the straightforwardness and plainness of language in this particular translation.
What I enjoyed about reading this work in full was similar to what I felt in reading Calvino's Italian Folktales. Identifying the common structures, familiarizing myself with the kinds of things asked of fairytale heroes/heroines. It's a rich experience, and a pure delight.
One thing I was struck by were the ten "legends for children" included at the end. All of these tales are shaped quite differently from the main body of the work, in that they are apparently intended to provide moral instruction for children. All of them focus on religious subject matter, and in all of them, death (and thereby heaven) is a reward for the characters of these final tales. They are starker, and deal with poverty in more bleak terms. There are no clever outsmartings of the devil, no tricks played by crafty heroes and heroines, but a focus instead on piety and purity. I found this interesting, a small window into past notions of what is "for kids" or "family friendly."
What I enjoyed about reading this work in full was similar to what I felt in reading Calvino's Italian Folktales. Identifying the common structures, familiarizing myself with the kinds of things asked of fairytale heroes/heroines. It's a rich experience, and a pure delight.
One thing I was struck by were the ten "legends for children" included at the end. All of these tales are shaped quite differently from the main body of the work, in that they are apparently intended to provide moral instruction for children. All of them focus on religious subject matter, and in all of them, death (and thereby heaven) is a reward for the characters of these final tales. They are starker, and deal with poverty in more bleak terms. There are no clever outsmartings of the devil, no tricks played by crafty heroes and heroines, but a focus instead on piety and purity. I found this interesting, a small window into past notions of what is "for kids" or "family friendly."
renniestjames's review
3.0
First, I read this as a type of research kind of thing for my own writing project. It was extremely interesting and useful to me. I also found it enjoyable in unexpected ways…and very depressing and confusing in other ways.
Second, I’m not sure I would recommend it as nighttime reading for small kids. While it would open up some discussions to teach valuable lessons, there’s definitely a lot of darkness in these twisted little tales. For example, the bones of a murdered child sing about his death.
This is a large collection of stories - some are several pages long, others less than a page. There will be familiar names but definitely expect some new interpretations. There were many that I had never heard of before too. I didn't read the stories in any particular order and truthfully there were probably some that I missed. However, I'm marking this as read and am very happy about putting in on my bookshelf.
I’m sure this has been said repeatedly in other reviews but this isn’t the Disney version so please read with care!
Second, I’m not sure I would recommend it as nighttime reading for small kids. While it would open up some discussions to teach valuable lessons, there’s definitely a lot of darkness in these twisted little tales. For example, the bones of a murdered child sing about his death.
This is a large collection of stories - some are several pages long, others less than a page. There will be familiar names but definitely expect some new interpretations. There were many that I had never heard of before too. I didn't read the stories in any particular order and truthfully there were probably some that I missed. However, I'm marking this as read and am very happy about putting in on my bookshelf.
I’m sure this has been said repeatedly in other reviews but this isn’t the Disney version so please read with care!
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