The Blue Fairy Book was the first volume in the series and so it contains some of the best known tales, taken from a variety of sources: not only f...
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May 12, 2011
jacky
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I know that I took this out of the library somewhere in middle school. It was either seeing Disney's Beauty and the Beast (which was only my second Disney animated film I'd seen in the theater at the time, partly because the resurgence of new films started just before this with The Little Mermaid), I was really taken with the story and fairy tales in general. (Or, I might have taken it out after my 8th grade unit on fairy tales, which really showed me literary criticism for the first time). I
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Oct 04, 2010
Lindsay
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The stories in this collection have an amazing range, and Lang is good enough to cite his source for almost all of his tales. There are 37 stories total, including six selections from Grimm, five from Perrault, a couple Scots tales (in dialect, sort of), a few British traditionals, three from the Arabian Nights, the part of Gulliver's Travels about Lilliput, and a full retelling of the Perseus myth with different names. It's almost overwhelming.
A few of them are really unique ones. More...
A few of them are really unique ones. More...
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Nov 23, 2010
Purplycookie
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The book assembled a wide range of tales, with seven from the Brothers Grimm, five from Madame d'Aulnoy, three from the Arabian Nights, and four Norse stories, among other sources.
"The Bronze Ring" - According to Lang's preface, this version of this fairy tale from the Middle East or Central Asia was translated and adapted from Traditions Populaires de l'Asie Mineure by Carnoy et Nicolaides. (Paris:Maison-neuve, 1889.)
"Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Pr More...
"The Bronze Ring" - According to Lang's preface, this version of this fairy tale from the Middle East or Central Asia was translated and adapted from Traditions Populaires de l'Asie Mineure by Carnoy et Nicolaides. (Paris:Maison-neuve, 1889.)
"Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Pr More...
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Nov 20, 2011
Hp
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From the famed The Blue Fairy Book, I learned that:
1. If you are a girl, and you are "beautiful", so amazingly pretty that sometimes, there are just no words to describe you, you might just survive whatever is coming at you next, because
2. The villains can never defeat the good, because someway or other, there will always, out of the blue, and completely deus ex machina-like, pop out these magical items that might just save the beautiful girl's ass(oops, I mean, More...
1. If you are a girl, and you are "beautiful", so amazingly pretty that sometimes, there are just no words to describe you, you might just survive whatever is coming at you next, because
2. The villains can never defeat the good, because someway or other, there will always, out of the blue, and completely deus ex machina-like, pop out these magical items that might just save the beautiful girl's ass(oops, I mean, More...
Feb 06, 2012
Chris
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Lang wrote some of the stories, but he largely edited this collection. Like the Grimms, but far more honest, Lang used translations provided by his wife and other women (he thanks the women in his introduction, gives credit to original sources at the end of the tales).
It makes this collection, the first, rather interesting. By and large, the stories are mostly from the Grimms and French Salons. They include well known favorites like "Cinderella" but also lesser known one More...
It makes this collection, the first, rather interesting. By and large, the stories are mostly from the Grimms and French Salons. They include well known favorites like "Cinderella" but also lesser known one More...
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Aug 15, 2008
Snorkle
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What I did while reading this book was I wrote short little notes for each story, so that in the future I could look back and see which stories were worth reading again, or recommending. I gave each story a mini-rating of 1-3 asterisks (*), with 1 being the "horrible" and 3 being "just okay". Overall though, I was severally disappointed in this book of fairy tales.
The Bronze Ring: *This story was slightly shocking. The way they dealt with the evil man in the en More...
The Bronze Ring: *This story was slightly shocking. The way they dealt with the evil man in the en More...
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Dec 21, 2011
I am not done with the book yet, but I am enjoying it. The reviewers seem to have overlooked the fact that this text was written over 100 years ago by a man compiling folk and fairy tales he had found. He was translating and trying to have them make sense; in a different language at times. So many people are harsh on older texts because they are old fashioned. Obviously. Read a more up to date version if you have a problem. There are plenty of those out there.
Dec 21, 2010
Jennifer
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Great collection, spanning both folk and literary fairy tales. Aimed at children, the contents are sometimes toned-down from the originals. Even aside from that, these versions lack the vigor of the originals--I don't know how else to describe it, but they seem a little watered-down or refined--but as an anthology of great fairy tales, Lang's color Fairy books still deserve to be considered classics.
Sep 27, 2011
Beth
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I read "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" for the first time via this collection. It has become a favorite of mine and it saddens me to realize how many B-grade fantasy books have tried to steal the story for themselves. I love fairy tales, and how they represent different aspects of human nature through visual representation. Great set of stories here!
Dec 12, 2010
Becca
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Hmmm. I loved this book and fairy tales in general when I was a kid bur retracing them only makes me a little sad at the realization that they are pretty much tales of horrible family betrayal and that the real moral of many of them is that as long as you are the most beautiful princess and the youngest then it will probably turn out ok.
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Dec 08, 2008
Summer
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I have read every single Lang color fairy book. They are/were my fairytale bibles growing up and I still love them. The collection is exhaustive and expansive. Tales from all over the globe and many versions of common tales like cinderella. Most stories are short so I get a couple in before bed every night. Not for reading straight through.
Jan 13, 2012
I've always loved folk tales and fairy tales, and this book has lots of them. Andrew Lang passed from this world before my grandparents ever met or married, but his writing has an enticing familiar feel to it as though he were someone I've always known or wanted to know. I recommend him as a writer worth reading.
Sep 28, 2010
Michelle
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Fun to read short fairy tales. A good escape when I just have a few minutes. The collection is very extensive and has a lot of the really great classics and some of the hard to find tales as well.
I didn't like the "cliff-note" versions of some of the stories. The abbreviated Arabian Nights and Greek Mythology stories really didn't fit or mesh well with the other stories.
I didn't like the "cliff-note" versions of some of the stories. The abbreviated Arabian Nights and Greek Mythology stories really didn't fit or mesh well with the other stories.
Jan 12, 2010
Kate
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These are lovely old stories that have not been sanitized for the protection of children. Reading them as an adult will bring back memories of these stories from your own childhood, or perhaps introduce you to stories you've heard of, but have never actually read or heard told. One before bedtime every night.
Aug 08, 2011
REAL fairy tales - some are scary and gruesome, some have unhappy endings, and some that have retained their original details through the centuries. Nothing PC about these stories - their real (and sometimes as senseless) as they get. Imagination at its best.
Jan 29, 2012
Let me just say, I have and always will love fairy tales and Andrew Lang has my heart for collecting these stories from around the world so everyone can enjoy them. I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing every book from this collection, so let's get started...
"Now this princess was wonderfully pretty and was just sixteen years old, and the King was beginning to think it was time that she should be married.
'My dear child,' said he, 'you are of an age to take a More...
"Now this princess was wonderfully pretty and was just sixteen years old, and the King was beginning to think it was time that she should be married.
'My dear child,' said he, 'you are of an age to take a More...
Nov 28, 2008
Jenn
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I LOVED this book. At first glance, it seems like you are just reading some really great fairy tales, but as you read the explanation by the author at the end, the fairy tales are not what they seem at first glance. I found some great quotes and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book. I am already loving the second book, "The Red Fairy Book."
Mar 21, 2011
Janet
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I was addicted to these as a child and had all the colors. I still remember them wistfully, even though the books are long gone from my house. (Mom didn't believe in keeping books once you'd grown out of them, she made us donate our books to the church rummage sales.)
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Jan 11, 2009
Smasek
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In elementary school I would always check out fairy tale books from the school library. I was given this old fairy tale book from my grandmother. I read it over and over again until the binding broke. I still have my very used book that I loved to death!
Jan 24, 2012
Judith
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Some of the stories you will instantly know, thanks to Disney, but there are some, maybe a little darker, that you will have neer heard of. Nice collection, but I don't think the language will hold up to today's youth. Still beautifully written though.
Jan 17, 2012
Lindsay
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This book was free to read online, it had two other folklore stories i read this week as well. My favorite was Hansel and Grettel, the version was a little different that what I grew up hearing but still the same morale of making the best of what you have.
Jun 06, 2010
Mary
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Got to admit--some of these are definitely in the "folk, not children's" story genre. Or maybe kids were more comfortable dealing with the world of terrible people doing terrible things. My own nephew? Thinks Disney is too intense.
Nov 21, 2011
Terri Lynn
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I reread this book that I read many years ago. There is a selection of some of the best known fairytales as well as more rare ones, all in their ORIGINAL versions which is NOT the same as the saccharine sweet clean-up Disney-ized versions. If you want to read the real deal, try out this book of the original stories the way they were meant to be read.
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Aug 08, 2009
Wesley
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Traditional fairy tales--this volume contains a lot of the well-known ones (though in less-known, more true to original form). I'm looking forward to reading the Fairy Books that have a wider cultural range.
Jul 25, 2011
Sonia
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A collection of fairy tales - some changed (maybe the original), some pretty much the same. When I started reading I expected the book to be one story about a blue fairy. Oh well. A good enough read.
Nov 24, 2009
I collect these. I used to have an original copy that just dientigrated. Folio society began reprinting them. Scott gave me this one as a gift when we were first dating. It reminds me of my childhood.
Apr 12, 2010
Maryellen
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Another "read aloud" for my daughter -- we are dipping in and out of the various stories; seeing how they differ from the sanitized versions. Some of them are quite gory ...
Sep 22, 2011
Tory
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Great anthology with fairy tales from many cultures. Will be fun to read them to my granddaughter when she gets a little older!
