East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon

by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Naomi Lewis (Translator, Retold by), Jørgen Moe

Remarkable collection — the only complete edition of these wonderful tales — contains scores of classic Norwegian tales made even more attractive by 77 illustrations by famed children's artists. Second only to Grimm.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Mythology

48 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2005

About the author

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collections are commonly mentioned only as "Asbjørnsen and Moe".

Reviews

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book. A great addition to any collection.
✨✨✨✨✨

[Nessa [October Tune] · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminded me a lot of the story of Eros and Psyche. Unfortunately it kind of disappointed me, cuz I was hoping for the girl to go through some types of trials like Psyche had to go through in order to get Eros back, but this was just a whole lot of traveling and asking people where the castle East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon was and then she was there. Oh well...

[Abby Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A uniquely and beautifully illustrated translation of one of my favorite fairytales.

Brilliance. Pure and simple.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is beautifully done! The art, the pacing, the clarity ... it's a keeper for sure. The Introduction by Naomi Lewis, provides just enough provenance to make the story more meaningful. I didn't realize that this was a Norwegian fairy tale. As a child, I didn't like this tale, but if I'd had this version, I'm sure it would have been a favorite.

My only criticism: The carding comb should have been shown more clearly since the vast majority of kids wouldn't know what it is.

2025
"Only minor changes have been made in the book to the original translation."

Ach! Second illustration. Great polar bear. But, the girl riding on its back, across a snowy landscape with snow falling, isn't dressed for the weather. No coat, no hat, no gloves ... but she doesn't look at all cold.

[Ygraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

of all the beautiful children's books my family have accumulated over the years, this is the most beautiful & my favourite, always. it's so deeply & beautifully familiar, i remember having it read to me, and then reading it myself, i remember all its rhythms and its colours and the smell of its pages.

[Priscilla Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there are great similarities between the greek equivalent I still loved the Nordic influence. The illustrations were absolutely beautiful. I'm quite lucky I came across it in a second hand bookshop!

[Sarah Morgan Sandquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a charming tale, extremely reminiscent of its near cousins; Cupid And Psyche, Beauty and the Beast, The Gray Wolf (and others) and vaguely similar to its distant relative, Cinderella.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

A white bear seeks and wins the companionship of a young girl in this gorgeous retelling of a Norwegian folktale, and they go to live together in his opulent palace inside a mountain. But when the girl is allowed to visit the family she left behind, and is advised by her mother to secretly spy upon her ursine husband, who visits her every night in human form, her actions lead to disaster. Now caught in his ogreish step-mother's spell, the bear departs for her castle east o' the sun and west o' the moon, leaving the girl to follow after him. Aided by three old crones and by the four winds, the girl eventually finds her love... but can she save him from the spell?

Recorded by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their 1844 collection of Norwegian folklore, this tale was first translated into English in 1859 by Sir George Webbe Dasent, as part of his Popular Tales of the Norse , and it is that translation which is used here, in this picture book presentation from Candlewick Press. The story is accompanied by the breathtakingly beautiful watercolor artwork of Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch, and is introduced by British children's literature scholar Naomi Lewis. Although I have read this tale in many collections, and seen it presented elsewhere in picture book form (see Gillian Barlow's version, for instance), this version of East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon remains my absolute favorite! The story is enchanting (of course!), and the illustrations astonishingly lovely. Recommended to all folk and fairy-tale lovers, as well as to fellow fans of P.J. Lynch's work.

[Divya Shankar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this Norwegian folk tale, where a young girl goes on an adventure to save the love of her life, a prince stranded in a castle East o the Sun and West o the Moon. The illustrations by PJ Lynch are beautiful. Similar to Beauty and the Beast and maybe other fairy tales too. Heard the read aloud video of the story from the YouTube channel - Read Aloud with Mr. Paul, amazing storytelling complete with expressions and valuable insights too at the end of the read.
Three stars for the story itself, and a big star for srorytelling:)

[Isabell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. (As a side note: Also really love the illustration!)
Key words: Norse Psyche.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are beautiful, story is a bit odd and repetitive, so it’s a perfect fairy tale.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork!
Tiresome read with a lot of repetition. Some awkward run on sentences.

[Julidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

felt very comforting to read... like warm tea. also made me laugh a few times. and kinda be like- HUH?? WHAT?? BUT IT'S VERY VERY GOOD.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a marvelous and fascinating tale with gorgeous and amazingly detailed, though somewhat scary, illustrations. We recently read The Princess and the White Bear King by Tanya Robyn Batt and really enjoyed it. Looking on our library online card catalogue, I noticed that there seem to be a lot of versions of this tale. So I decided to read a few more versions to our girls and compare them.

This story was a bit longer and the illustrations were much scarier, but also much more beautiful. The tale stars a fearless young girl, which I love, since it depicts her saving the prince. The tale recalls the tale of Psyche and Eros, a story we also just read in The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greeks Myths, Retold by Cynthia Rylant. We will look for other versions of this tale so we can compare them further.

[Lillian (Ink and Pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is a beautiful retelling of an old Norse myth, and while the story itself is obviously important, it’s the beautiful illustrations by PJ Lynch that make this book so wonderful. It’s been years since I last read this, but the moment I opened it realised that the reason I had so many fond memories of this story is because of the pictures. Each page is beautiful, and I couldn’t pick a favourite illustration if I tried. I own quite a few other fairy tale books or anthologies, and I’ve never come across this tale in any other place, so I would highly recommend it to any fans of fairy tales or folklore in general.

My rating: ★★★★

Read more of my content on my book blog: http://inkandpagesblog.blogspot.co.uk

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a Scandanavian version of a fairytale that's similar to Beauty & the Beast. The translation is a bit rough, but the bones of a great story are there. A beautiful girl is taken to a castle by a large bear, who actually becomes a man again by night. He and the girl fall in love. But through trickery, he ends up being spirited away & the girl has to go on a journey to try & save him. As I read it, I kept picturing it as a movie... where the director filled in all the little details that weren't exactly fleshed out in the book & yet were insinuated at. The artwork in this book really made the story come alive for me. P.J. Lynch's paintings are absolutely beautiful here!

[Chelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre- Traditional Fantasy. I really liked the pictures and the story line in this book. The illustrations were beautiful and really drew me into the story. The only thing that I was a little disappointed on was the text. I thought that it was written a little weak. The text was not as beautiful and intriguing as the illustrations, and I think that if they had done a better job in this area, it would have made the book a million times better.

[Rrshively · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a little girl I read a translation of this story that was longer in which the author made more of an adventure out of it. This version seemed shorter and not as interesting. I really loved this story and would have given that version at least 4 stars. Of course,I am also now an adult. What a difference more than 55 years makes!

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My original, published in the 1940's, wasn't listed here.

[Ceci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was little and have loved it ever since. Beautiful illustrations.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Formulaic Norwegian fairy tales. Enjoyable bedtime stories.

[Suzanne Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful art

[The_Feelings_Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanto mucho este cuento, tanto que incluso lo pongo en cualquiera de mis redes sociales para que la gente lo busque y lo lea. Leanlo, es muy bonito.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations

[Samantha Glasser]

Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30973/...

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The traditional Nordic fairy tale retold, accompanied by beautiful illustrations.

[Jocelyn Brame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning illustrations, exemplary source notes. A beautiful telling of the traditional folktale.

[Lorrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art work is stunning, but the story ends rather abruptly.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful retelling with beautiful artwork!

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Nice idea but there's way too much repetition and (possibly??) antisemitism.