The Selfish Giant and Other Stories - Folio Society Edition

by Oscar Wilde, Jeanette Winterson (Introducer), Grahame Baker-Smith (Illustrator)

‘I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children’s playground for ever and ever.’

Novelist, playwright and satirist Oscar Wilde was also an incomparable teller of fairy tales. In these stories, written for his two sons, he takes the elements of faerie since time immemorial – giants and princes, fishermen and mermaids –and creates enchanting, heartfelt fables that rank amongst his best-loved works.

This complete collection sparkles with Wilde’s characteristic wit. In ‘The Remarkable Rocket’, a vain and self-important firework declares: ‘I am always thinking about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same. That is what is called sympathy.’ Like all the greatest fairy tales, these contain sorrow and heartbreak as well as love and redemption. In ‘The Selfish Giant’, the Giant drives the children out of his garden, and is punished by a perpetual winter until he lets them play there again. Sacrifice is a recurring theme: in ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, the nightingale gives her heart’s blood to create a red rose for a student, who ends by throwing it away. In ‘The Happy Prince’, a royal statue allows himself to be stripped of gold and jewels to provide for the poor people of his town, with the aid of a swallow who delays his migration to Egypt to help the prince. In the end, the denuded statue is melted in a furnace, its leaden heart thrown on a rubbish-heap – until an angel claims it for heaven.

Grahame Baker-Smith is one of the leading children’s book illustrators working in Britain today, winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal and illustrator of several Folio Society editions. For this collection he has created enchanting mixed-media images including several that incorporate the face of Wilde himself. Award-winning author Jeanette Winterson has contributed a new introduction, placing these stories at the heart of Wilde’s career and describing how ‘fairy stories tell us what science and philosophy cannot and need not’.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Academic

172 pages, Hardcover

About the author

Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.

Reviews

[Laysee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar Wilde’s first authentic work are apparently fairy stories or children’s stories. They fire the imagination, hold up a mirror to what is ignoble in man as well as his potential for good, offer food for thought, and most of all, they bring utmost pleasure in the fantasy world Wilde created.

This hardcopy edition of The Selfish Giant and Other Stories follows the last printed versions Wilde was able to supervise, with minor emendations. It was published by The Folio Society Ltd. in 2013. It comes with an introduction by Jeanette Winterson and illustrations by Grahame Baker-Smith. It is sheer luxury to immerse myself in these splendid stories, and simply to turn and smell the pages of a beautifully minted book. That it was a birthday gift from a good friend made it that much sweeter.

Winterson’s introduction is an excellent commentary on the role of fairy tales and helps us get briefly acquainted with Wilde’s own ‘reversal of fortune from fame and money to destitution and exile’. In many ways, as she rightly observed, fairy tales too involve reversals of fortune and unexpected transformation. The nine stories in this collection are vivid and dramatic accounts of the wild ride undertaken by various characters, be they paupers or princes. I love what Winterson says about fairy tales: ”Reason and logic are tools for understanding the world. We need a means of understanding ourselves too. That is what imagination allows... We have all at some point in our lives been the overlooked idiot who finds a way to kill the dragon, win the treasure, marry the princess.” Thus, in his witty and humorous way, Wilde continues to offer us a way to recognize ourselves for who we are.

What follows is a synopsis of four stories in this collection that were new to me and links to reviews I have written of the other five stories that I had previously read.

The Remarkable Rocket
This is a wickedly hilarious story that pokes fun at people who have a false sense of self-importance. It captures the conversation among a group of pyrotechnic gadgets that are to be let off in celebration of a royal wedding. There is amongst them a supercilious and pompous Remarkable Rocket who prides himself as being supremely important. He thinks that the Prince is greatly fortunate that he, the magnificent rocket, should be let off on the day of his wedding. His pompousness is summed up in these words, "The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and this is a feeling I have always cultivated.” The rocket is remarkably hysterical in his arrogance. Splendid use of humor in Wilde’s story with a satisfying conclusion.

The Young King
In true blue fairy tale fashion, the son of a goatherd is to be crowned the new king. This 16-year-old lad has an eye for art and beauty, and is overawed by the richness of the beauty in the palace. He takes delight in his coronation robe which is made of gold threads, his ruby studded crown, and the sceptre made of fine pearls until it dawns on him the sacrifices many of the poor have to make in order to dress him up in his finery. He rejects this display of magnificence to the consternation of the court and the common folks who can only recognize a king who is resplendently attired. The young king makes an unpopular choice but it has spectacular outcomes. In some ways, this reminds me of The Happy Prince who, with the help of a swallow, parts with his riches to provide for the poor in his city.

Here is a review of The Happy Prince.
The Happy Prince

The Birthday of the Infanta
Like The Devoted Friend, this is a sad story about indifference to gift and sacrifice. A twelve-year-old princess of Spain is celebrating her birthday which is attended by the ordinary children, complete with lavish food and entertainment. Wilde knew how to stage an exceedingly grand party for royalty! A hunchback dwarf with twisted limbs is hired to entertain the princess who is greatly amused by his antics and offers him her white rose. Alas, the dwarf falls in love with the princess who humiliates him. This is a fairy tale about the callousness with which individuals handle the heart of those who love them. The same theme is found in The Nightingale and the Rose.

Here is the review of The Nightingale and the Rose
The Nightingale and the Rose

Here is the review of The Devoted Friend
The Devoted Friend

The Fisherman and His Soul
A fisherman falls in love with a mermaid and wishes to marry her. But sea folks have no soul and such a union is not possible unless he gives up his soul. He thinks that he cannot see or touch his soul and it is of no value especially since it keeps him away from the love of his life. The priest chides him for belittling the soul ‘for the soul is the noblest part of man and was given to us by God that we should nobly use it... It is worth all the gold that is in the world, and is more precious than the rubies of kings.’ Even the witch to whom he turns for help thinks it is a terrible thing to send one’s soul away. But the man would not listen. This is a profound story. "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?”. The story also calls attention to love as the ultimate virtue, without which the soul is soulless.

My favorite Wilde fairy tale is The Selfish Giant
The Selfish Giant

And for completeness, here is the review of The Star Child
The Star Child

Read The Selfish Giant and Other Stories. Five-star brilliance and highly recommended.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta edición posee cuatro relatos de Oscar Wilde:

- El gigante egoísta
- El pescador y su alma
- El cumpleaños de la infanta
- El ruiseñor y la rosa

El gigante egoísta siempre ha sido mi preferido desde la primera vez que lo leí —13 años—. Es bello y al mismo tiempo un poco triste, pero creo que ante la tristeza lo supera El Ruiseñor y la rosa —tanta rosa en vano—, como también un poco El cumpleaños de la infanta.
En cambio El pescador y su alma nos da entender lo valioso que puede ser el alma de las personas.

Citas: http://hechaensilencio.blogspot.com.a...

[Cudeyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una colección de cuentos sencillos y emotivos, escritos de una forma soberbia por este escritor irlandés.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esto es todo lo que necesito para ser feliz.
Ya he leído estos cuentos un millón de veces, pero es que siempre se siente TAN BIEN y TAN MAL a la vez. Me destruyen, pero me hacen feliz.

El gigante egoísta: 5/5
El pescador y su alma: 3/5
El cumpleaños de la infanta: 5/5
El ruiseñor y la rosa: 5/5

[Sophie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been an Oscar Wilde fan for a number of years and ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ is one of my favourite books. My father recommended that I read Wilde’s short stories and I’m so glad I finally took his advice.

'Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime' ~ this short story primarily criticises high society. Wilde writes in a satirical voice and combines mythical imagery with realism. I was so gripped by the content of this story as it encouraged me to question the following ideas; the first question revolves around why individuals value living under a façade ~ many of the characters fear the chiromantist, and his “ability” to reveal the truth. I am also intrigued by the themes which focus on social honour. Lord Arthur feels compelled to abide by his fate, no matter what the consequences may be. He is constantly fretting about completing the task that he forgets to even question the morality of the act. The frivolous details and sheer complacency of characters highlights the selfish fabric of society ~ Wilde is continually mocking their ideals and exposes their ridiculous behavior.

The next selection of stories are my favourite. Each one contains an important moral lesson and I would have to say ‘The Happy Prince’ stayed with me long after I finished reading it.

‘The Happy Prince’ ~ central themes are social inequality, the power of kindness and compassion.

Favourite quote: the Swallow ~ “I feel quite warm now, although it is so cold.”
The Happy Prince ~ “that is because you have done a good action.”

The prince, who is blessed with rubies and gold, sacrifices his beauty for the good of others.
Swallow ~ “shall I take him another ruby?”
Happy Prince ~ “Alas I have no ruby! My eyes are all that I have left. They are made out of sapphires, pluck one of them out and take them to him” ~ this highlights the Prince’s unwavering loyalty. He feels a duty to give to those who have less.

Wilde illustrates the vanity and selfishness of humanity; once the prince has lost all his finery and the swallow has died, they’re no longer viewed as beautiful or valuable. They are not worthy of being on display and they serve no purpose.

‘The Selfish Giant’ ~ Wilde emphasises how individuals have the power for redemption and the capacity to change; people aren’t always what they appear to be and youth has the ability to transform even the most bitter and cold-hearted individuals. Wilde, like William Blake, evokes that innocence ought to be nurtured and protected. The adult world of experience leaves us exposed to danger and bitterness ~ this is reflected in the natural world; the giant lives where there is no room for warmth or light. The young child represents Christ; he is willing to forgive the giant who has learnt to love. ("love thy neighbour")

Favourite quote ~ "Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden. It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. 'How happy we are here!' they cried to each other."

‘The Devoted Friend.’ ~ the character of Little Hans embodies the vulnerable and innocent members of society. The Miller, on the other hand, is greedy and self-serving; taking advantage of Little Hans. He knows that Hans will do his bidding without hesitation, and continues to exploit him until he dies. Everything that the Miller does is for his own benefit. Wilde may be highlighting that although we may show others our loyalty, we won’t always meet individuals who respect the same values. Therefore, we must not be taken advantage of, even if we want to help someone.

🌸👒💕👑Oscar WildeThe Selfish Giant and Other Stories

[Bostjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories, classic (old-school) language (obviously). Be prepared for some bitter endings; such is life.

The Folio Society bookbinding and make are great, a pleasure to hold and read through. I didn't quite get why they squashed the text on the page leaving so much white space all around it - it might have been better to distribute it more evenly, but that's just my personal preference. The font is OK, though not the easiest to read. The size is good.

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar enchants with beauty and humor.

[Elinor Loredan · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/2023 reread:
Again this collection delights me. The language is by turns poetical and witty. I am struck again by how reminiscent the stories are of Andersen, as they are mostly sad and make me ache with their tragic beauty.

Wilde clearly thought highly of birds. In almost every story they are featured to represent goodness, passion, beauty, sacrifice.

The Happy Prince involves giving of oneself for others. Our sacrifices may not be known or appreciated, but they are seen by God and enrich our own lives. The values of the world and those of heaven are contrasted. The bird and prince are scorned as worthless, yet they have made far more of an impact for good than those who consider them rubbish.
8 "I feel warm now." "That is because you have done a good action," said the Prince.

The Nightingale and the Rose is another tale of sacrifice. Were the nightingale's suffering and death futile? In the sense that they did not accomplish the student's goal of dancing with the girl, yes, but the nightingale still acted nobly. It is not necessarily the outcomes of our sacrifices that matter but the intent behind them. The shallowness of the student and the girl further illuminate the passion of the bird. But was the bird foolish? The ending seems to comment on the foolishness love, or supposed love, can cause us to engage in. As with many Andersen tales, the messages of this story and others in the volume are rather ambiguous. I think, ultimately, the people and not the bird are the foolish ones.
19 "Sun in his chariot of gold, and the Moon in her chariot of pearl."

The Selfish Giant is charming from the first line: "Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden." This is a simple line, but it immediately sets the atmosphere, as it matter of factly states the existence of a giant. His "friend the Cornish ogre" is amusing, as is the line "Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again."
The winter in the Giant's garden represents the shriveled coldness of selfishness and also points to how children can bring so much joy (spring). The smallest child appears to be Christ, but I am not sure if this suggests that God works through people to change us or if it symbolizes God's actual presence with us.

The Devoted Friend is a satirical depiction of false, usurious "friends," demonstrating that friendship is not about getting things out of people but about mutual liking and understanding. The miller is full of empty words that manipulate polite, pushover Hans.
35 "Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they should not be confused." "I feel quite drowsy. It is just like being in church."
"Lots of people act well...few talk well...talking is much the more difficult thing...much the finer thing."

The Remarkable Rocket has a fairly straightforward moral about arrogance and the hypocrisy and blindness it can cause, but there are many striking lines in it. The rocket is an extreme example of arrogance, but I am sure we all have thought like him at one point, or maybe more.
47 "Cup of clear crystal. Only true lovers could drink out of this cup...if false lips touched it, it grew grey and dull and cloudy."
48 "Any place you love is the world to you."
51 "I am always thinking of myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same."
52 "only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else."

The Young King is uncomfortable to read during the parts that show intense misery, which shows how great ugliness can lie behind great beauty. The young king does not at first realize this and desires beautiful things for self-aggrandizement. I notice how he came from a rustic life full of nature's beauty, but when he becomes king he only pays attention to material, man-made beauty. I am confused by the ending. Is the king redeemed by his sympathy for the suffering poor? Is the story saying that we cannot do much about the world's misery, or that we should do what we can but not stress about it too much?
66 "pale poppies broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, as though they had fallen from the tired hands of Sleep."
71 "long grey fingers of the dawn clutching at the fading stars."

The Birthday of the Infanta is heart-wrenching. Set in a cruel court (the story is a very negative portrayal of Spain), the story shows bitter disillusionment. The dwarf grows up with no idea of how he looks, but most of us quickly learn to be self-conscious. Appearance and the over-importance it is given is emphasized. There is a comment that the infanta cannot be cruel because she is pretty: "they felt sure one so lovely as she could never be cruel to anybody" (89). The world can crush our spirits and break our hearts with its standards and values. The story is also commentary on careless parents. The king neglects the infanta and does not check her vanity, while the charcoal burner gets rid of his son because he is hideous.
101 "In the forest the wind blew free, and the sunlight with wandering hands of cold moved the tremulous leaves aside."
84 "terrible blindness that passion brings upon its servants." This is a major theme as well--the king is too blinded by love to see that his queen is miserable, and the dwarf has no idea that he is being ridiculed.

The Fisherman and His Soul is in some ways very similar to The Little Mermaid but in an opposite way. The fisherman wants to lose his soul, while the mermaid wants to gain one. He loves a sea being without a soul, while she loves a mortal with one. But both sacrifice all for love with the help of a deceptive witch. I am unsure of the point of the soul's travels--to show that it is indestructible? And I do not understand why the soul would value wisdom, riches, or carnal pleasure over love, nor do I understand why the soul accuses the fisherman of sending him out into the world without a heart. Is the heart separate from the soul? Maybe the story is about not caring for one's soul but letting it be corrupted, although I am not sure how the fisherman can love without a soul. Love is said to be the most important thing, yet it causes the fisherman to cast his soul away. This story is easily the most perplexing in the collection.
112 "Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it."
111 "soul is the noblest part of man, and was given to us by God that we should nobly use it. There is no thing more precious than a human soul, nor any earthly thing that can be weighed with it."
146 "Pain is the Lord of this world, nor is there anyone who escapes from its net."
148 "full of strange gladness was his pain."
148 "Love is better than Wisdom, and more precious than Riches...fire cannot destroy it, nor can the waters quench it."

I do not have as much to say about the Star-Child, but, much like The Selfish Giant, it is a good story of transformation. Vanity and lack of compassion turn to remorse through suffering. The end is very uplifting until the final line. I am not sure why Wilde ends the story on a bad note like that. Are the good deeds of the Star Child rendered useless because his successor is evil, or is this simply a statement of fact not meant to change the meaning of the story?
163 "it was even such a world as he had made for himself in the days of his great pride."

Despite some violence, darkness, and fascinating yet frustrating ambiguity, this is a collection I will return to again and again.

***
First reading, 2020:
I am so impressed by this collection. The stories tend to be sad (they remind me strongly of some of Andersen's), but they are beautifully written and full of wisdom.

As usual, Folio has produced a wonderful edition of a classic work.

[Dil Nawaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Selfish Giant is a touching and poignant short story written by Oscar Wilde, which tells the tale of a giant who learns a valuable lesson about kindness and generosity. The story is a beautiful representation of the importance of empathy and compassion in our lives, and it teaches us that no matter how selfish we may be, there is always a chance to change and become a better person

The story was first published in 1888 as part of Wilde's collection of fairy tales, "The Happy Prince and Other Tales." It was later adapted into a play and into several film versions over the years. The story is said to have been inspired by Wilde's own experiences with isolation and loneliness, as he felt like an outsider in his society.

The story revolves around a selfish giant who owns a beautiful garden he keeps to himself. He does not allow any children to play in it, and as a result, the garden remains barren and desolate. The other characters in the story include the children who play in the garden when the giant is not around and the magical creatures that visit the garden to bring it to life.

The central message of A Selfish Giant is the importance of kindness and generosity. The giant learns that his selfishness has caused him to be isolated and unhappy, while his kindness towards the children brings joy and happiness to both himself and those around him. The story teaches us that our actions have consequences and that we should strive to be kind and compassionate towards others, even if it means sacrificing our own desires.

[Manolito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recomendable para los lectores adolescentes que desean iniciarse en la lectura de autores clásicos.

[Tiffany López · Rating 3 out of 5]

que lindo eres osqui, t como q ternura

[Ignacia Pedrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

otro FRAUDE que el colegio me pide que lea

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the edition of this book: it has beautiful illustrations and lots of interesting notes and facts about Oscar Wilde and the short stories in it.
I enjoyed the first few stories a lot and thought that the moral of the story is a nice thing (which are also explained in the end of the book), and I'm convinced that these are great 'good night stories'. With longer stories, however, I had some difficulties because I found myself zoning out and immediately forgetting what I had just read, it was just really hard to focus on the story some times. So the longer the stories got, the less I enjoyed them, which was unfortunate because I basically liked every story less than the one before. Luckily the last story was shorter again and I could enjoy the moral of the story again.
(3,5 stars because some stories I loved and some I didn't really like.)

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junto con El Fantasma de Canterville, esta selección de cuentos de Wilde son inolvidables: El gigante egoista, El ruiseñor y la rosa, El gran cohete, El Príncipe Feliz, etc. Todos y cada uno me llevaron de la mano y de la imaginación para mi adicción. De profundo sentido humano y de gran valor para los niños. (snif!! perdonen la nostalgia!!)

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️💫 Like a lot of fairytales, these stories could be quite dark - looking at you rose-made-from-nightingale-blood. The religious undertones were a bit much for my taste, but the stories read well considering they were written many moons ago.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

another good one from mr. wilde

[Iria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sin duda me quedo con El príncipe feliz y El ruiseñor y la rosa. El resto fueron simplemente entretenidos.

[miguel arruego · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me ha gustado , el que mas el príncipe feliz

[Leo Verduzco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente cuento

[Laura Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cinco relatos, dos vías
En la presente edición encontraremos cinco relatos que nos transmitirán valores que quizá de otra manera son más difíciles de inculcar. La generosidad, la solidaridad, la empatía y la autenticidad impregnarán cada una de sus líneas, que no solo se limitarán a enseñar, sino también a explicar y ofrecer una reflexión sobre por qué son necesarios estos valores.
Sin embargo, a pesar de que los relatos más o menos tienen un hilo que los unifica, sí que podremos encontrar dos tipos de historias, o mejor, una progresión desde lo más inocente a ideas más complejas. En este sentido, veremos que no todos los relatos tienen por qué terminar bien, acercándonos un poquito más a la realidad vital y saliendo de la fantasía del cuento.
Contexto y subtexto
El modo de exposición, si concretamos más en la idea del cuento, se nos ofrece de diversas formas, mostrando el bagaje intelectual que el propio autor volcaba en sus obras. Así en El gigante egoísta y El príncipe feliz, aparte de la propia historia que nos muestra cómo compartir crea más felicidad que el egoísmo, podemos encontrar también referencias a la religión cristiana, al establecerse el paraíso como lugar para los generosos.
No obstante, no todas las historias reflejarán este sentimiento, sino que también podremos ver reflejos de su sociedad como en El mejor amigo un cuento donde podremos ver cómo un hombre abusa de otro en aras de una amistad desigual y, por lo tanto falsa. Quizá es de los cuentos que más me ha gustado porque, sin terminar bien, es cierto que ilustra muy bien a los más pequeños por qué estas amistades nos son buenas. Con esta misma formulación encontramos también Un cohete muy especial, en la que el egocentrismo será el punto de crítica, ya que este no nos deja ver la realidad que nos rodea y, de igual modo, su exposición es exquisita.
Viejos conocidos
Lógicamente, al ser un autor tan conocido como Oscar Wilde, es normal que algunas de las historias que he mencionado os suenen. En mi caso me sucedió con el último de los relatos conocidos, La rosa y el ruiseñor. Había leído este cuento con anterioridad y siempre me había resultado un cuento muy triste, y esta vez no ha sido diferente. Además, soy incapaz de sacar moraleja a este cuento, la verdad, y me resultado un relato dolorosísimo. En él hay mucho sufrimiento por parte de nuestro protagonista, el ruiseñor, y muchas exigencias por parte del resto de personajes.
Sin embargo, más allá de ello, cabe reconocer que es un gusto leer todos los relatos. La prosa del autor, que si bien es cierto no leemos en su lengua original, nos ofrece unos relatos sencillos de seguir, pero con las ideas muy claras y bien expuestas. Los personajes son el epítome de lo que el autor quiere representar con ellos y esto facilita que el lector pueda acceder más fácilmente al sentido profundo del cuento.
Además, la edición tiene una presentación estupenda, las ilustraciones nos sitúan perfectamente en la historia y las actividades lectoras no solo nos invitas a la comprensión del texto, sino también a la reflexión sobre los valores expuestos. En definitiva, una obra que os recomiendo por todo lo que nos da y lo que podemos sacar de ella. Espero que os guste.

[mi.terapia.alternativa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un cuento que me parece perfecto para esta fechas es "El gigante egoísta" , un cuento de Navidad que habla sobre cómo las personas egoístas se pueden convertir en generosas,sobre cuantas cosas buenas pueden ocurrir alrededor de alguien bondadoso y sobre
la esperanza y el poder transformador del amor.


En esta edición no solo aparece este cuento. Hay otros que aún no siendo específicamente navideños si nos muestran los valores que tanto buscamos en estas fechas, la bondad, la amistad,la humildad o el amor sincero.
Así "El príncipe feliz" nos cuenta cómo un corazón bondadoso observa con dolor la tristeza y las penurias de los demás. Y es tanta su bondad que es capaz de sacrificar todo lo que tiene por ver felices a los demás.


En "El mejor amigo" vemos a través de la relación de Hans y Hugo lo que es la verdadera amistad, el valor que tiene y de que no se puede dar todo sin recibir nada a cambio. La amistad debe ser mutua hay que dar y recibir ,porque si no ,no es amistad,es otra cosa.


En "Un cohete muy especial "nos deja claro la importancia de la humildad . Lo terrible que es presumir, ser prepotente y creerse superior a los demás y las consecuencias que está prepotencia puede tener.


"El ruiseñor y la rosa " Wilde nos muestra que no todos tenemos la.misma idea del amor, lo poco que valoramos el sacrificio de los demás y nos hace preguntarnos si cuando hay amor hay que sacrificarse y si merece la pena hacerlo .Wilde opina que sí pero solo cuando el amor es sincero .

Unos cuentos preciosos que nos hablan del amor en mayúsculas con unas bellisimas acuarelas que ilustran cada cuento . Y a mayores notas aclaratorias y un apéndice de actividades para ayudar a los más peques a analizar estos cuentos y comprender mejor los sentimientos que muestra

Maravillosos.

[Lilith.World · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro está compuesto por cinco cuentos que potencian valores como la amistad, la confianza, la creatividad, la generosidad, la honradez, la responsabilidad y la solidaridad en niños/as a partir de los 9 años.

Todos los personajes muestran personalidades que nos impactarán porque tienen discursos muy extremistas que nos ayudan a ejemplificar perfectamente lo deseable o no en un/a amigo/a; hasta dónde se puede llegar por amor; si el sentimiento del amor es tan valioso como pensamos; el egocentrismo; la falsa solidaridad, etc.

La verdad que todos los cuentos me encantaron y no podía dejar de leer la historia hasta terminarla porque me atrapaba, quería saber qué iba a ocurrir y el libro me sorprendió por los temas que toca y cómo lo hace. Asimismo, les podemos sacar mucho más partido por las actividades que encontramos al final.

En definitiva, si les gustan los cuentos que te hacen reflexionar sobre los temas anteriormente nombrados y con unas ilustraciones preciosas, denle una oportunidad porque les van a encantar.

[Katherine Yábar Tito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corazones fulminados y lágrimas quemantes.

Cuentos tan cortos como el gigante egoísta que te transportan rápidamente a las auras más gélidas y desdichadas, como cuentos más largos como el pescador y su alma que lleva un ritmo adictivo y seductor que no te agota.

Me encuentro con el sinsabor del dulce desamor y la tristeza abrumadora. Todos los cuentos de Wilde hablan del amor. Un amor dulce, puro y tierno pero que está condenado a ser trágico, prohibido e imposible.

Difícil no deleitarse con cada detalle narrado. Cada temor enmarcado. Y cada escenario construido.

Sin duda, una de mis colecciones de cuentos favoritas ♥

[Sam Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

El gigante egoísta de Oscar Wilde

Es un cuento sobre un gigante que no deja a los niños jugar en su jardín como castigo queda atrapado un invierno entero, cuando el gigante aprende a compartir la primavera y la alegria vuelven a su jardín y a su vida.

Me gusto mucho el mensaje que es sencillo pero profundo, sobre la importancia de compartir y abrir el corazón a los demás. Lo único que me pareció triste fue el final.

Recomiendo este cuento a niños, jovenes y adultos que disfruten de historias cortas con enseñanzas valiosas y con un pequeño toque de fantasia.

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debo reconocer que tengo debilidad por Oscar Wilde y sus obras, incluidos estos cuentos que me han acompañado en la memoria desde que era niña.
Aunque la traducción que he leído no era perfecta, la elegancia y delicadeza que recordaba seguían ahí.
Deliciosos.

[SpiderLily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. In general I like fairy tales, but I could see how this could have influenced other authors whose work I enjoy like H. P. Lovecraft and Diana Wynne Jones. You could feel some social commentary through it as well.

[Patricia Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una agrupación de cuentos infantiles los cuales recomiendo un montón, no le he puesto las cinco estrellas por que uno de los cuentos no me gusto demasiado, por lo demás, perfecto.

[Hugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leído antes por Vale, en cuarto básico, bajo el título: “El ruiseñor y la rosa y otros cuentos” de Zig Zag.
Los que más me gustaron: El amigo fiel y Un cohete muy especial.

[Diana Banana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 estrellas
En mi salón lo estuvimos analizando, fue una experiencia bastante buena volver a leer a Oscar Wilde pero ahora con cuentos

[Sindy Castellanos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelentes historias, que ayudan a reflexionar sobre las decisiones, los valores y lo que realmente queremos en la vida.