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The Orchard Book of Bedtime Fairy Tales
The whole family will delight in these ten favourite classic nursery stories, in this much-loved treasury from the illustrator of Angelina Ballerina. All the best and most familiar tales are Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, Chicken Licken and many more. Timeless illustrations and engaging storytelling will engage and enrich every child's imagination and love of reading and stories.
96 pages, Hardcover
Published May 3, 2016
4 people want to read
About the author
Helen Craig
227 books14 followersHelen Craig is a British children's book illustrator and author, best known for creating the Angelina Ballerina series of children's books with writer Katharine Holabird.
Craig began illustrating children's books in 1970. The first book which she had both written and illustrated was The Mouse House ABC, published in 1977. With author Sarah Hayes, she also created Bear, a popular children's character who appears in This Is The Bear (1986), This Is The Bear and the Picnic Lunch (1988), and This Is The Bear and the Scary Night (1992).
Craig began illustrating children's books in 1970. The first book which she had both written and illustrated was The Mouse House ABC, published in 1977. With author Sarah Hayes, she also created Bear, a popular children's character who appears in This Is The Bear (1986), This Is The Bear and the Picnic Lunch (1988), and This Is The Bear and the Scary Night (1992).
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 24, 2016
Fairy Tales have been around for centuries and reflect the tradition of oral history; stories spoken from one person’s memory to another. This is why some Fairy Tales seem to be subtle differences depending where you were brought up. Did you hear that the three little pigs boiled the wolf alive, or perhaps you think he just walked away in frustration? Helen Craig is a talented illustrator who has decided to tackle the tricky Fairy Tale compilation. Will her retelling of classic stories match your own?
‘‘The Orchard Book of Bedtime Fairy Tales’’ contains ten classic nursery style Fairy Tales, but have the added bonus of being illustrated by ‘‘Angelina Ballerina’’ veteran Helen Craig. For your money you get a wonderful hardback that includes classics such as Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks, but also some sneaky less well known tales such as The Little Red Hen and Chicken Little.
There is no denying that as a book of Fairy Tales, the Orchard collection looks and feels wonderful. Craig’s use of soft pastel colours really evokes the magic of the stories and brings them to life. Not every page is the same; some double spreads will be mostly a picture of the characters during their adventure, whilst other pages will be getting on with the story. It is an ideal book for reading to and with a child. Younger readers are entertained by looking at the imagery and as they develop they can take over the reading as the words are printed nice and boldly on the page.
If the book was based on pictures alone, it would be a must buy, but that is not the case. Instead you must look at the adaptations of the Fairy Tales themselves. It seems like a no brainer to write up a simple retelling of Goldilocks or the Three Little Pigs, but you would be amazed by the variation that the stories have. These usually entail a softening of the more gory elements – do children really need to see a Woodsman lopping off a wolf’s head? The issue with Craig’s adaptations is that they do not take a standard tack. Some stories have a softened edge so that the wolf survives, but others do not. Chicken Little in particular does not sugar-coat the fate of the various birds that are coaxed into the fox’s den – explaining this one to a three year old may be tricky. I would have preferred to have had all the Fairy Tales stick to their roots, or be softened. By creating a mishmash, Craig has put you in the position of perhaps skipping a couple of stories and sticking to the safe bets.
It may be that this is how Craig has learned the stories herself over the years, but even the real classics like Three Billy Goats Gruff is written here slightly different from what I was told. You will never find a book that matches the stories of your childhood, unless you write that book yourself. This is not an issue, what is a problem are the extreme variations of tone that the stories in this collection have, which is a shame as it is illustrated wonderfully. Original review on bookbag.co.uk
‘‘The Orchard Book of Bedtime Fairy Tales’’ contains ten classic nursery style Fairy Tales, but have the added bonus of being illustrated by ‘‘Angelina Ballerina’’ veteran Helen Craig. For your money you get a wonderful hardback that includes classics such as Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks, but also some sneaky less well known tales such as The Little Red Hen and Chicken Little.
There is no denying that as a book of Fairy Tales, the Orchard collection looks and feels wonderful. Craig’s use of soft pastel colours really evokes the magic of the stories and brings them to life. Not every page is the same; some double spreads will be mostly a picture of the characters during their adventure, whilst other pages will be getting on with the story. It is an ideal book for reading to and with a child. Younger readers are entertained by looking at the imagery and as they develop they can take over the reading as the words are printed nice and boldly on the page.
If the book was based on pictures alone, it would be a must buy, but that is not the case. Instead you must look at the adaptations of the Fairy Tales themselves. It seems like a no brainer to write up a simple retelling of Goldilocks or the Three Little Pigs, but you would be amazed by the variation that the stories have. These usually entail a softening of the more gory elements – do children really need to see a Woodsman lopping off a wolf’s head? The issue with Craig’s adaptations is that they do not take a standard tack. Some stories have a softened edge so that the wolf survives, but others do not. Chicken Little in particular does not sugar-coat the fate of the various birds that are coaxed into the fox’s den – explaining this one to a three year old may be tricky. I would have preferred to have had all the Fairy Tales stick to their roots, or be softened. By creating a mishmash, Craig has put you in the position of perhaps skipping a couple of stories and sticking to the safe bets.
It may be that this is how Craig has learned the stories herself over the years, but even the real classics like Three Billy Goats Gruff is written here slightly different from what I was told. You will never find a book that matches the stories of your childhood, unless you write that book yourself. This is not an issue, what is a problem are the extreme variations of tone that the stories in this collection have, which is a shame as it is illustrated wonderfully. Original review on bookbag.co.uk
Displaying 1 of 1 review