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Favorite tales from Grimm
English, German (translation)
224 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1982
3 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Garden
44 books457 followersA versatile writer, Nancy Garden has published books for children as well as for teens, nonfiction as well as fiction. But her novel Annie on My Mind, the story of two high school girls who fall in love with each other, has brought her more attention than she wanted when it was burned in front of the Kansas City School Board building in 1993 and banned from school library shelves in Olathe, Kansas, as well as other school districts. A group of high school students and their parents in Olathe had to sue the school board in federal district court in order to get the book back on the library shelves. Today the book is as controversial as ever, in spite of its being viewed by many as one of the most important books written for teens in the past forty years. In 2003 the American Library Association gave the Margaret A. Edwards Award to Nancy Garden for lifetime achievement.
In Remembrance: Nancy Garden
In Remembrance: Nancy Garden
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 8, 2022
This anthology collects a total of twenty of the most popular German fairy and folk tales from Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Mercer Mayer. The tales to be found here are the following, in order of appearance:
- "Little Snow White."
- "Rumpeltstiltskin."
- "The Two Brothers."
- "Allerleirauh."
- "The Goose Girl."
- "Little Red Cap."
- "The Bremen Town Musicians."
- "Snow White and Rose Red."
- "Fundevogel."
- "Rapunzel."
- "Hänsel and Gretel."
- "The Fisherman and His Wife."
- "The Valiant Little Tailor."
- "Little Briar Rose."
- "Thumbling."
- "The Golden Bird."
- "Cinderella."
- "The Six Swans."
- "The Girl Without Hands."
- "Fitcher's Bird."
Each of these tales has one full-colour illustration, and there are also a few small ink drawings decorating the borders and at the end of each story. Mercer Mayer's artwork depicts these scenes:
- Snow White in the glass coffin. (One of my favourite pieces)
- Rumpelstiltskin with the girl compelled on pain of death to weave hay into gold. (Boy, is this the ugliest ever Rumple I've seen!)
- A couple embracing lovingly. (This illustration reminds me of another favourite couple...)
- A maiden. (Never heard of this tale before, interesting one)
- The goose girl in front of the rotting head of her decapitated horse hanging on the wall.
- Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf. (Reminds me a little bit of Rackham's interpretation of this tale)
- The musician animals in a barn.
- The sisters Snow White and Rose Red with the bear, one of them embracing the bear (I think that's Rose Red, judging by the hair. This is another of my favourite pieces)
- A girl and a black bird perched on a tree branch.
- Rapunzel looking out the window of her tower. (Wish this one wasn't a close-up of her head but included a more panoramic view from the tower, or at least showed more of her fabulous hair)
- Hänsel and Gretel with the wicked witch. (Mayer went to great lengths to depict a witch that could compete for the crown of most revolting with Disney's Evil Queen in her hag form; not sure I like this, the witch is supposed to not look suspicious to the children)
- The fisherman on a rock by the sea. (Never knew this was a Grimm tale, I thought it was a Greek legend.)
- The little tailor dodging the charge of an enraged giant. (The angle of this one is great, it conveys well how small in stature the braggart tailor was)
- Briar Rose lying asleep on her bed. (Another illustration I wish were more panoramic, but at least it isn't too much of a limited close-up. Oh, and this is also another of my favourite illustrations here)
- Thumbling talking with a rodent that looks gigantic at his side. (This looks more like the abnormal-sized one is the rodent rather than Thumbling, though, which is amusing)
- The golden bird taking flight from a branch. (The bird should have been painted more spectacularly, the 'gold' colour of its plumage isn't as impressive as that of the Firebird from Russian tales, too dull)
- Cinderella speaking to the tree she planted by her mother's grave. (Lovely piece, touching)
- The swan maidens shedding their swan plumage by the lake where they bathe. (Tasteful nudes, by the way)
- The girl in front of an angel. (Mayer needs to work a bit more on his gold/brilliant light colouring, methinks)
- A monster and a child. (The monster appears to me like a cross between Frankenstein and a troll)
As you can see, a couple of these tales come with their title untranslated, not sure why, but otherwise the translation is good, and the illustrations really excellent for the most part. My only complaint is that I wish the book had been more lavishly illustrated, because I really love Mayer's art and would've liked it had he done at least 2 illustrations for the longer tales instead of limiting himself to just one per tale regardless of length or popularity. I was left feeling so very curious to see his take on certain scenes from tales I love.
There are some Grimm tales that are well-known but that are missing from this anthology, but since this is a "favourites" compilation, it's not as much a deliberate omission as just the editor's taste. I must add that some of the tales are rather obscure and were totally unknown to me.
- "Little Snow White."
- "Rumpeltstiltskin."
- "The Two Brothers."
- "Allerleirauh."
- "The Goose Girl."
- "Little Red Cap."
- "The Bremen Town Musicians."
- "Snow White and Rose Red."
- "Fundevogel."
- "Rapunzel."
- "Hänsel and Gretel."
- "The Fisherman and His Wife."
- "The Valiant Little Tailor."
- "Little Briar Rose."
- "Thumbling."
- "The Golden Bird."
- "Cinderella."
- "The Six Swans."
- "The Girl Without Hands."
- "Fitcher's Bird."
Each of these tales has one full-colour illustration, and there are also a few small ink drawings decorating the borders and at the end of each story. Mercer Mayer's artwork depicts these scenes:
- Snow White in the glass coffin. (One of my favourite pieces)
- Rumpelstiltskin with the girl compelled on pain of death to weave hay into gold. (Boy, is this the ugliest ever Rumple I've seen!)
- A couple embracing lovingly. (This illustration reminds me of another favourite couple...)
- A maiden. (Never heard of this tale before, interesting one)
- The goose girl in front of the rotting head of her decapitated horse hanging on the wall.
- Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf. (Reminds me a little bit of Rackham's interpretation of this tale)
- The musician animals in a barn.
- The sisters Snow White and Rose Red with the bear, one of them embracing the bear (I think that's Rose Red, judging by the hair. This is another of my favourite pieces)
- A girl and a black bird perched on a tree branch.
- Rapunzel looking out the window of her tower. (Wish this one wasn't a close-up of her head but included a more panoramic view from the tower, or at least showed more of her fabulous hair)
- Hänsel and Gretel with the wicked witch. (Mayer went to great lengths to depict a witch that could compete for the crown of most revolting with Disney's Evil Queen in her hag form; not sure I like this, the witch is supposed to not look suspicious to the children)
- The fisherman on a rock by the sea. (Never knew this was a Grimm tale, I thought it was a Greek legend.)
- The little tailor dodging the charge of an enraged giant. (The angle of this one is great, it conveys well how small in stature the braggart tailor was)
- Briar Rose lying asleep on her bed. (Another illustration I wish were more panoramic, but at least it isn't too much of a limited close-up. Oh, and this is also another of my favourite illustrations here)
- Thumbling talking with a rodent that looks gigantic at his side. (This looks more like the abnormal-sized one is the rodent rather than Thumbling, though, which is amusing)
- The golden bird taking flight from a branch. (The bird should have been painted more spectacularly, the 'gold' colour of its plumage isn't as impressive as that of the Firebird from Russian tales, too dull)
- Cinderella speaking to the tree she planted by her mother's grave. (Lovely piece, touching)
- The swan maidens shedding their swan plumage by the lake where they bathe. (Tasteful nudes, by the way)
- The girl in front of an angel. (Mayer needs to work a bit more on his gold/brilliant light colouring, methinks)
- A monster and a child. (The monster appears to me like a cross between Frankenstein and a troll)
As you can see, a couple of these tales come with their title untranslated, not sure why, but otherwise the translation is good, and the illustrations really excellent for the most part. My only complaint is that I wish the book had been more lavishly illustrated, because I really love Mayer's art and would've liked it had he done at least 2 illustrations for the longer tales instead of limiting himself to just one per tale regardless of length or popularity. I was left feeling so very curious to see his take on certain scenes from tales I love.
There are some Grimm tales that are well-known but that are missing from this anthology, but since this is a "favourites" compilation, it's not as much a deliberate omission as just the editor's taste. I must add that some of the tales are rather obscure and were totally unknown to me.
January 4, 2015
I'm so glad I was able to find my beloved old version of Grimm's fairy tales on Goodreads! still have this book...it's on my three-year-old's bookshelf, although he is much too young for the stories in it yet. Many of the stories in this book are B-sides, if you will. I've never seen them in any other Grimm's fairy tales book, although, admittedly, I have not looked too extensively. It is well-written, deliciously dark, and beautiful to look at.
July 14, 2015
I would definitely have given this five stars if only there were more pictures!! My son loved all these stories--the more creepy the better, according to him. The pictures are great but only one per story. :( Anyway, I highly recommend.
January 26, 2022
We all grew up with the Grimm fairy-tales.
A little bit, at least.
They propagated through the words of our mothers, they crouched between the yellowed, worn-out pages of manuscripts, they perched atop the candelabra of each theater, they slithered into our hearts and they became a part of us.
One we often forget, when the elves and the fairies in our mind vanish and when our wish for plucking berries is replaced with a hunger for money and success.
Nevertheless, they still creep, and though they may grow tattered and rusty, they may surge when we least expect it.
When I was a young child, I owned a big fat Grimm fairy-tale book. It was old-fashioned and illustrated. Written in French. I remember the pages divided into four scrunched-up columns. The stories were told with all the morbidity inside of them we tend to forget (how Cinderella's step-sisters were blinded by a bird and how their slippered feet bled).
It was a dark, heavy book. I only read one or two tales at once, and I cherished them dearly.
This version, however, is static and bland, in my opinion.
It doesn't begin to convey the beauty and the poignancy of Grimm tales. It feels more like a censored, kiddie collection of tales. Descriptions are meagre and emotionless.
I longed for the connection I once had with my other Grimm fairy-tale book (I lost it in between changing humble abodes), but alas, I didn't meet it.
Yet the illustrations are divine. They are magical and I thought they made up for some of the writing, gladly. Cheers to those.
In other words, I'm disappointed.
A little bit, at least.
They propagated through the words of our mothers, they crouched between the yellowed, worn-out pages of manuscripts, they perched atop the candelabra of each theater, they slithered into our hearts and they became a part of us.
One we often forget, when the elves and the fairies in our mind vanish and when our wish for plucking berries is replaced with a hunger for money and success.
Nevertheless, they still creep, and though they may grow tattered and rusty, they may surge when we least expect it.
When I was a young child, I owned a big fat Grimm fairy-tale book. It was old-fashioned and illustrated. Written in French. I remember the pages divided into four scrunched-up columns. The stories were told with all the morbidity inside of them we tend to forget (how Cinderella's step-sisters were blinded by a bird and how their slippered feet bled).
It was a dark, heavy book. I only read one or two tales at once, and I cherished them dearly.
This version, however, is static and bland, in my opinion.
It doesn't begin to convey the beauty and the poignancy of Grimm tales. It feels more like a censored, kiddie collection of tales. Descriptions are meagre and emotionless.
I longed for the connection I once had with my other Grimm fairy-tale book (I lost it in between changing humble abodes), but alas, I didn't meet it.
Yet the illustrations are divine. They are magical and I thought they made up for some of the writing, gladly. Cheers to those.
In other words, I'm disappointed.
December 19, 2013
It seems that Mayer is trying to echo the success of Arthur Rackham's fairytale compilations, but he has not quite succeeded with this book. The illustrations are great, but there are not nearly enough of them. Rackham's works were great enough to stand alone, but Mayer's usually aren't that strong, so we are left wanting. I was also disappointed by the very weak silhouettes; Mayer should stick to an art style that he knows.
March 14, 2012
A childhood favorite, Lovely drawings
September 12, 2012
A beautiful illustration accompanies every tale, retold from Grimm with great description that captures the imagination of old & young audiences.
October 21, 2014
I read this book so many times as a kid, the library edition fell apart. Finding it again as an adult was a magical moment for me.
November 14, 2016
I really enjoyed this book! It contains some stories that I have never head of before, and really makes them come to life with the illistrations!
January 13, 2019
The only two ways to improve this book:
1. More pictures
2. Reissue it!
1. More pictures
2. Reissue it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews