Dies und Das: Märchen und Fabeln

by Eric Carle

A family classic from the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Draw Me a Star, this rich and varied collection of tales features retold works by Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen. Full color.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Short Stories, Classics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm curious why Eric Carle selected some of these stories. Some of them were not very good and his editing left some stories feeling rushed and silly.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock-full of Eric Carle's distinctive illustrations, this composition of traditional tales includes the familiar ("Tom Thumb", "The Grasshopper and the Ants") and the not-so-familiar ("The Seven Swabians", "Big Klaus, Little Klaus". Children of all ages will delight in the timeless theme of good overcoming evil present in each fairy tale and fable.

[Shanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of fables and folktales. Although this is for children, many of the stories seem to have unnecessarily gruesome acts (many animals are murdered for the gain of greedy humans). The stories are simply told, sometimes excessively, so that the events were sudden and random and unexplained.

[Sara Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read aloud with Oliver! Aesops Fables and some of the stories were great. The illustrations were paired nicely. A few of the stories were difficult to follow or downright depressing. Overall, very enjoyable book!

[JasmineS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and good stories, but the pictures aren't my stile. This book is nice for small kids about age 7-10. A page has a lot of words.

[Canette Arille · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains various fairy tale stories, but the illustrations are of average quality. Only 3 stars because of the illustrations

[Shel]

Carle, E. (1988). Treasury of Classic Stories for Children: by Aesop, Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, selected retold and illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Orchard Books.

0531057429

Carle's beautiful illustrations (in his usual style) help these classic folktales and stories to come--not alive, necessarily, but at the very least more eye-catching. With artwork incorporated onto each page, Carle's interpretations of the works of Aesop, the Grimms, and Anderson may be enjoyed.

While there is a great deal of trickery and the occasional death among the these pages, there is not nearly as much depressing or morbid content as could be found in the complete collections of the Grimm brothers or Hans Christian Anderson's works.

I also liked that the morals of Aesop's fables were not emphasized too heavily or pulled out into a special section as occurs in some other collections.

Overall, Carle includes some more famous stories (such as Tom Thumb by the Grimms and The Grasshopper and the Ants or The Rabbit and the Turtle by Aesop) balanced with stories that students will probably be less familiar with.

Activities to Do with the Book:

This collection would serve as an excellent read aloud to children who love fairytales and folktales, whether they've been exposed to such stories extensively or only have the Disney versions.

The stories would lend themselves to be acted out among children. Also, since most of these stories come to us from Ancient times or the 1800s, students could consider the clothing and setting Carle chose to use in his illustrations.

Many of the stories could be tied or used with other literature because of similar themes. For example, The Grimms' Hans in Luck works well with Shel Silverstein's poem "Smart." The Evil King by Hans Christina Anderson has details similar to The Emperor's New Clothes. etc.


Favorite Quotes:

“What a sad thing it is that we have no children. We live too quietly. A child would cheer us up" (p. 9).

"A well-known judge loved to talk about the good old times.
Whether he was visiting someone else or someone was visiting him, it wasn't long before he began talking about the olden days and how much better they had been" (p. 31).

"A rabbit and a turtle were looking for something to do to while away the afternoon.
"How about a race?" suggested the rabbit, who was a very fast runner" (p. 36).

For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

We didn't finish this. Probably because we had already read a HUGE book of Aesop's Fables and fairy tales and this just retold a lot of what we'd already heard.

I wouldn't use this as a primary source for Aesop or fairy tales anyways. There are much better retellings out there.

Oh, did I just say something really mean about one of my favorite children's authors? Bad Heather, bad. (But I still won't use it again.)

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was rather disappointed in this. I usually really like Eric Carle's books, but this one was disturbing to my children (and I didn't enjoy it, either). The story choices seemed contrary to the dustjacket's boast that "this is a perfect book for family reading and sharing." Both my kids, ages 5 and 7, cried and complained that the stories were too "icky" and sad. I agreed and we put the book in our giveaway pile, unfinished without regret.

[Miss Byler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you think you know every fairy tale ever told? I thought I knew most of them until I read this collection of traditional literature. Read about your favorites and some new ones with exciting pictures along the way.

[Orchid McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it so much the pages started to fall out so I had to get a new copy. :) Great classic stories and wonderful illustrations.

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

From back in the day I remembered(just) a book with many classic stories. Long ago...

[Yusuf Sahin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and good stories, but the pictures aren't my stile. This book is nice for small kids about age 7-10. A page has a lot of words.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited about this book. I generally love Eric Carle, but I didn't love his retelling of these fairy tales and fables. if you're looking for a good resource for this type of put, go to the original source, not a retelling by another author. The redeeming feature here is the artwork, which is Carle's typical colorful & interesting style.