Collected Stories for Children

by Walter de la Mare, Robin Jacques (Drawings)

17 short stories. These Dick and the Beanstalk; The Dutch Cheese; A Penny a Day; The Scarecrow; The Three Sleeping Boys of Warwickshire; The Lovely Myfanwy; Lucy; Miss Jemima; The Magic Jacket and many more

Genres: British Literature, Short Stories, Juvenile, Fantasy

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Walter John de la Mare was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fiction, including "Seaton's Aunt" and "All Hallows". In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walter de la Mare’s Collected Stories for Children (which won the 1947 Carnegie Medal) is certainly an intriguing selection of seventeen original fairytales and fantasies. But to tell the truth, while my adult self certainty much appreciates how with Collected Stories for Children de la Mare cleverly shows both wish fulfillment and equally the stuff of horror and nightmares (and often really closely intertwined), combining reality and fantasy and to such an extent that we as readers are more often than not even able to distinguish one from the other, sorry, but for my inner child, Collected Stories for Children is just much too inherently creepy, with insufficient textual joy and with story endings that definitely are strangely open-ended and more than somewhat uncomfortable.

And albeit that I do indeed as an older reader rather consider Walter de la Mare's writing for Collected Stories for Children brilliantly descriptive and full of important questions and philosphical considerations, I also really do NOT think that de la Mare should be seen as a writer for children but more as an author for adults. For no indeed, if I had encountered Collected Stories for Children as a younger reader, I would definitely not have found those seventeen featured tales with their creepiness and their disjointed sense of reality to my tastes, even though reading Collected Stories for Children for the first time in 2022 (at the age of 56), it makes me not only enjoy them completely and delightgully, that Walter de la Mare's writing also wonderfully reminds me of the fairy tales of German Romanticism (but that precisely what is for me akin and alike to German Romantic authors like Novalis, Ludwig Tieck, Clemens Brentano and E.T.A. Hoffmann in Collected Stories for Children is also what makes Walter de la Mare in my humble opinion not all that much an author that many if not most children would likely have sufficient reading maturity to either appreciate or enjoy, that the textual thematic sophistication of Collected Stories for Children definitely does render this book not all that child reading friendly).

Oh and yes, I must also point out that a number of the seventeen tales featured in Collected Stores for Children are pretty politically incorrect. And while for some of the ethnic and gender stereotyping, I can to a point consider this as mostly being a sign of the time (the 1940s), the one story Walter de la Mare has penned about an African individual trying to turn himself white by ingesting every kind of potion an medicine, well yes, this story really makes me want to scream.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

OpenLibrary.org archive.

Mysterious, haunting... and funny, exciting... all different. I would have read it over and over when I was a child. The story about the little Black servant who longed to be white would have confused me, but it is not racist. The collection is British, and so rather classist, but no more than so many other classic stories that are still recommended to children. I'm glad I got a chance to read this Carnegie winner.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: Years ago I read "Tales told again" by this author, where he retells several classic fairy tales. This book is different, as it contains 17 original highly poetical fairy tales, in the style of classics, that had never been told before.

"Dick and the beanstalk" tells about a continuation of "Jack and the beanstalk" (which is included in the previous book) several generations later, when the two giants living in the castle are the great-grandchildren of the giant who died at the end of Jack's story.

"A penny a day" is a nice story about a beautiful good girl who needs help and gets it from a dwarf who makes strange deals and takes her to strange places.

"The scarecrow" is a poetical story about a man who once saw a fairy who lived in a scarecrow.

"The lovely Myfanwy" is a poetical story about a beautiful girl whose father keeps her locked in his castle for fear of losing her to a suitor, and the tricks the suitor used to achieve his goal. This story is reminiscent of the plot of Apuleius's "The Golden Ass".

"The magic jacket" may have been an influence on "Mary Poppins" by P.L. Travers. There is an Admiral who speaks about the east wind, and a boy who paints pictures on the floor with colored chalks.

"Mr. Bumps and his monkey" is a strange story about a monkey who learns to speak some English.

"Broomsticks" is another strange story about a black cat who feels attracted to a witch.

"Alice's godmother" is a story about a girl whose godmother is about to celebrate her 350 birth date and invites her for the first time to her home. What she is offered by her godmother and her answer are no surprise for the reader.

"Sambo & the Snow Mountains" is a story about a black boy who wanted to be white.

I liked less the following: "The Dutch cheese," "The Lord Fish" and "The riddle." The last one I found pointless.

ESPAÑOL: Hace años leí "Tales told again" de este autor, donde reescribe varios cuentos de hadas clásicos. Este libro es diferente, ya que contiene 17 cuentos de hadas originales, muy poéticos, distintos de los clásicos, aunque en su mismo estilo.

"Dick y el tallo de habichuelas" narra la continuación de "Jack y las habichuelas mágicas" (que está incluido en el libro anterior) varias generaciones más tarde, cuando los dos gigantes que viven en el castillo son los bisnietos del que murió al final de la historia de Jack.

"Un centavo al día" es una bonita historia sobre una niña bella y buena que necesita ayuda y se la da un enano que hace tratos raros y la lleva a lugares raros.

"El espantapájaros" es un cuento poético sobre un hombre que una vez vio un ser faérico que vivía en un espantapájaros.

"La encantadora Myfanwy" es un cuento poético sobre una chica hermosa cuyo padre la tiene encerrada en su castillo por miedo a perderla, si algún pretendiente consigue casarse con ella, y de qué argucias se valió el pretendiente para conseguir su objetivo. Esta historia recuerda el argumento de "El asno de oro" de Apuleyo.

"La chaqueta mágica" podría haber influido sobre el primer libro de "Mary Poppins", de P.L. Travers. En este cuento, un almirante habla del viento del este y un niño pinta cuadros en el suelo con tizas de colores.

"El Sr. Bumps y su mono" es un cuento peculiar sobre un mono que aprende a hablar algo de inglés.

"Escobas" es otro cuento peculiar sobre un gato negro que se siente atraído por una bruja.

"La madrina de Alicia" trata sobre una chica cuya madrina, que va a celebrar su 350 cumpleaños, la invita por primera vez a su casa. Lo que la madrina le ofrece y lo que Alicia le responde son perfectamente predecibles.

"Sambo y las Montañas Nevadas" es un cuento sobre un chico negro que quería ser blanco.

Los siguientes me gustaron menos: "El queso holandés", "El Señor Pez" y "El enigma". Este último es demasiado raro.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truyện đẫm màu sắc huyền hoặc và lãng mạn. Tả cảnh rất hay, mình cũng muốn được sống ở những vùng đất trong cuốn này. Mặc dù có những câu chuyện mình không hiểu lắm nhưng mình vẫn muốn đọc tiếp cuốn sách. Mình nghĩ sức hút này nằm ở không khí kì ảo và lãng mạn trong truyện.

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[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times you're being told stories by a master. There are a few though that should be pulped on grounds of them either being politically horrible or just horrible. The collection should be edited and re-issued. It probably has been. It is very, very good at times. Basically a five star book with a couple of sub one-star stories.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mình đặc biệt thích bầu không khí mơ màng hư ảo, lãng đãng êm đềm và cách kể chuyện giàu hình ảnh, màu sắc và chi tiết của quyển này.

Cảm giác rất khó tả. Nhưng khi đọc mình bỗng nhớ đến và luyến tiếc thời thơ ấu ngây ngô chưa hiểu chuyện vẫn tin vào mọi điều kỳ diệu trong những câu chuyện cổ rất nhiều…

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly delightful. Captivates the imagination. Every lover of fairy stories should read this.

[Carla Parreira]

O conto que mais gostei foi o enigma (The Riddle). Sete crianças, Ann, Matilda, James, William, Henry, Harriet e Dorothea, foram morar com a avó em uma casa antiga e espaçosa, marcada por um grande pé de olmo. A avó, que já estava bastante idosa e frágil, presenteou cada uma das crianças com brinquedos e pediu que sempre a visitassem com sorrisos, lembrando-se de seu filho Harry. Contudo, ela alertou sobre um velho baú de carvalho no quarto de hóspedes, pedindo para que não mexessem nele. Com o passar das semanas, as crianças se acostumaram ao novo lar, embora Henry, atraído pela curiosidade, decidiu investigar o baú em uma noite. Ao abrir a tampa, não encontrou tesouros, mas um interior forrado de seda que exalava um aroma doce. Movido por lembranças de sua mãe, ele pulou dentro do baú, que fechou suavemente sobre ele. No dia seguinte, Ann comentou com a avó que Henry havia desaparecido. A avó, preocupada, pediu para que não se aproximassem do baú. Matilda, sentindo falta do irmão, acabou também se interessando pela caixa secreta e, levando sua boneca, fez o mesmo que Henry, se escondendo dentro do baú, que se fechou novamente. Os outros irmãos se divertiam em sua ausência. Enquanto brincavam, William e Harriet pretendiam ser a Bela Adormecida e o Príncipe, mas, apesar da advertência, acabaram se aventurando no baú também. A avó, cada vez mais debilitada, observava com tristeza a falta das crianças, sem conseguir entender a gravidade da situação. Com a queda da neve lá fora, as brincadeiras continuavam a acontecer no interior do baú mágico, enquanto a casa permanecia silenciosa, refletindo a solidão e mistério que estavam se acumulando em torno daquela antiga arca. Assim, enquanto Ann passava a noite sozinha lendo sobre fadas, a aventura mágica das crianças dentro do baú se aprofundava, levando-as a um mundo desconhecido e fascinante. Enquanto Ann se deixava levar pelo sonho, reclinando-se confortavelmente nos tecidos antigos do baú, o ambiente ao seu redor parecia distorcer a realidade. A avó, por sua vez, permaneceu na sua posição habitual na janela, observando o movimento da rua com um olhar apagado e curioso. Cada dia, ela se sentia mais fraca, a respiração se tornando mais curta conforme subia as escadas para verificar o quarto de hóspedes, onde a presença das crianças parecia agora uma memória distante. No silêncio da casa, a avó, cansada e solitária, tentava recordar momentos felizes de sua vida, entre risos e lágrimas de crianças que agora pareciam pertencentes a outra época. As sombras ao redor dela pareciam engrossar, enquanto seu olhar se fixava na luz tênue que entrava pela janela do quarto, sem conseguir perceber o perfume sutil que lembrava folhas de outono. Consumida por seus pensamentos, a velha senhora desceu novamente à sua poltrona, sentindo o peso dos anos e a saudade das vozes infantis que antes preenchiam o lar. Internamente, as crianças continuavam a explorar o mundo mágico dentro do baú, vivenciando episódios de alegria e aventura que contrastavam com a melancolia da avó. Ann, envolta na seda antiga, sentia dimensões irresistíveis ao seu redor, como se as linhas entre o sonho e a realidade estivessem se apagando, levando-a a um universo onde as preocupações não podiam alcançá-la. A conexão das crianças com o baú e sua fascinante jornada se expandia, enquanto as memórias da avó se tornavam mais nebulosas, refletindo uma vida marcada pela passagem do tempo e pela inevitável solidão.

[An Phan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no doubt regarding the quality of the original book, but the Vietnamese version is horrible. The translation is so bad it’s almost laughable. What a joke.

[Soccerfields · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate all poem books and only read them when I have to.so do not base
if it is good or not on me if you like poems.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

And 5 stars for 'The Lord Fish'.

[Jubna]

It's good