Selected Fairy Tales

by Barbara Leonie Picard, Julia Cobbold (Illustrator)

Distinguished author Barbara Leonie Picard says that during World War II she sought to "forget the sad war days by writing fairy simply because I had always liked fairy tales." After the war, she continued to create stories full of adventure and romance and tinged with melancholy in the
best tradition of storytellers of old. Now, in this new book, she has chosen her favorites to be gathered together for the first time.
The Sea King's Daughter --the first fairy tale Ms. Picard ever wrote--is a concise and masterful tale of a prince, his new bride, and a scorned and powerful maiden from the sea. Promises are made and broken, and the prince learns the price true love demands. In Count Alaric's Lady a young man
discovers that his lady is not from his world, but from that of the "fairy people." Only by offering her a perfect love will he keep her by his side. Little Lady Margaret lives a lonely life that promises to get only gloomier until she learns to weave herself into her needlepoint tapestry. These
stories and 13 others, full of magic and wonder, are distinguished by Ms. Picard's gracefully simple prose and by the exquisite black and white line drawings of Julia Cobbold. This is a collection that will charm readers of all ages.

Genres: Fairy Tales

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Barbara Leonie Picard's first book was published in 1949, and was followed by over twenty more, all of which received praise for the mature and thought-provoking fare they offered young readers. She is well-known for her re-tellings of Homer, Gilgamesh, and ancient myths for young readers.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely collection of original fairy tales written from the 1940s-50s.
They feature nixies, fauns, sea dwellers, midsummer fairy circles and witches; a lot of love, death and transformation.
These really need to be more widely known and read!

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Count Alaric’s Lady
By Barbara Leonie Picard

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some fairy tales I had heard of before (The Little Mermaid), but mostly new ones I did not know (and that's saying something for me). My favorite by far was "The Third Witch". I acutally brought this for a week while I was a camp counselor for several sixth graders and I thought that these tales would be too childish for them, but every night they begged me to read them "one more". A great collection.

[Stephanie Chavarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lost or sold this book a few years ago and have been looking for it ever since. I could only remember tidbits of the stories and a little bit about the cover, but it is the most amazing collection! I even teared up just a bit when I finally found it.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Barbara Leonie Picard. Her fairy tales are creative and original.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars