What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wonder Clock
"Four and twenty marvellous tales, one for each hour of the day," retold in a novel and entertaining manner by a master of the form. While drawing on German, English, and Scandinavian folk literature for many of his characters and plots, Pyle reworks the material in an imaginative way, crafting the tales in his own inimitable style. Equally engaging are the numerous woodcuts that accompany the stories and enliven the narrative. Suitable for ages 7 and up.
440 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1887
25 people are currently reading
698 people want to read
About the author
Howard Pyle
712 books313 followersHoward Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people.
During 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University), and after 1900 he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. The term Brandywine School was later applied to the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region by Pitz. Some of his more famous students were N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Elenore Abbott, Ethel Franklin Betts, Anna Whelan Betts, Harvey Dunn, Clyde O. DeLand, Philip R. Goodwin, Violet Oakley, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Olive Rush, Allen Tupper True, and Jessie Willcox Smith.
His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books, frequently with medieval European settings, include a four-volume set on King Arthur. He is also well known for his illustrations of pirates, and is credited with creating the now stereotypical modern image of pirate dress. He published an original novel, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was made into a movie in 1954, The Black Shield of Falworth.
Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy to study mural painting during 1910, and died there in 1911 from a kidney infection (Bright's Disease).
His sister Katharine Pyle was also a writer and illustrator. Their mother was the children's author and translator M.C. Pyle.
During 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University), and after 1900 he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. The term Brandywine School was later applied to the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region by Pitz. Some of his more famous students were N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Elenore Abbott, Ethel Franklin Betts, Anna Whelan Betts, Harvey Dunn, Clyde O. DeLand, Philip R. Goodwin, Violet Oakley, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Olive Rush, Allen Tupper True, and Jessie Willcox Smith.
His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books, frequently with medieval European settings, include a four-volume set on King Arthur. He is also well known for his illustrations of pirates, and is credited with creating the now stereotypical modern image of pirate dress. He published an original novel, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was made into a movie in 1954, The Black Shield of Falworth.
Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy to study mural painting during 1910, and died there in 1911 from a kidney infection (Bright's Disease).
His sister Katharine Pyle was also a writer and illustrator. Their mother was the children's author and translator M.C. Pyle.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 13, 2011
This book has been in my family for four generations, the 1912 edition having been given to my father by his grandmother in 1948.
The premise of the story is given in the introduction; the narrator happens upon a marvelous clock in Father Time's attic, which strikes the hour with songs and puppet dances. Twenty-four stories follow, one for each hour of the day. Each story begins with a verse that corresponds to the hour of the day: lighting the fire, preparing breakfast, sending the children to school, making the noonday meal, milking, tea, bedtime. The verses alone are fascinating, as they bring to life the household routines of a very different era.
The stories are illustrated with Howard Pyle's remarkable drawings. Each tale has a frontispiece for the title, and the beginning of the text and each picture caption is heralded with a large ornmental letter like those in illuminated manuscripts. The illustrations are gorgeous. Pyle was fond of capturing scenes of nobility and royal splendour, pastoral life, and witchcraft. Some are stylized portraits of princesses in exquisite gowns and classic poses, while others demonstrate Pyle's gift for caricature and expression.
The stories themselves are wonderful, full of heroes and heroines, bravery, beauty, wits and trickery. Although there are allusions to mystic and Christian themes, and to folklore and fables, most of the stories will be unfamiliar and fresh to modern readers. The language is rich with metaphor, droll imagery, and dialogue that is made to be read aloud. As with Aesop's fables, the stories are meant to instruct, but the morals take a back seat to the storytelling, at least until the conclusion of each tale, and a great deal is left up to the reader to interpret.
This was my favorite book as a child, and I still love reading it. But our beloved family heirloom is growing very delicate, so I am very glad that the book is still in print so that I can share it with my own daughters.
Comment
The premise of the story is given in the introduction; the narrator happens upon a marvelous clock in Father Time's attic, which strikes the hour with songs and puppet dances. Twenty-four stories follow, one for each hour of the day. Each story begins with a verse that corresponds to the hour of the day: lighting the fire, preparing breakfast, sending the children to school, making the noonday meal, milking, tea, bedtime. The verses alone are fascinating, as they bring to life the household routines of a very different era.
The stories are illustrated with Howard Pyle's remarkable drawings. Each tale has a frontispiece for the title, and the beginning of the text and each picture caption is heralded with a large ornmental letter like those in illuminated manuscripts. The illustrations are gorgeous. Pyle was fond of capturing scenes of nobility and royal splendour, pastoral life, and witchcraft. Some are stylized portraits of princesses in exquisite gowns and classic poses, while others demonstrate Pyle's gift for caricature and expression.
The stories themselves are wonderful, full of heroes and heroines, bravery, beauty, wits and trickery. Although there are allusions to mystic and Christian themes, and to folklore and fables, most of the stories will be unfamiliar and fresh to modern readers. The language is rich with metaphor, droll imagery, and dialogue that is made to be read aloud. As with Aesop's fables, the stories are meant to instruct, but the morals take a back seat to the storytelling, at least until the conclusion of each tale, and a great deal is left up to the reader to interpret.
This was my favorite book as a child, and I still love reading it. But our beloved family heirloom is growing very delicate, so I am very glad that the book is still in print so that I can share it with my own daughters.
Comment
November 18, 2015
Honestly, I didn't like most of the stories. Some were okay though. My favorite was story #3. How One Turned His Trouble to Some Account.
"Trouble" was an actual human character in this story.
Many were written along the theme, that if you were humble, or poor and helped an old woman or man across a river or gave them your last two pence, you would get a wish granted, or some means of requesting help from them, because they were a magical being, and in the end you would marry a beautiful princess or handsome, rich king and all would be happy ever after. Several stories were about a smart red fox and a dumb bear, or other animal. The fox lost out in the end, in one - loosing his tail. No problem beating princesses or wives to make them behave or humble them.
The twenty four stories in the book were touted as "a story for each hour of the day."
What I really liked was the artwork and the poem or verse on the hour page before the beginning of each story. The author was an artist as well as an author and illustrated his own stories with pen and ink drawings and wood block prints.
Here is the poem or verse from the Six O'clock page.
"The Door is open,
The Dew is bright;
Forgotten now
Is the lonesome Night
And the Starling whistles,
""All is right.""
The House-wife moves
With her briskest tread
The Chairs are set,
And the Table spread
With Honey and Eggs
And Cream and Bread."
The stories in this book are very old and all based on the author's interpretation of a collection of similar stories. He gave them his own "spin" and even add his own "voice" at the end of many of them claiming to have been at this feast or that wedding or having heard about things from Tommy Pfouce, who I had to believe was a friend. Most of the stories ended in a kind of moral, or wrap up, but some did not make much sense to me.
Here is the ending of two of the stories as an example of what I indicated above about "the voice".
From The Swan Maiden.
"After that the prince and the Swan Maiden were married, and a grand wedding they had of it, with music of fiddles and kettle-drums, and plenty to eat and to drink. I, too, was there; but all of the good red wine ran down over my tucker, so that not a drop of it passed, my lips and I had to come away empty. And that is all."
From The Simpleton and His Little Black Hen.
"Wit and Luck are not always hatched in the same nest, says Tommy Pfouce, and maybe he is right about it, for Caspar (the Simpleton of the story) married his sweetheart, and if she did not keep his money for him, and himself out of trouble, she would not have been worth speaking of, and I, for one, would never have told this story." My take on it was that Caspar didn't have much sense, but he was smart enough.
"Trouble" was an actual human character in this story.
Many were written along the theme, that if you were humble, or poor and helped an old woman or man across a river or gave them your last two pence, you would get a wish granted, or some means of requesting help from them, because they were a magical being, and in the end you would marry a beautiful princess or handsome, rich king and all would be happy ever after. Several stories were about a smart red fox and a dumb bear, or other animal. The fox lost out in the end, in one - loosing his tail. No problem beating princesses or wives to make them behave or humble them.
The twenty four stories in the book were touted as "a story for each hour of the day."
What I really liked was the artwork and the poem or verse on the hour page before the beginning of each story. The author was an artist as well as an author and illustrated his own stories with pen and ink drawings and wood block prints.
Here is the poem or verse from the Six O'clock page.
"The Door is open,
The Dew is bright;
Forgotten now
Is the lonesome Night
And the Starling whistles,
""All is right.""
The House-wife moves
With her briskest tread
The Chairs are set,
And the Table spread
With Honey and Eggs
And Cream and Bread."
The stories in this book are very old and all based on the author's interpretation of a collection of similar stories. He gave them his own "spin" and even add his own "voice" at the end of many of them claiming to have been at this feast or that wedding or having heard about things from Tommy Pfouce, who I had to believe was a friend. Most of the stories ended in a kind of moral, or wrap up, but some did not make much sense to me.
Here is the ending of two of the stories as an example of what I indicated above about "the voice".
From The Swan Maiden.
"After that the prince and the Swan Maiden were married, and a grand wedding they had of it, with music of fiddles and kettle-drums, and plenty to eat and to drink. I, too, was there; but all of the good red wine ran down over my tucker, so that not a drop of it passed, my lips and I had to come away empty. And that is all."
From The Simpleton and His Little Black Hen.
"Wit and Luck are not always hatched in the same nest, says Tommy Pfouce, and maybe he is right about it, for Caspar (the Simpleton of the story) married his sweetheart, and if she did not keep his money for him, and himself out of trouble, she would not have been worth speaking of, and I, for one, would never have told this story." My take on it was that Caspar didn't have much sense, but he was smart enough.
June 28, 2015
Howard Pyle was a watershed in publishing; he's one of a handful of illustrators who transformed the profession from a hack-work, low-paid job into a serious professional art. His pictures are gorgeous. His writing isn't bad, although The Wonder Clock isn't his best. (I think that prize goes to Otto of the Silver Hand.) Still, the short stories in this collection include some wonderful examples of late-Victorian children's literature, and they aren't as didactic as some of the other books of the time (Pyle's own Pepper and Salt, for example, or practically anything by George MacDonald).
As the title indicates, there are 24 stories in this collection, interspersed with poems by the author's sister. The real draw is the illustrations: clean linework, dramatic scenes, and the sort of unashamedly earnest expressions only the Victorians could carry off. Modern fairytales have an undercurrent of cynicism throughout, as if the authors just can't help rolling their eyes at their own stories. There's none of that here. The stories are completely serious, just as the original Grimm's fairytales are, but these ones are a lot less bloody and more romantic.
One criticism: be careful what edition you read. The one with the purple cover has a perfect binding, and after a few rereadings the pages will start falling out.
As the title indicates, there are 24 stories in this collection, interspersed with poems by the author's sister. The real draw is the illustrations: clean linework, dramatic scenes, and the sort of unashamedly earnest expressions only the Victorians could carry off. Modern fairytales have an undercurrent of cynicism throughout, as if the authors just can't help rolling their eyes at their own stories. There's none of that here. The stories are completely serious, just as the original Grimm's fairytales are, but these ones are a lot less bloody and more romantic.
One criticism: be careful what edition you read. The one with the purple cover has a perfect binding, and after a few rereadings the pages will start falling out.
May 28, 2015
whenever I read children's stories that were written 100 years or more ago (these were first published in the 1880s) I have to remember how attitudes and the ideals that one shrived for were different. I can't judge from the modern perspective, that would be unfair. So what that all females were either fair and lovely maidens who need rescuing or ugly evil hags. Oh there were a few who fair and lovely AND evil... So what if all the males were usually the disenfranchised youngest of three sons, or some dim idiot who turns out to be brilliant. Oh there were a few who were handsome and smart AND kings...
Over all this is a delightful group of fairy tales. Reading them as an adult Pyle's writing formula soon became apparent and repetitious, which is why these would be good read-aloud stories to boys or girls.
Over all this is a delightful group of fairy tales. Reading them as an adult Pyle's writing formula soon became apparent and repetitious, which is why these would be good read-aloud stories to boys or girls.
sony-or-android
October 16, 2016open library
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20220...
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20220...
December 1, 2019
I absolutely love fairy tales, and these are perfectly written. The illustrations are breathtaking in their detail. I think this is one that I'll enjoy reading aloud to my kids when they're older.
June 6, 2008
To be honest, I haven't read this outloud to the kids yet. I bought it and read it and really liked it. I do plan on using it but I think we'll do that when they're a bit older. Right now we're focusing on the more common fairy tales like Cinderella and Rapunzel and such.
I'm thinking this is best for 10 and up. It does have a bit of unpleasantness like using puppies for a potion or something like that. But all the original fairy tales have stuff like that. Eating of small children, chopping off of heads, you know, fun stuff.
I'm thinking this is best for 10 and up. It does have a bit of unpleasantness like using puppies for a potion or something like that. But all the original fairy tales have stuff like that. Eating of small children, chopping off of heads, you know, fun stuff.
March 1, 2017
it was amazing reading those stories 24 for 24 hours also I enjoyed the illustrations and the poems
it was different and simple, i cant believe that book is a classic even if it was children's book
it was different and simple, i cant believe that book is a classic even if it was children's book
December 24, 2018
Read-Aloud. Wonderful fairy tales.
March 5, 2018
A collection of 24 different fairy tales, each illustrated by Howard Pyle, each introduced with an illustrated poem by his wife, Katherine Pyle. Everything about this book is charming to me (a person who has struggled through Anderson's and Lang's fairy tales in the last year). The actual book, a library book chosen randomly off the shelf at my local library, seems to contain many details which might appeal to a child who has conquered post-modern disdain for anything not presented in moving picture form on a screen, also a child who doesn't let a lot of text discourage them, and who can look at black and white illustrations and enjoy them. So, yes, that is a lot to ask of today's child. But here are the benefits if such can be found. The stories move fast and the illustrations are five per tale. The subjects are varied. The narrator of the tales uses sly humor sparingly. I felt as though the events in these fairy tales made more sense, especially in their outcomes, than in others I had recently read. Although the stories have nothing of the modern in them (electricity, cars, obtaining hot food through drive-up windows, etc.), they touch on concepts which transcend time (love, loyalty, honesty, and attempting a quest which seems impossible simply because the opportunity has presented itself.)
April 2, 2019
In the days before I read Master Jacob (chapter 13) I had heard so many stories of this exact thing, that when the chapter opened with scheming people thinking to get power, wealth and whatever else by playing tricks on an honest man, and their mechanism was to agree to talk as though things that were quite true and obvious were completely different and utterly false, I couldn't believe my ears! To think that all my life, everyone who heard a fairy tale like this knew that this only happens in fairy tales. And now you can actually hear this same nonsense on Facebook all day long, or in the newspaper, or in the halls of government, or in the universities! Good grief, I'm living in fairy tales in real life! People really think they have grounds to believe they can get power and whatever else they want by starting in to say that things aren't what they are. And obviously we can see how they are succeeding--there are apparently many people in the world who fall for this. We need more Master Jacobs!
October 10, 2020
3 stars. I really enjoyed the quaint, old-fashioned style of this book. I was disappointed though to find almost 3/4 of the stories contain magic, even if it’s not out-and-out announced as magic. Some of the stories, however, were not magical and simply folktales or fables, so if you are so inclined you could very well skip the magical stories and only read the good stories—or perhaps tweak the stories where there’s very little magic.
A Favourite Quote: “‘Come, come,’ said the good woman, ‘here we are losing time that can never be handled again.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The princess of that town was as clever as she was pretty; that was saying a great deal, for she was the handsomest in the whole world. (‘Phew! but that is a fine lass for sure and certain,’ said the drummer.)”
A Favourite Quote: “‘Come, come,’ said the good woman, ‘here we are losing time that can never be handled again.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The princess of that town was as clever as she was pretty; that was saying a great deal, for she was the handsomest in the whole world. (‘Phew! but that is a fine lass for sure and certain,’ said the drummer.)”
February 9, 2024
24 short stories, much like fairy tales and folklore, and borrowing themes from mythology without precisely copying the plots - with a strong "Americana" flavoring from the late 19th century. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't more offensive material in here. There is some casual misogyny, one anti-Semitic reference, and I think Romani are referred to as "gypsies" at one point, but for the 1890s or so, it was pretty good. My kids enjoyed the stories, and we just had discussions to address the offensive stuff.
May 19, 2018
I enjoyed the singular style of this late 18th-Century work, and the author's personal twist in the creation of these 24 short-story folk tales. There was definitely some repetitiveness in the themes, but it fit the bill of taking me back in time and each story was enjoyable enough. The princess-turned-queen that could not admit the truth to wise woman Hildegard even at the price of her own children being abducted was one of the more striking ones.
July 8, 2020
Covert racism, overt anti-Semitism, and holy heck the misogyny! I get that this was written a long time ago, but when every other story lauds beating women into submission, the book loses much of its charm.
The writing style is fine, the illustrations are not subtle but drawn with talent, and I would argue that this isn't great for kids. Scholars of early children's literature may enjoy this, but I honestly found it an unpleasant read.
The writing style is fine, the illustrations are not subtle but drawn with talent, and I would argue that this isn't great for kids. Scholars of early children's literature may enjoy this, but I honestly found it an unpleasant read.
October 29, 2017
Completely charming, both the stories and the illustrations. In some ways this is an early example of a "mash-up," because Pyle borrows and re-combines story elements from many sources. Bright young readers and adults should enjoy the book equally. The stories are good for reading aloud, too; the droll repetitive patterns (many groups of three!) are very effective orally.
Read
February 24, 2020Though written in the 1880s, Pyle's writing has truly captured the essence of Medieval fairy tales. There are the usual three sons, the princesses, the evil witches, and even the obligatory anti-Semitic comment. The denouements are slightly mollified to make this book almost suitable for younger children. I'm keeping this one.
November 29, 2017
Loved this book immensely - from the library, need to own! My favorite thing was the brief poem preceding each chapter, describing the hour of the day. Many of the stories seemed to have similar plots or themes, but Pyle's witty way of saying things kept the tales fresh.
January 10, 2022
Wonderful stories, one for each hour of the day beginning at 1 a.m. and concluding at midnight, told in folklore style (and some may be folk tales), with excellent black and white drawings. Pyle's wife added a short poem at the beginning of each story, appropriate for the hour of the day.
July 14, 2017
Read aloud with the 9 year old
December 18, 2021
The illustrations and poems for each story really add a special touch.
Read
April 25, 2024A great bedtime read with the boys.
May 24, 2024
Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG8fk...
September 1, 2015
What I liked:
-I always feel a little guilty reading Grimm's Fairy Tales to my 1 year old - they are disturbing and frequently gruesome. This book felt like it settled nicely between Grimm's and Disney. There was some violence and strangeness characteristic of old fairy tales, but on the whole it was peaceful without the power-washed feeling of Disney stories.
-The book is FULL of fantastic expressions - idiomatic and otherwise. It was fun to read ones that are similar to expressions that we say today, as well as ones that no one would ever use now because life has changed so much.
-The narrator had a sort of chummy/conversational tone and made comments about the stories as they were being told.
What I didn't like:
-Nearly every female character in this book was a princess, a witch, or a bothersome/inconsequential wife.
-It took a LONG time to read this book to my child - partially because of her age (now that she is mobile and independent, I can't read to her against her will - darn). An older child might enjoy it more. It had few things that she is currently interested in.
Some expressions:
"He was as poor as charity soup"
"...knew no more of that than my grandfather's little dog"
"as good a wife as ever churned butter"
"in our town we do not make pudding without plums"
"as dead as stocks"
"as much alike as peas in the same dish"
"That is the small kernel to this great nut"
"Lost time was not to be gathered again like fallen apples"
"Many a one spills the milk-mug to save the water-jug"
"eyes as big as your mother's teacups"
"grinning as though cold weather were blowing snow in his teeth"
"If one never goes out for fear of rain one never catches fish"
-I always feel a little guilty reading Grimm's Fairy Tales to my 1 year old - they are disturbing and frequently gruesome. This book felt like it settled nicely between Grimm's and Disney. There was some violence and strangeness characteristic of old fairy tales, but on the whole it was peaceful without the power-washed feeling of Disney stories.
-The book is FULL of fantastic expressions - idiomatic and otherwise. It was fun to read ones that are similar to expressions that we say today, as well as ones that no one would ever use now because life has changed so much.
-The narrator had a sort of chummy/conversational tone and made comments about the stories as they were being told.
What I didn't like:
-Nearly every female character in this book was a princess, a witch, or a bothersome/inconsequential wife.
-It took a LONG time to read this book to my child - partially because of her age (now that she is mobile and independent, I can't read to her against her will - darn). An older child might enjoy it more. It had few things that she is currently interested in.
Some expressions:
"He was as poor as charity soup"
"...knew no more of that than my grandfather's little dog"
"as good a wife as ever churned butter"
"in our town we do not make pudding without plums"
"as dead as stocks"
"as much alike as peas in the same dish"
"That is the small kernel to this great nut"
"Lost time was not to be gathered again like fallen apples"
"Many a one spills the milk-mug to save the water-jug"
"eyes as big as your mother's teacups"
"grinning as though cold weather were blowing snow in his teeth"
"If one never goes out for fear of rain one never catches fish"
September 26, 2016
Another book picked up at the Delaware Art Museum, inspired by the illustrator's artwork. There is a story for each hour of the day; each is a fairy/folk style tale with line illustrations. The stories often seem to be variations on standard tales with echoes of Cinderella, Snow White, the giant with the goose that lays golden eggs, etc. Impossible tasks are achieved often with magical help; there are princesses to be rescued; princesses offered as rewards; wicked stepmothers and stepsisters; talking animals who have knowledge of magical and hidden things; giants, trolls, witches; people who have been enchanted into animal form; and a fair share of morals. There is often a very clever outsmarting of brutish giants and greedy people.
This is an old fashioned narrative. You can almost imagine Pyle sitting before a fire and making up stories using bits and pieces of others. Often he will write "this and that" or "thus and so" rather than actually describe actions or words said. One intriguing exclamation is "Hui" and there are frequent references to Tommy Pfouce with no explanation of who that is.
This is an old fashioned narrative. You can almost imagine Pyle sitting before a fire and making up stories using bits and pieces of others. Often he will write "this and that" or "thus and so" rather than actually describe actions or words said. One intriguing exclamation is "Hui" and there are frequent references to Tommy Pfouce with no explanation of who that is.
January 29, 2013
I really didn't care for this collection. Most of the tales were similar in major ways, none of them had satisfying messages or conclusions, and they seemed oddly long and complex. The few exceptions for me were How Boots Befooled the King, The Swan Maiden, the Step Mother, and the Princess with the Golden Hair and the Great black Raven. Even with these, I think I could find better versions. I did like the way the collection was set up as a wonder-clock with a story for each hour, and the illustrations were detailed and interesting in a way (although the women and men are virtually identical as per classical styles).
August 31, 2020
I'll admit, the twenty four stories weren't always the best, and many were diminished by their similarity to some of the other stories in this book. Even so, I enjoyed how imaginative they were and that they all seemed to contain truths about human nature.
The primary reason for my rating is that The Wonder Clock is from an era when books were beautiful. Each story opened with a poem surrounded by artwork. The stories themselves all had a title illustration, a decorated initial letter, and a few illustrations throughout. It was a joy to thumb through at the table while sipping a cup of tea before bed.
The primary reason for my rating is that The Wonder Clock is from an era when books were beautiful. Each story opened with a poem surrounded by artwork. The stories themselves all had a title illustration, a decorated initial letter, and a few illustrations throughout. It was a joy to thumb through at the table while sipping a cup of tea before bed.
May 27, 2014
I read this aloud to the boys at night. They liked a lot of the stories, though I had to omit some parts and grin and bear through others, with its insistent sexism. This went beyond women playing no roles aside from witches or princesses--objects to be used by the male protagonist either way; often the stories downright called for women to be beaten into submission. The three stars I give this book represent that there was more to it than the sexism, of course. Classic fairy tale tropes that captured the boys' imagination and sometimes made them laugh out loud.
August 6, 2013
Thanks to this book I fell in love with the idea of traveling to the ends of the earth - where, invariably the person with magical powers lives. No wonder kids are fascinated by fairy tales. Imagine actually reaching the end of something as infinitely vast as the world!!!
July 3, 2014
A generally enjoyable read. Pyle keeps the stories short and each has a familiarity about it that our boys seemed to appreciate. Regular themes included the last being first, the materially poor being rich in soul, and how acts of kindness and charity regularly come back when unsought.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews