What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
This topic is about
European Fairy Tales
SOLVED: Children's/YA
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SOLVED. Fairy-tale collection from 1970s or earlier? [s]
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I've never heard of that fairy-tale before. Do you know if the others in the collection were more well-known, or also less common. Was the book illustrated?
It was definitely not illustrated. Some of the others were better known, but I'm not sure if all of them were. It wasn't one of the Fairy Books by Andrew Lang. It was a large, off-white (or white) hardcover, with gold letters on the spine.
Do you mean moons or months? The standard tale is 12 months helping the girl.
It was called "The Twelve Moons," but the moons really were months.
Okay. I have some old fairy tale books from the 70s, I give them a look.
I found a translated collection of Czech fairy tales that could be it. It's not on Goodreads, but it's called "The Wise Jeweler and Other Tales from Czechoslovakia"Here's the Worldcat link: http://www.worldcat.org/title/wise-je...
I found an article online about the fairy tale collection, noting that the translator opted to use "months" instead of moons (in Czech they are the same word)
I'm pretty sure that wasn't that title, but thanks so much for checking! From what I can remember, it had some sort of anthology-type title.I just looked up "Fairy Tales from Many Lands," but that isn't it, either (although I read that one, too).
I think the heroine's name of "The Twelve Moons" might have been Marina.
I read this story in a collection of Russian fairy tales, although mine was printed much later to be it.
I have the story, at least the months version, but nothing matches your description of the book.
Alas. It wasn't specific Russian fairy tales, either. I know there were several others. Maybe I just need to spend some in used bookstores. Thanks for checking, everyone!
I remember that story. But it was definitely 12 months not moons. They were all male, the girl's name was Marushka and she had just the one stepsister not two. I actually have a collection of fairy tales that includes this story. Did yours have watercolor illustrations that were sharp in some places and gently blurred in others? I had a teacher that taught us to paint with watercolors on dampened paper so that it created the same effect. That's one reason I remember this book so clearly. I won my copy of the book in 1973 as part of a contest win (the date is on the inside; that's another reason my memory is so clear).
I don't remember the illustrations, but that doesn't mean there weren't any. Do you remember the title of the collection? (crosses fingers)
Congratulations on winning the competition. That's very cool.
I don't remember the title offhand. But it's still in my library. I'll look it up when I get home. Hopefully, I'll remember to give you the information tomorrow. (I apologize for the delay.)
Oh, no, no worries! Thank you so much. I've been wondering about this book for YEARS.
I found it! It took a lot of searching. I had it stored between two crates along with the other book I won in the contest. (I actually won them in 1977 instead of 1973. So much for the accuracy of memory.) The anthology is European Fairy Tales compiled by Dagmar Sekorová and translated into English. It was illustrated by Mirko Hanák and originally published in 1971. The story is “The Twelve Months”. The heroine is Maruska (pronounced “Marushka”). Her stepsister is called Holena. Maruska was sent into the snow in January to find violets, strawberries and apples. Is this your book?
This looks very promising! I'll see if I can track down a copy somewhere. I will report back in a day or two. Thank you so much for looking!
Lsophia wrote: "This looks very promising! I'll see if I can track down a copy somewhere. I will report back in a day or two. Thank you so much for looking!"
You're welcome. I'm happy to help.
Now that I'm looking at your original description, I'm wondering if my book is the one you want. The cover isn't white. It's dark blue but does have the gold lettering on the spine. It is also definitely illustrated; all the stories in my book are.
My book lost the dust jacket years ago due to wear and tear. But you can see it if you click on the title in my post from March 4th.
I do recall getting another copy of the book by accident. I'm desperately trying to reduce the number of books in my apartment and I let the second one go. It was in better shape than the one I won. But the first book has deep sentimental value for me (being one of the very first books I ever won) and so it was no trouble to get rid of the second copy. I seem to recall that the second copy did have a white cover as opposed to the blue cover on mine (it might have been a different edition) but it also possessed the color illustrations.
This is really exciting. I'm really hoping this is your book. It's always a thrill to help people track down a search item.
Hello. Are you still looking for this book?
I've read this fairy tale but it was online while looking for another fairy tale for someone in this group. Strange how these things go round....
Hi Marsha:Yes, I am, but it's kind of my fault, because I haven't had time to do my usual used bookstore crawl lately.
One of our regional library chains has it, but I don't think they'll let me put it on hold. I should ask.
Lsophia wrote: "Hi Marsha:Yes, I am, but it's kind of my fault, because I haven't had time to do my usual used bookstore crawl lately.
One of our regional library chains has it, but I don't think they'll let m..."
Hello again. It's been over a month. Did you ever get hold of this book? It would be great if we could put this thread in the SOLVED section.
I didn't, but it's apparently very rare. I think you can mark it as Solved or Probably Solved, though, because both the time frame and story are right. Thanks!
Lsophia wrote: "I didn't, but it's apparently very rare. I think you can mark it as Solved or Probably Solved, though, because both the time frame and story are right. Thanks!"If you're a member of bookcrossing.com, you can search for this book and see if anyone has it marked as "available" on their shelf. That way you can make a request for it and they can mail it to you. If you're not a member, becoming one is easy and free.
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Thank you so much for the reminder! I just discovered that a local library has it, so I put it in hold and should get it in a few days! Fingers crossed that it's the right book!
hi there are some copies available on Ebay I searched for 1971, European Fairy Tales,
Melissa wrote: "hi there are some copies available on Ebay I searched for 1971, European Fairy Tales,"Did you get it? Hopefully it's the right one!
I did get it! It isn't the one I remember, but the story is in there. I think we can mark this as solved, for all intents and purposes, although I still plan to keep an eye out for the larger collection.
Yay, glad you found your story! Hopefully now you can find the exact edition of the collection now that you have more info. Good luck! -Laina
I'm not sure when this book was published - it was my sister's before mine, and probably another family member's before her, so I think it had to be from the 1970's or earlier.