a new edition of grimms' fairy tales from publisher little gestalten!

Do your kids read fairy tales?  Albert Einstein once said,

"If you want your kids to be intelligent, read them fairy tales."

I have a weakness for beautiful collections of Grimms' fairy tales, so when publishers Little Gestalten sent me a copy of their latest edition of the beloved stories, I jumped at the chance to take a peek. 

This collection contains twenty stories by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm along with some of the most fun and interesting illustrations that I've seen in a while.  I have a lot of Grimm books, and each of them offer a different take on the same stories.  I have a few that have more cartoonish pictures and gentler plot lines geared more towards younger readers.  I have a few that are more like history text books going into deep detail about the Grimm brothers' writing process and what was going on in Germany at the time. 

Two things set this edition apart from the others:

1. The illustrations!  Each of the twenty stories is illustrated by a different artist, so there is so much variety from page to page.  Some stories have a very modern, graphic feel.  Some stories are an old world painting feel.  My favorite pictures are in the Little Red Cap story.  They are like 1970s pop graphics in red and white.

2. The choice to feature well-known stories that we all love like Cinderella and Hansel and Grethel as well as less familiar ones like Hans in Luck and Godfather Death. This is an edition that a wide range of ages can enjoy.  My younger son likes to read Little Red Cap and The Frog King, and other stories are geared more towards my older son. 

This is a great edition to any bookshelf!  Go check it out.

a collector's edition: The Annotated Brothers Grimm edited by Maria Tatar

"This is the book I wanted as a child and didn't have, the book I'd have like both to give to my children and to keep for myself, the book I shall give my grandchildren" - A.S. Byatt, from the introduction to The Annotated Brothers Grimm 

My ancestry is part German, and I have always loved the classic fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers.  So much so that I have a collection of different editions of their work, and I treasure them!  This is one of my favorites - The Bicentennial Edition Annotated Brothers Grimm edited by Maria Tatar.  The cover has this beautiful gold leaf work on it, and the inside is filled with over 200 illustrations as well as tons of interesting notes about the history of over 50 stories we all know and love like Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, The Frog Kind, and so many more.  

The would be an awesome gift for the fairy tale lover in your life.  Something to note: this book is part story book and part text book, and while I think the stories and illustrations could entertain every age, I do think this edition would be more successful with older children and adults who could appreciate the historical notes and original manuscript.  Also something to note: these stories were written a long, long time ago.  Not everything that was socially acceptable in the 1700s is acceptable today.  To be frank, there is a story that we skipped over called Furrypelts where a king doesn't want to find a wife outside of his family and so he marries his own daughter creating a situation that the daughter must try and escape and creating an uncomfortable situation during story time.  This is always something to be aware of whenever you find a really cute vintage book in a thrift shop or want to go back and read classic children's lit written during a different era.  The views of what is appropriate during that time might clash with what we find appropriate today, so maybe pre-screen if you have any doubts!   For younger readers who want some fairy tale fun, I recommend the edition by Usborne that you see below.  It's perfect for preschooler and early elementary school kids.

Usborne Illustrated Grimm's Fairy Tales

By Ruth Brocklehurst, Gillian Doherty

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roald dahl + poetry = fun!

How do I love Roald Dahl?  Let me count the ways.  We have read all of his marvelous works, but I have to confess, that this book of his poems is new to us.  I was so happy to find that Dahl's poems have the same quirky wit and absurd humor that we find in his novels!  Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl takes classic fairy tales and turns them on their head resulting in some stories with surprise endings and crazy twists.  Fairy tales featured are: Cinderella, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Snow White, Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Three LIttle Pigs. 

I take my job as your book-picker seriously, and I personally appreciate when someone gives me a heads up when a book features sensitive subjects.  I have full confidence that this would be a laugh riot read for readers third grade and up, but just a little warning:  If you are familiar with Dahl's short stories for adults, you know that he can sometimes have a darker sense of humor.  While this book of fairy tale poems is no where near as dark as his adult works, just know that there is a good bit of cartoon violence.  Cinderella's prince chops off the evil step sisters' heads, for example.  Also, in the Cinderella story, a word that we definitely don't us in our house is used - "slut". It is said by a bad guy, and sometimes we read stories where bad guys use bad words.  Possibly not a big deal, but it did surprise me the first time I saw it.  Well, glad that's out of the way . .. . . 

If you collect Roald Dahl books the way I do, Revolting Rhymes is a must for your collection!  It even features pictures by the classic and beloved illustrator who does all of Dahl's work, Quentin Blake.  

Have a great day and take time to read a good book!