Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know
Written and edited by Hamilton Wright Mabie
This collection of fairy tales consists of many from collections familiar to readers like Grimm, Arabian Knights, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault. Some are less familiar such as The Light Princess from George MacDonald.
There are no illustrations in the collection. Certainly some of these tales will inspire the reader to visualize many terrifying characters that might defy illustrations. In any case, I would not recommend them to young children because there is a great deal of violence and some morbidity. The language of these tales is not always twenty-first century and many prejudicial attitudes are displayed within. There is no formal table of contents: the reader must go to the chapter headings to find the name of the tale. Readers will be familiar with many of these, The Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, Tom Thumb, and Hansel and Gretel. Allow me to preview two of those less well-known.
In One Eye Two Eyes, Three Eyes we meet a woman who has three daughters. The daughter who had two eyes was shunned because she looked too much like ordinary people. She was treated much like Cinderella by her mother and sisters. But one day she meets a woman who gives her a magical phrase to say to her goat every time she is hungry, “Little goat, if you’re able, Pray deck out my table.” So from that day on, Two Eyes never went hungry and her family became very jealous. When they find out her secret, they kill the goat. Two Eyes retrieves the goat’s insides and buries it in front of the house. It produces a tree with leaves of silver and apples of gold that only Two Eyes is able to retrieve. Will there be a happily ever after ending?
The Light Princess tells of a king and queen who are childless for a long time. When a long-awaited daughter is born, the king forgets to invite his sister, Princess Makemnoit, who happens to be a spiteful witch. She appears at the palace without invitation and puts a “light” spell on the princess. This spell deprives the child of all her gravity. The baby floats up and down and has to closely watched. As the child grows, the child develops a love of water and swims in the lake for hours on end. The princess has no sense of balance. The King’s Council of Metaphysians urge her to become knowledgeable of all earthly sciences like history and geology. One day a prince comes along who is determined to woo her. Will he be victorious or will the Aunt’s spell continue to plague her?
The tales are entertaining, if sometimes dark and unsettling. Reading them provides a fascinating base for discussion of similarities, differences and themes in this genre. If you like fairy tales, you will be intrigued by a study of this collection. Be forewarned that these stories are not for the feint-hearted reader. In general I would recommend for children ages ten and above or a reading of selections chosen by adults for younger children.
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10 responses to “FAIRY TALE FIESTA”
kathyree
October 1st, 2014 at 23:08
This sounds fascinating.
stanleyandkatrina
October 3rd, 2014 at 02:58
Great post, especially with all of the warnings. 🙂 Thanks for sharing it on the #KidLitBlogHop, Barbara! Have a paw-riffic rest of the week!
LovableLobo
October 3rd, 2014 at 15:12
I find it so interesting how unsettling so many of the old fairy tales seemed to be. Great review of a worthy read, Barbara.
bamauthor
October 4th, 2014 at 01:57
Had a bad day…fourteen hours without internet, but things are back to normal! Looking forward to a great working weekend. You fine pets stay out of the mud this weekend!
bamauthor
October 4th, 2014 at 01:58
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the review. I think the dark side of these tales reflect the times in which they were written.
Stacie Theis
October 6th, 2014 at 16:47
I love that you said the book is “not for the feint-hearted reader.” I read a book very similar to this and those were the words I used as well! Thanks for sharing this book and your thoughts on the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
Pragmatic Mom
October 8th, 2014 at 02:32
I like the idea of fairy tales without illustrations so it’s less scary! And I agree with you that all kids should know about fairy tales. Thanks for introducing this book to me at the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
bamauthor
October 8th, 2014 at 11:58
Thanks for stopping by and yes, some of these would definitely be too scary for kids if they were illustrated.
Renee @ Mother Daughter Book Reviews
October 14th, 2014 at 14:22
I totally agree that every child should have a collection of fairy tales. The stories really are timeless and the messages underlying them will always be relevant. My kids have a book like this one. In fact, we have a short collection of the Grimm Fairy Tales (the less brutal ones). I have read the original Grimm Fairy Tales and most of the time, my jaw was on the floor! lol Thanks for joining us in the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
bamauthor
October 14th, 2014 at 18:32
I love joining the hop. The best stories are timeless; life is not always so rosy so I guess that is why they need to have a more realistic, darker side