Classic Fairy Tales

Helen Cresswell

ISBN 10: 0307175030 ISBN 13: 9780307175038

Publisher: Golden Books, 1994

Synopsis

A collection featuring such tales as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "Cinderella," "Rapunzel," "Snow-White and Rose-Red," and "Hansel and Gretel"

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2-A collection of nine well-known tales, including "Sleeping Beauty," "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," and "Hansel and Gretel." Unfortunately, Cresswell doesn't do them justice. The retellings are awkward, overwritten, and unsuitable for reading aloud. Cinderella "patiently worked and shivered and half-starved without saying a single word of complaint to anyone." Some of the stories have been sanitized or include unfamiliar elements. Readers won't find a helpful woodsman and his trusty ax rescuing this Little Red Riding Hood. Here, a fairy, disguised as a wasp and aided by the Green Archer, does in the Big Bad Wolf. The flower-laden illustrations range from too sweet to downright saccharine. All of the maidens resemble one another-Cinderella looks like Goldilock's big sister. All in all, this effort lacks the punch and vitality of well-written folklore, and emphasizes the sentimental idealism of "once upon a time" and "they lived happily ever after." Considering the many high-quality collections available, this one won't be missed.
Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

In well-crafted retellings, Cresswell streamlines nine traditional favorites, omitting some repetitions (Cinderella goes to just one ball), restructuring to create different storytelling cadences (Goldilocks eats the porridge after the chair breaks), and toning down the violence (the Frog Prince isn't thrown at the wall; the wolf eats neither Grandmother nor Red Riding Hood, though he's killed with an arrow). Commendably, she treats both the stories and the sensibilities of little listeners without condescension. Each tale is given a full-page illustration plus appealingly scattered decorative spots (blossoms, a bag of gold, Snow-white and Rose-red's bear cuddled up with a lamb, Rapunzel's tower). Lawson's work with ornamental plates and figurines is apparent in the delicate precision of her paintings and the rather static and doll-like characters: Hansel and Gretel are too demure to elicit much sympathy. Still, the deft adaptations make good introductions to the familiar stories while the romantic art is sure to attract an adult seeking a gift book. (Folklore. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Golden Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0307175030
• ISBN 13: 9780307175038
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 62
• Illustrator: Carol Lawson