American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories - Hardcover

Philp, Neil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786802073 ISBN 13: 9780786802074

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1996

Synopsis

Includes works and discussion of Washington Irving, Horace E. Scudder, M.S.B., Frank Stockton, Howard Pyle, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum, Laura E. Richards, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Will Bradley, Carl Sandburg, and Neil Philip

About this title

From AudioFile

A collection of American tales for adolescents, adults and all serious students of children's literature, this medley of stories progresses chronologically across a century, from Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" to Carl Sandburg's "How They Broke Away to Go to the Rootabaga Country." From the maleficent witch, Mother Rigby, in Hawthorne's "Feathertop" to the ethereal fairy in "The Lad and Luck's House," the characters in each story are made individuals by Taylor Mali. Appealing musical interludes are employed to separate the dramatically rendered stories from the subsequent commentary. However, the lengthy introduction, read by Professor Alison Lurie, and the ponderous afterword, combined with the discussions of each story and its place in children's literature, will appeal primarily to the mature listener rather than to children. T.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-An impressive collection of 12 stories representing the development of the American fairy tale from 1819 to 1922. Leaving behind the gloomy atmosphere and more formal language of their European counterparts, these literary selections reflect the landscape, egalitarian philosophy, and forward-looking optimism of America. Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" is firmly placed in the Kaatskill Mountains, while Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Feathertop" is filled with New England superstitions. The contentment of ordinary life is emphasized in Horace E. Scudder's "The Rich Man's Place" and Laura E. Richards's "The Golden Windows." The heroine of Louisa May Alcott's "Rosy's Journey" is solidly self-reliant, and the protagonists in Howard Pyle's "The Apple of Contentment" and Ruth Plumly Thompson's "The Princess Who Could Not Dance" are cheerful and independent. L. Frank Baum's "The Glass Dog" and Carl Sandburg's "How They Broke Away to Go to the Rootabaga Country" portray inventiveness and the pioneer spirit. Sandburg's tale, as well as M.S.B.'s "What They Did Not Do on the Birthday of Jacob Abbott B., Familiarly Called Snibbuggledyboozledom," employ a unique American idiom with their zany words and phrases. Independent readers may find the archaic writing of some of these selections difficult to deal with; others are quite readable. Each story is introduced by information about the author; sources are included. McCurdy's skillfully executed black-and-white woodcuts, both full-page scenes and vignettes, illustrate each tale. This volume provides a rich read-aloud for families who like quality literature, and will also be of interest to children's-literature students and folklorists.
Judith L. Miller, formerly at Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, IN
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0786802073
• ISBN 13: 9780786802074
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160