The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393051633 ISBN 13: 9780393051636

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

Not since Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment has there been such an illuminating contribution to the world of children's fairy tales.

The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales is a remarkable treasure trove, a work that celebrates the best-loved tales of childhood and presents them through the vision of Maria Tatar, a leading authority in the field of folklore and children's literature. Into the woods with Little Red Riding Hood, up the beanstalk with Jack, and down through the depths of the ocean with the Little Mermaid, this volume takes us through many of the familiar paths of our folkloric heritage. Gathering together twenty-five of our most cherished fairy tales, including enduring classics like "Beauty and the Beast," "Jack and the Beanstalk," " ," and "Bluebead," Tatar expertly guides readers through the stories, exploring their historical origins, their cultural complexities, and their psychological effects. Offering new translations of the non-English stories by the likes of Hans Christian Andersen, Brothers Grimm, or Charles Perrault, Tatar captures the rhythms of oral storytelling and, with an extraordinary collection of over 300 often rare, mostly four-color paintings and drawings by celebrated illustrators such as Gustave Doré, George Cruikshank, and Maxfield Parrish, she expands our literary and visual sensibilities. As Tatar shows, few of us are aware of how profoundly fairy tales have influenced our culture. Disseminated across a wide variety of historical and contemporary media ranging from opera and drama to cinema and advertising, they constitute a vital part of our storytelling capital. What has kept them alive over the centuries is exactly what keeps life pulsing with vitality and variety: anxieties, fears, desires, romance, passion, and love. Up close and personal, fairy tales tell us about the quest for romance and riches, for power and privilege, and, most importantly, they show us a way out of the woods back to the safety and security of home. Challenging the notion that fairy tales should be read for their moral values and used to make good citizens of little children, Tatar demonstrates throughout how fairy tales can be seen as models for navigating reality, helping children to develop the wit and courage needed to survive in a world ruled by adults. This volume seeks to reclaim this powerful cultural legacy, presenting the stories that we all think we know while at the same time providing the historical contexts that unlock the mysteries of the tales. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales is a volume that will rank as one of the finest fairy tale collections in many decades, a provocative and original work to be treasured by students, parents, and children. Over 300 often rare, mostly four-color paintings and drawings by celebrated illustrators

About this title

About the Author

Maria Tatar is the John L. Loeb Research Professor and a Senior Fellow at Harvard University. The editor of the Norton Critical Edition of The Classic Fairy Tales and The Annotated Brothers Grimm, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Adult/High School-The level of content, commentary, and art in this beautifully designed volume will confound anyone who contends that fairy tales are "just for kids." Tatar presents fresh and appealing translations of 26 traditional stories (primarily European), accompanied by engrossing annotations placed attractively in the wide margins of the large-sized pages. In clear, accessible prose, she links the tales to their original oral traditions and cultural contexts, and discusses the varied interpretations imposed by critics over time and across philosophical and psychological perspectives. Hundreds of high-quality, color reproductions of period illustrations illuminate and enhance Tatar's cogent remarks about the power of illustrators to influence and comment on a story through visual interpretation. The supplemental sections are as fascinating as the main material: biographies of authors, collectors, and illustrators; variant texts of "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Three Bears"; the illustrations of Walter Crane and George Cruikshank; and an extensive bibliography. This book offers multiple pleasures for browsing, pondering, and sharing, and is as good a source for reading aloud as for research.
Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The commentary is as fascinating as the stories and art in this large-size collection of 26 classic, mainly European, fairy tales, which have been newly translated in an immediate colloquial style. "Spare me your blubbering!" the witch tells Gretel. "Do I have to go as I am, in these shabby clothes?" Cinderella asks her fairy godmother. True to the oral tradition, each lively tale is perfect for reading aloud; but in addition, Harvard professor Tatar brings folklore scholarship to the general reader with annotations right there in the margins of the spacious pages. She talks about historical context, psychology, feminism, cultural variations, and more. She also includes more than 300 color illustrations by classic artists and discusses how they extend the stories. Far from any therapeutic approach, in Tatar's view, fairy tales say that life is hard and the pleasure is in defeating those "giant stepmothers, ogres, monsters, and trolls also known as grownups." With a lengthy bibliography and biographies of authors, artists, and collectors, this is for folklore collections as well as for storytellers in the library and at home. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The publisher, which has had great success with its series of annotated children's books (e.g., Alice in Wonderland, Huckleberry Finn), takes on all the great fairy tales.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393051633
• ISBN 13: 9780393051636
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 445
• Editor: Tatar Maria