Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folk Tales for Mothers and Daughters to Share

by Jane Yolen (Editor/Introduction), Heidi E.Y. Stemple

In this collection of forty folktales from the well-known "Snow White" (Germany) and "Cinderella" (France) to the lesser known "Mirabella" (Portugal) and tales from Sudan, Palestine, Africa, China, and Italy, Mirror, Mirror pays tribute to every kind of mother/daughter story. We meet strong mothers, obsessive mothers, doting mothers, and the quintessential wicked stepmothers. Complete with a personal commentary from Yolen and Stemple that accompanies each group of tales, Mirror, Mirror is well-suited for mother/daughter reading groups.

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Folk Tales, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

258 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2000

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Angie Fehl · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's nice that Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi brought all these fairytales from around the world together in one book, and I like the idea of sharing their modern-day impressions after each story... but I ended up finding the commentary largely obnoxious. I found myself especially annoyed with Heidi's take on Beauty and the Beast:

"I've long held that the story of Beauty and the Beast teaches our daughters exactly how to become battered wives. Its message -- to me --- states clearly that no matter how beastly and cruel the monster you live with is, somewhere there is a prince hidden, and if you just love him enough during his 'nice' periods, the prince will appear. Not the message I'm trying to convey to my girls."

WOW. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite stories so clearly THAT wasn't my takeaway from the story. I always read it as true love reaching through one's walls, bringing down the defenses, finding something worth fighting for just when you thought you lost faith in the world. Heidi's commentary in general just came off way too salty to me.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a great respect for Yolen's work and this collection of fairy tales is fabulous. That being said, I'm not sure how I feel about the "conversation" at the end of each section of the book. I feel like some of the conversation is a stretch and not entirely related to the stories.... And some of it rather cynical.....

5 stars for the lovely collection of stories
1 star for the awful "conversation" bits at the end of each section.
Averages out to 3 stars.

[Doria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read - as a Storyteller, a folklorist, a mother, and a daughter. The format of the book engaged all of these facets, and I like how the chapters are divided up, making it possible to read portions and snippets and then ponder and digest a little before moving on. The selection of tales itself is varied and interesting, certainly plenty thought-provoking on their own. But the literal conversation which the stories engender between Yolen and Stemple is lively and fascinating and broadly well-informed, adding a whole deeper dimension to our reading of the stories in question.

Each of them brings their unique life experience and considerable professional expertise - as mother, daughter, writer, world citizen - into play. And then their is the interplay - the repartee - between mother and daughter, which is in itself fascinating to watch/read. Highly recommended for mothers, daughters, writers, folklorists, storytellers, and citizens of the world.

[Debra Benton · Rating 1 out of 5]

First book our Book Club read and it was very odd. Interesting that a mother and daughter wrote it together. The idea was to share the "true" or original fairy tale with some commentary by the duo. I would not recommend this book.

[Humay Majid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was like to engage in a conversation with your two friends. Introduced me to the new folktales from various countries and also completely changed my thoughts on some fairy-tales. Nice concept and interesting reading.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome collection of Folktales.

[Bitsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genre of fairy tales has been tamed over the years to the point where they are just considered innocent stories for children and nothing more. Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Stemple bring back those fairy tales and look at the originals and variants from all over the world that show that these stories are many things, but they are not for small children. In Mirror, Mirror mother and daughter take a look at the fairy tales that shaped the past of motherhood and the relationships between mothers and daughters and discuss them in light of modern day motherhood and mother/daughter relationships. They discuss everything from abuse to abandonment, coming of age to marriage, rage and love, sex and death. A great book for mothers and daughters to read together to look at their relationships through the “mirror” of the past and to get women talking about each other, their relationship and themselves.

This book is made up of a selection of fairy tales under a certain theme (fiction), followed by a discussion between mother and daughter about the implications of the stories both in the past and today (non-fiction). The later ended up being the real meat of the book, even if the fiction made up the greater amount of pages.

The stories spanned everything from discussions of sex in fairy tales whether on the part of the mother, the daughter, or even once the grandmother, to the different types of girls (and daughters) whether good or bad, caring or abandoning. It also covered the different roles of the mother, whether caring or despising, envious or prideful of their daughters, whether they were biological, step, in-law or foster mother. They discussed all of the main heroines of women's fairy tales and the ways we view ourselves through them whether mother or daughter: Cinderella, Snow White, Persephone, Rapunzel. And, of course, they discussed all of the mixed messages fairy tales can bring.

It was very interesting reading about the tales through the viewpoint of this particular mother and daughter: Jane Yolen gave the view point of the Baby Boomer generation, while Heidi Stemple brought in Generation X. They both talked of their mothers - whether biological, in-law or foster - and discussed their experiences raising daughters, Heidi is currently raising a teenage foster daughter, plus a toddler biological one. They talked about the fairy tales in relation to their own lives and each others, holding up these mirrors to compare and to discuss all the different aspects of womanhood and motherhood. They used the tales as a vehicle to open a dialogue on some typically tough topics of discussion - whether those be premarital sex, old age and death, partner abuse (whether physical or emotional), drugs and growing up in an ever changing America for women.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely a fascinating concept. This is, essentially, a collection of fairy tales from all over the world that deal with mother/daughter issues in some way. The stories are divided up into chapters by theme (for example, "Cinderella," "Good girls/Bad girls," "Really Good Mothers," "Sex and....") The first part of each chapter contains the stories themselves. Then the second part of the chapter is a dialogue about those stories between mother (Jane Yolen) and daughter (Heidi Stemple), both of whom are authors. I enjoyed both the exposure to new stories and some fresh insights into old ones. This was definitely a great used bookstore find!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mirror,Mirror is a really lovely book. It's 40 fairy tales and folktales, some familiar and some not so much. What really made this book special were the commentaries between Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi E.Y. Stemple. They brought a richness to the stories by adding their knowledge of being a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother. My daughter gave this book to me for my birthday so that we might share it and perhaps have our own conversations on topics that were touched upon in the book, such as aging, jealousy, being overprotective or overbearing. I loved this book and when my daughter has finished reading it, we will pass it on to other mothers/daughters to share.

[Marci Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collection of tales of relationships between mother and daughter is timely, since I'm dealing with exploring my relationship to my own new daughter. The interactions between the mother and daughter authors was charming in places, intrusive in others, insightful in places, and boring in others. I think my annotated fairy tales provided more insight, but the range of tales is wonderful. There are various duplicates of the same tales from different cultures as well as different tales I'd never heard of.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of these I never heard before. At the end of each section the authors have a discussion about the stories that were told. When I was a kid I never really thought about how some of these stories projected the ideas that the authors discussed. I guess it gives me a new look in what fairy tales are saying.

[Chere · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of folktales about mothers and daughters! What makes the book even more wonderful for me are the conversations between Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi E.Y. Stemple. They discuss the messages of the tales and apply them in real life. It is especially interesting to observe the relationship between the two editors and the difference between generations.

[Bonnie Tesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two pages into the introduction, I thought, "I need to set this down and go buy a copy for each of the women in my family." Halfway through the book, I thought, "I'm not sure I actually want to finish this." By the end I was closer to the first opinion--my mother should indeed read this. And it was good for me to read it too.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that should be read in small doses. It is excellent, but I needed time to think through the folk tales and then Jane and Heidi's conversations. Might be a great way to talk to your daughter - or mother

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection. Most of the stories I was familiar with, but Yolen and Stemple added some incredible tales from around the world as well.