Classic Fairy Tales

by Scott Gustafson

This exquisitely illustrated, large format gift book features ten of the most enduring fairy tales of all time. The stories, chosen and edited by the artist, are a balance of 'princess' classics and frolicking adventure tales.

Artist Scott Gustafson spent more than four years creating the seventy-five rich oil paintings, reproduced here in full color. His style is reminiscent of N.C. Wyeth and Wyeth;s gifted student Jessie Wilcox Smith (plus a touch of Arthur Rackham in the fairies). The rounded-face, glowing children and charming interiors contribute to Gustafson?s unique and contemporary style, which will capture the hearts of even the most hard-boiled media-savvy child.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Classics, Fantasy, Kids, Art

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Scott Gustafson has had the opportunity to illustrate a number of archetypal children’s books such as Peter Pan, Nutcracker, Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose, and Classic Fairy Tales, the last two titles published by Artisan. In 2011, he tried his hand at writing and illustrating, and his first novel, Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe, was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children.

Scott's latest title, Classic Bedtime Stories, is published by Artisan.

In addition, Scott has worked on film projects for DreamWorks and PDI and has created character designs for the animated TV show, "Chugginton."

His illustrations also appear in limited-edition prints published by The Greenwich Workshop and on collector plates, greeting cards, and gift wrap.

Reviews

[Mischenko]

It’s been such an absolute joy sharing this book with my 6-year-old daughter. What a gift to hear her ask, “Mom, can we read another fairy tale?” This book is absolutely gorgeous—sharing beautiful illustrations along with ten, best-loved fairy tales. Some of our favorites include Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella.

We’ve purchased many fairy tale anthologies over the years, but these books illustrated by Scott Gustafson are truly the crème de la crème. He is one of our favorite illustrators of all time, and these paintings really are what makes this book such a gem. Don’t get me wrong; the tales are great too, but it’s the enchanting illustrations that truly captivate, outclassing the other books we own.

This book belongs on every child’s bookshelf. My only wish is that we had found it sooner. We ended up purchasing two other volumes of children’s literature to make a set—all over-sized, including illustrations by Scott Gustafson and others. Hopefully the second volume of fairy tales will be released in hardcover.

5-stars

[Antigone]

This is an over-sized children's book containing ten fairy tales that have been edited to the bone. Past the bone, in fact. As a consequence, the work has lost its "moral of the story" thrust - which is the reason we relay fairy tales in the first place. Gustafson is an illustrator by trade, and has chosen to set his art above his material. The art is lovely. The artist is quite skilled. But these aren't fairy tales anymore. Now they're a collection of pretty pictures.

[Marquise]

The first volume of Classic Fairy Tales contains five fairy tales: Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, The Frog Prince, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella. I love Gustafson's painterly style and that he gets inspired by the old masters of illustration for his scenes. The illustrations for Snow and Rumple were my favourites.

[Luisa Knight]

Positively gorgeous illustrations! Each page is a sight to behold. Your children will have plenty of imagery to take in as they hear these classic tales.

Each story is roughly 12 - 18 pages long and would take about 10 minutes to read, making this a nice bedtime option.

Ages: 6 - 10

Cleanliness: "Heck", "oh heavens", and "oh, good heavens" are said. Witchcraft in particular is mentioned and there is a picture of a witch with skulls, a brewing pot and potions. People are called "fools" a few times. Tobacco and snuff are mentioned.

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So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!

[VICTORIA]

Para niños. Son cuentos clásicos de toda la vida pero merece la pena solo por las ilustraciones. Son preciosas, con miles de detalles en cada página y un aire vintage encantador.

[ShepherdsDelight]

80/100 (= 4.5/6) ≈ 4 Stars

[Jessica Perteet]

I read this over the summer as part of our fairytale summer. We did themed snacks for some of the weeks and watched as many fairytale movies as we could. I also had the opportunity to take the girls to see Beauty and the Beast at the theatre and the library as a marionette show. Good memories!

[Jessica Kirsch]

This is hands-down the most beautiful fairy tale anthology I've ever read! The stories are simple and classic, exactly as they should be, without any "clever" twists or updates. But the illustrations are stunning. My children are 14, 11, 9, and 6, and each one looked at the pictures over my shoulder! I had thought my family was getting too old for "simple fairy tales", but I'm so glad to be proven wrong!

[GoldGato]

We never really grow old, do we? Some of my favorite books are those really meant for children, but hopefully that just means I was born young. Or then again, it might have something to do with the fantastic artistry for which a child's book is highlighted. With this book, the reader doesn't just get the basic fairy tale collection, the real gift is in the art by Scott Gustafson. These are N.C. Wyeth-like, as though drawn back in the heyday of American illustration.

There are standouts throughout the book, but for me it's Goldilocks and the Three Bears, mainly for the picture drawn of the bears finding the young girl in junior's bed. The stern face of Papa Bear in his Victorian clothing, hands-on-hips, is one I will always treasure. He looks like a gentler version of Bill Sykes. Anyone who can bring a fabled animal to such life deserves five stars.

Book Season = Year Round

[Katie]

Love this collection of classic fairy tales. This book is over sized and the illustrations are gorgeous. Not the watered down Disney versions but also not the original ones that are dark. Writing is lovely and age appropriate for children. Must have for every family.

[Mary Catelli]

A nice collection of some of the standard Top 20 fairy tales. Illustrations are enchanting.

[Sarai]

Arte total

[Cheryl]

Chosen because I wanted to see more art by Gustafson. And I was not disappointed. I think my favorite illustration is Tom Thumb taking a bath in an ornately carved mug.

I like that these are indeed classic tales, none stolen from Andersen or Wilde. I like that they're very slightly enriched from the most common versions, giving a little bit of explanation to what's what and why. I like having several of the most famous stories in one collection so your child can indeed learn of our western cultural heritage.

I still don't like animals in clothes, and of course I don't like the lack of diversity.

And so I hope that your children don't love only these tales. I would have loved this as a child, as I loved fairy tales and pretty pictures... but thinking only about princesses etc. did not do me any good. I owned The Red Fairy Book, read it over & over again, and was awfully disappointed to learn that no matter how good & sweet & brave I grew to be, I'd never meet a prince among men.

Add this to a good family library; don't use it as the foundation, much less as the only book needed at home.

[Jacklyn (ReadingBliss)]

The promise of beautiful illustrations paired with some of the most popular classic fairy tales is why I was so eager to rush home and read this to my child. Although he's a bit on the younger side to appreciate such things, I wasn't disappointed. The illustrations were everything the cover promised: detailed, well-crafted, thoughtful, colorful, and imaginative. I only had one reservation about the book as a whole and it was that the writing was good (enough), but it can't compare to some of the other classic fairy tale retellers out there and so I felt the beauty of the writing did not necessarily match the beauty of the pictures. Would this stop me from buying this edition again? No. Before I purchased this edition, I had already mentally prepared myself for this potential outcome and resolved that I was more interested in the illustrator than the writer. Also, the merit of the writer probably won't bother many others, if I had to guess, since this is based off my personal preferences rather than any professionally influenced critique (I am not a professional; that's why I put "influenced").

[Anna Shiverdecker]

I don't know where I got this from. It must have been a gift from a family member at some time. I've had it for years but only now just read.

The art is great, but the stories are definitely not the greatest versions. Still, very quick easy reads appropriate for children. The real value is the art though. Each is wonderful and adds to these very familiar classic tales.

[Miss Becky]

The beautiful illustrations in this book really bring the fairy tales to life. Now I want to read more books illustrated by Gustafson. This volume includes:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Puss in Boots
Little Red Riding Hood
Snow White
Tom Thumb
Hansel and Gretel
The Frog Prince
Rumplestiltskin
Cinderella
Three Little Pigs

[Nicole]

Such a beautiful, well done collection. Fantastic read aloud and the perfect gift book.

I will say - these fairytales are not the original, so purists will find themselves dissatisfied. Examples: Little Red Riding Hood is rescued after she’s eaten instead of dying (which really does completely undermine the point of the story) and the first two pigs escape and are not eaten by the wolf.

[Kyndra]

Gustafson’s illustrations are lovely, and his fairytale retellings well done. The vocabulary is rich, and the tales were a delight to read aloud with my girls. I plan to look into his other collections now and will likely add more to our home library!

[Alina Stanford]

I love the illustrations in this book. It is a wonderful collection of fairy tales. My favorites are: the frog prince, Cinderella and puss in boots. I recommend this edition to have in your home library.

[Lori]

Absolutely beautiful and enchanting illustrations!

[Danni]

fun beautiful pictures.

[M]

We love this book around here. My daughter can't get enough of it and the illustrations are beautiful.

[Barry]

The illustrations are timeless and a joy to behold.

[M L]

One of my favorite illustrators!

[Greta]

One of my favorite illustrators. Easy to read and engaging book gives classic fairy tales just the touch it needs for today’s young readers.

[Jennifer]

Stunning Artwork!

[Rebekah Sturgill]

One of my son's favorite books, as we can read the same stories every time or find a new one, with lovely illustrations to boot.

[Kelly]

I will never be a fan of fairy tales, no matter how many defenses I read, but this collection isn't (quite) as dark and there are stunning illustrations to fill your mind instead.

[Amber Martin]

This book is like an art gallery for your lap. Beautiful illustrations and text brought us through our fairytale summer very well. 💛

[Tanya]

My daughter and I love all the stories and illustrations in this book! Well done!