Christmas Fairy Tales

by Neil Philip (Editor), Isabelle Brent (Illustrator), Hans Christian Andersen (Contributor)

An anthology of twelve Christmas tales by various authors. Contents include:
The Book of Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen
The Christmas Cuckoo, by Frances Browne
The Nutcracker, by E.T.A. Hoffmann
Father Christmas and the Carpenter, by Alf Prøysen
Why the Sea Is Salt, a Norwegian Folktale
The Poor Count's Christmas, by Frank Stockton
Babushka and the Three Wise Men, a Russian Legend
The Fir Tree, by Hans Christian Andersen
Schnitzle, Schnotzle and Schnootzle, by Ruth Sawyer
The Best That Life Has to Give, by Howard Pyle
The Story of a Cat, by Mary de Morgan
The Last Dream of the Old Oak Tree, by Hans Christian Andersen

Genres: Christmas, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Childrens, Short Stories, Holiday, Picture Books

140 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

Neil Philip is a writer, folklorist and poet. He is married to the artist Emma Bradford, and lives in the Cotswolds, England. Neil loves words, poetry, and the art of storytelling in all its forms. Among his many books are A Fine Anger, Victorian Village Life, The Cinderella Story, The Penguin Book of English Folktales, Mythology (with Philip Wilkinson), The Great Mystery, War and the Pity of War, The New Oxford Book of Childrens Verse, The Tale of Sir Gawain, Horse Hooves & Chicken Feet, and The Adventures of Odysseus. Neil has contributed to numerous journals, including The Times, and Signal: Approaches to Childrens Books, and has also written for stage, screen, and radio. His work has won numerous awards and honours, including the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society and the Literary Criticism Book Award of the Childrens Literature Association. Outside of the storied world, Neil is passionate about cats, art, music, France, food & wine, and friendship.

Reviews

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Christmas and all the wonderful stories of this season. I truly enjoyed this book; I read new Christmas stories that I hadn't read before and the pictures are beautifully engraved in Gold.
The Book of Fairy Tales teaches gratitude and to not assume to know what you would do in another person's position.
The Christmas Cuckoo shows that joy and spreading merry cheerfulness is more important than the troubles that money can sometimes give you.
The Nutcracker is a Christmas classic and it's not Christmas without the beautiful ballet accompanied with the music of Tsiolkovsky but the written story shows the infantile gayness of the special holiday in childhood days.
Father Christmas and the Carpenter is a funny little story about appreciating who you are and your trade regardless of social position because you are a special individual and others can see that even if you can't.
The Norwegian Folktale Why the Sea is Salt is clever and I expected nothing else from those Scandinavians. It shows to be generous and to do onto others kindly as you would like to be done onto you or else the other will have their last laugh and their revenge on you; I told you, I expect nothing less from these vikings.
The Poor Count's Christmas is a bit difficult to read because the count is generous to a fault but luckily, his generosity is payed back in full.
Babushka and the Three Wise Men is a quick little story about doing things in the moment or forever regretting it.
The Fir Tree teaches people to appreciate their youth and all stages of the lives without wanting to hurry it up because what is past cannot repeat itself.
Schnitzle, Schnotzle, and Schnootzle is a strange little story about a goblin king that plays a trick on a few kids on Christmas.
The Best That Life Has to Give is a story about a tricky little dwarf that looks like a leprechaun and sets in motion a series of events in a young boy's life.
The Story of a Cat is a funny story about a cat and a tricky magic man.
The Last Dream of The Old Oak Tree explains that the lifespan of one life form is equivalent to all others. We have always pondered on this notion and it's interesting to see one point of view even if we don't agree on it.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging collection of Christmas stories, from the editor/illustrator team whose other projects include The Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales , Celtic Fairy Tales , and Fairy Tales Of Oscar Wilde , this volume contains twelve selections, some traditional folktales, others works of original fantasy.

Some of the tales, like E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker, in which the toy nutcracker given to young Marie by her Godfather Drosselmeier comes alive, in order to do battle with the evil mouse king, will already be familiar to young readers (although they may be better acquainted with the version found in Tchaikovsky's ballet). Others, such as Frances Browne's The Christmas Cuckoo, taken from her book, Granny's Wonderful Chair , will probably be unknown to them.

The opening selection, translated here as The Book of Fairy Tales, although it is also sometimes known as The Cripple, is from the pen of Hans Christian Andersen (always a favorite with Neil Philip), and concerns the gift of a book of tales to a poor young man who has gone lame, chronicling the extraordinary change in circumstances this one volume brings to his entire family. Other Andersen tales include The Fir Tree, that melancholy story of a fir who is always looking ahead to better things, and thereby missing out on all the joy of life; and the concluding The Last Dream of the Old Oak Tree, in which a massive oak dreams of ascending into the air on Christmas day, only to be felled by a terrible storm.

Father Christmas and the Carpenter, by Alf Prøysen, follows the two titular characters as they switch places one night, entertaining one another's children, and is taken from the author's Mrs. Pepperpot Again . Other original selections include Ruth Sawyer's Schnitzle, Schnotzle and Schnootzle, in which an impoverished man and his three young sons are aided by King Laurin, the chief of all the goblins in the Tyrol; and Howard Pyle's The Best That Life Has to Give, which follows the tale of a blacksmith's son, who uses the skill he learns in a dwarf's home, to win the hand of a princess. Mary De Morgan's The Story of a Cat, in which an old miser learns to love, and Frank Stockton's The Poor Count's Christmas, round out the original selections; while the Norwegian folktale, Why the Sea Is Salt, and the Russian legend of Babushka and the Three Wise Men represent the folk traditions.

All in all, a very pleasing anthology, with a mix of familiar and unfamiliar tales, and joyous and melancholy themes, all accompanied by Isabelle Brent's gorgeous gold-toned illustrations. Christmas Fairy Tales is definitely a title to savor around the holidays!

[Christy Whitsell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful collection! I’d definitely like to read this aloud to the kids this Christmas. I was especially touched by The Poor Count’s Christmas.

[Laura Bang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of stories, beautifully illustrated. Honestly, the illustrations were my favorite part! It's very nicely put together. There aren't a lot of illustrations, though, only one or two per story, so this book is better for older children (or children-at-heart!).

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what I think. I actually wouldn't say these stories had a lot to do with Christmas other than be set at Christmas time. There were a few that were kind of creepy in a good way. They are definitely different than normal anthologies.

[Jaclyn Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an odd book. We checked it out at the library for some holiday reading but didn’t find it to be full of Christmas tales. The stories were ok, but didn’t match our expectations. Illustrations were gorgeous!

[Burning Thoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, little Christmas myths from the northern woods

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of Christmas stories. Most of them I had never heard before.

[Arlene Lahtinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated fairy tale book!

[Rafaela Sousa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this wonderful book on Christmas Eve and finished it on Christmas Day. These stories were magical, whimsical and perfect to curl up in bed or read to your children. 🎄🎀🎁

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology has several of the usual suspects, particularly the poems and carols, but also includes such lesser-known pieces as the Norwegian folktale "The Cat on the Dovrefell." and Elizabeth Enright's "A Christmas Tree for Lydia," both favorites of mine. But the chief reason for the rating I gave it is the beautiful illustrations by Sally Holmes and the general loveliness of the book -- not surprising given the publisher.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in this collection were, for the most part, wonderful. The problem is the illustrations. Children are hightly motivated and engaged by illustrations. And this collection doesn't have much to offer in the way of visuals. For most kids to enjoy this book, it would have to be a read aloud. Still, I thought the stories were terrific.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good selection of stories, poems and carols for the season.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey its November now

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are wonderful!

[Jespera · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories. Some better than others.