Fifty Famous Fairy Tales

by Isobel Read (Illustrator)

Collection of fifty well known fairy tales with illustrations by Isobel Read

Genres: Fairy Tales, Childrens, Fantasy

237 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1946

Reviews

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a much beloved book. I have sobbed over the travails of The Goose Girl, The White Snake, and Bearskin; I have giggled over the exploits of The Nose, Master of All Masters, and The Brave Little Tailor. Each tale is told in a few pages, illustrated with a simple line drawing or two, and conforms to the standard versions in most details. However, there are stories here I have read nowhere else, and the lyrical prose is enchanting. If this book were not out of print, I would give one to every child I know.

[Stephanie Cargile · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember when I first started reading this book; it was either late in first grade or early in second, but I read a story to myself every night for years. The copy my mom handed me had been my grandmother's and I was under strict injunction to be careful with it. I've loved fairy tales ever since and this is one of the best collections I've come across.

The stories are modified from the original versions a lot of the time; there are very few devils, ghouls, or cannibals, and the queen in Snow White dies of a rage induced fit rather than being tortured in red-hot shoes, but they are not necessarily "Disney-fied" either. The danger is real, but the happy endings are there as well. It was a good book for my mom to hand her high strung and nightmare inclined seven-year-old.

[SarahKate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I had gotten a copy that was my great aunts and it still has her name inside. I used to read it everynight before I went to bed. Some of my favorite stories being "cherry the frog bride" & "the coat of many skins."

The illustrations in the book are very simple. I think my favorite thing about this book is the way the pages have aged and how it smells when you open it.

[Teresa Thompson Arcangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite book even before I could read. My older sister would read the stories to me. When I recently saw a copy on Ebay, the illustrations by Bruno Frost were so familiar, it seemed liked I'd seen them yesterday. My copy disappeared, or fell apart, more than 40 years ago, but I think I'll look for one to buy for myself, and one for my sister (of course).