Reviving unjustly neglected stories, Usborne's collections of 'Forgotten Fairy Tales' bring together empowering fairy tales to inspire a new generation of readers. Forgotten Fairy Tales of Kindness and Courage follows 'Tales of Brave and Billiant Girls Around the World' and 'Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls'.
Mary Sebag-Montefiore is an author of children's books and often adapts adult classics for children. She has rewritten everything from David Copperfield, Wuthering Heights and War and Peace. She is associated with Usborne.
I think we got this book for Christmas and it's been faithfully sitting around the house just waiting for us to pick it up and read it. The book has 7 fairy tales, all written during 1800's England. The very best thing about these stories is are the illustrations. They are beautiful, and diverse, and captivating, and truly lovely.
The stories themselves, well they're fine. They're very Victorian - every one has a moral that seems to involve being humble and working hard and yeah they kind of bludgeon you over the head with them. My favorite of all seven was probably the Princess and the Goblins, just because I really loved the Princess's magic grandmother, her relationship with the miner boy, and it was also the one with the least morality lesson. It was just a fun adventure story about a princess and a boy saving the kingdom from goblins. Super fun. Overall, just okay, not fabulous. Will probably hang onto it for a few years before passing it along.
While I wouldn't put all of these in the category of fairy tale, the book succeeds on retelling some nice pieces of literature from something as classic as The Water babies to more modern fare with plenty of unknown gems in between. The stories are quickly (and well) told and nicely paced, perfect for the bedtime reading of our particular case.
It was great to find a new collection of fairy stories for slightly older children that can be read at bedtime. My 6 year old did find one of the stories slightly scary but has really enjoyed listening to a few each night. The illustrations make it a lovely gift.