

Gyo Fujikawa creates magic with this enchanting collection of fairy tales and fables. These are the stories that all children should experience, that will nourish their young minds and imaginations: Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, The Hare and the Tortoise, The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Pigs, and many more. Some are well known and beloved; others are unfamiliar, but theyโre all beautifully written and illustrated. As always, Fujikawaโs characters (human and animal) are endearing and rich in personality. Her stunning images include the ugly duckling looking up plaintively at swans flying in a sunset sky; a lovely princess atop dozens of colorful mattresses (but she can still feel the pea); and tiny Jack chased by a giant large enough to take up nearly an entire spread! Review: One of the best! - My children just love this collection a fairytales. The artistry, of course, is wonderful and the storyselection is very interesting and varied. We have several collections of fairytales, and this is the one they reached for. Highly recommended! Review: Perfect Bedtime Storybook for ~Ages 3+ - I bought this book when my daughter was first born, but have never brought it off the shelf. I thought perhaps the stories would be too long, or that it might be overwhelming to have them all in one book. She's 4 now, and I just brought it down and started reading her stories out of it. Why did I wait so long?! She LOVES it and so do her parents. Gyo Fujikawa's illustrations are charming, as always. And the stories are a great length for bedtime. I just have her pick 3 stories from the book, she enjoys them, and it doesn't take all night. It's also a GREAT WAY to familiarize kids with fairy tales and fables in the general literary consciousness, without having to buy individual versions of every story. For example, while we have individual versions of Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Little Red Riding Hood, it's also great to be able to read "Rumplestiltskin" without having to buy a separate book for it. It also includes very approachable, easy, well illustrated versions of fables from other parts of the world. For example, my daughter loved hearing "The Moon Maiden" (a Japanese folktale) the other night. This is a perfect addition to any child's library! (We also have loved other Gyo Fujikawa books. Younger parents check out her wonderful board books, now back in print. We bought and loved them all! The Night Before Christmas is also precious.)
| Best Sellers Rank | #371,123 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #351 in Children's Folk Tale & Myth Anthologies #1,062 in Children's Short Story Collections #4,418 in Short Stories Anthologies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 143 Reviews |
B**J
One of the best!
My children just love this collection a fairytales. The artistry, of course, is wonderful and the storyselection is very interesting and varied. We have several collections of fairytales, and this is the one they reached for. Highly recommended!
B**A
Perfect Bedtime Storybook for ~Ages 3+
I bought this book when my daughter was first born, but have never brought it off the shelf. I thought perhaps the stories would be too long, or that it might be overwhelming to have them all in one book. She's 4 now, and I just brought it down and started reading her stories out of it. Why did I wait so long?! She LOVES it and so do her parents. Gyo Fujikawa's illustrations are charming, as always. And the stories are a great length for bedtime. I just have her pick 3 stories from the book, she enjoys them, and it doesn't take all night. It's also a GREAT WAY to familiarize kids with fairy tales and fables in the general literary consciousness, without having to buy individual versions of every story. For example, while we have individual versions of Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Little Red Riding Hood, it's also great to be able to read "Rumplestiltskin" without having to buy a separate book for it. It also includes very approachable, easy, well illustrated versions of fables from other parts of the world. For example, my daughter loved hearing "The Moon Maiden" (a Japanese folktale) the other night. This is a perfect addition to any child's library! (We also have loved other Gyo Fujikawa books. Younger parents check out her wonderful board books, now back in print. We bought and loved them all! The Night Before Christmas is also precious.)
C**R
Great seller- best children's artist
The book came in better than expected condition: pretty perfect! The book is enchanting! The photos will affect your child's psyche for decades to come, and they will want to hand down the same book or buy it for their own child. You can look at this and not be affected for the better- I recommend buying this book and any other book made by this artist to be honest. This seller happened to be honest in their description and I will be buying again !
S**B
Beautiful
My children loves these stories and the illustrations are lovely. They always beg for one more story when we sit down to read these! It is a great addition to our Charlotte Mason library.
A**R
Beautiful Artwork
My daughter loves this book and can leaf through it for a very long time enjoying the illustrations. She loves anything to do with princesses so itโs right up her alley. I like that the stories are short and there is a good variety of common and lesser known fairy tales. She also has Japanese heritage so I love introducing her to a great Japanese American illustrator.
K**M
Fairy Tales & Fables
Unfortunately I never actually saw the book. I mailed it direct out of state to my brother and his wife who have a few young grandchildren. They told me it was wonderful though. They told me the stories were great and not so long as to lose the interest of little children. I remembered my grandma reading to me and saw that some of these were the same tales that I remember so fondly. It was stories like these that caught my imagination and caused me to love reading on my own as I grew older. There was nothing like cuddling up with Grandma and listening to her read stories from long ago. I listened to them time and time again and never got tired of them. Christmas money was tight this year and so I sent them a gift they could use with all their grandchildren for years to come. All in all a great bargain and gift of love because reading and spending time with children one on one is still the best gift of all!
P**N
I was overjoyed to the point of genuine tears
But I knew the cover especially that of the large orange toned dragon. I took a chance entering that bit into the Google search bar seeking kids Searched off & on for this marvelous book for decades. I had the original, purchased in 1972 by my Mother, when I was nearly 3 yo. & we were all stationed in Germany. I'd not laid eyes on it since 1979 or 80. It had been lost somehow. Aside from my huge collection of classic, original Golden Books, also gone :( , this one remained close to my heart and memory. My mom and one of my older sisters read to me every day or night from it. A precious memory know now how few children are read to these days. Anyways, I could not recall the exact title of the book nor the name of the magnificent illustrator whose work in the book my eyes would linger over. book cover images... and there it was and guided me to Amazon.com . I was overjoyed to the point of genuine tears. I'd found my 'long lost friend'. Thank you Google and Amazon for reuniting us! It sits at my bedside where I can read it at my leisure; never out of my sight.
K**R
Text and illustration excellent
The text and illustrations were beautifully done. My only qualm was the paper used was so thin that they easily tear.
A**R
excellent book
Excellent book! The tales are short enough to be understood by my toddler, the designs are attractive and overall I'm satisfied with this choice.
B**E
A little odd a little old...
I had this fairy tale book growing up so naturally when I came across it at the library with my own children I wanted to have a copy for them to keep. I looked it up on Amamzon and of course they had it. I like this book because it has a range of stories, many of them are short. My boys aren't ready for lenghty fairy tales just yet so it works out nicely. Some of the stories are a bit strange which I welcome because they aren't run of the mill! You will find some popular well known fairy tales weaved in among the unusual and lots of wonderful illustrations.
L**Y
A Beautiful book with lovely illustrations
Wow just opening the book the end pages double spread is a real work of art, of red riding hood walking in woods, full of delightful pictures. Great for kids and parents to both enjoy!
N**F
Beautiful book
Beautiful book, refreshingly different from todays modern tales
R**.
Great illustrations. Awful story retellings.
The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, so it feels strange to give this anything other than five stars...but the stories are soooo bizarrely sanitised. Like, beyond recognizability. I understand making things a little less rough around the edges for young audiences, but in her version of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf doesn't even eat the grandma. She's just hiding in the closet. WHAT? All of the fire and spunk is gone from the stories. Only worth keeping for the vibrant art.
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