5+: The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Noel Daniel, Matthew R. Price

Release Date: 04/10/11

BOOK BLURB:

This is a compendium of the Brothers Grimm's most beloved fairy tales, newly translated and accompanied by an array of vintage illustrations. This book brings together twenty-seven of the most beloved of the famous Grimms' fairy tales, including all the classics, such as "Cinderella", "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Hansel and Gretel" in an all-new translation specially commissioned for this publication. Containing a painstakingly-researched selection of illustrations by some of the most famous illustrators from the 1820s to the 1950s-including golden age legend Kay Nielsen, bestselling author Gustaf Tenggren, British darlings Walter Crane and Arthur Rackham, and giants of nineteenth century German illustration Gustav Sus, Heinrich Leutemann, and Viktor Paul Mohn, as well as many new discoveries-this compilation also includes beautiful silhouettes culled from original publications from the 1870s and 1920s that run throughout the entire layout. Interlaced in the book are also dozens of entirely new silhouettes designed and created especially for this book. In addition to the tales, the book also includes an introduction to the Grimms' legacy, brief introductory texts for each tale, and extended artists' biographies in the appendix. For adults and children alike, this classic addition to any library brings to life the never-ending magic of the Grimms' fairy tales and their delightful illustrations. The following fairy tales are featured in the book: "The Frog Prince"; "The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats"; "Little Brother and Little Sister"; "Rapunzel"; "Hansel and Gretel"; "The Fisherman and His Wife"; "The Brave Little Tailor"; "Cinderella"; "Mother Holle"; "Little Red Riding Hood"; "The Bremen Town Musicians"; "The Devil with Three Golden Hairs"; "The Shoemaker and the Elves"; "Tom Thumb's Travels"; "Sleeping Beauty"; "Snow White"; "Rumpelstiltskin"; "The Three Feathers"; "The Golden Goose"; "Jorinde and Joringel"; "The Goose Girl"; "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"; "The Star Coins"; "Snow White and Red Nose"; "The Hare and the Hedgehog"; "Puss n' Boots"; and, "The Golden Key".


REVIEW:

Many modern readers believe that the Brothers Grimm were all sweetness and light, usually as their tales have been bought and translated to the modern medium of film by companies like Disney, for those of us raised with the older material, you’ll more than be aware of the darker and, at times, quite scary tales that we were raised on that contained hidden morals and messages for the reader to learn.

This title by Taschen is a wonderful new translation of the original text (now celebrating its second centenary) by Matthew Price, picked up with artwork from some of the original stories alongside some modern masters to create a truly unique experience. It’s dark, its foreboding but most of all it’s a book that children will love (after all who doesn’t like a scare just before lights out?) Add to this some insight into the stories for the adult reader and this is a book that will beloved for generations. An absolute cracker of a title that will appeal to the child in all of us and a book that I feel will make one of the most amazing gifts this Christmas. Magic.