Fairy Tales and Fables

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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!