The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales

Having purchased and read  The Annotated Brothers Grimm (The Annotated Books)  by Maria Tatar, a well-known scholar in the field of folklore and children's literature, I decided to get some of the other annotated fairy tales. I was impressed by the insights afforded by the annotations in The Annotated Brothers Grimm, and this book too was impressive in that aspect.Here, Tatar provides new translations of familiar and beloved classic fairy tales which are enhanced not only by the thought-provoking and insightful annotations but also the presence of more than 300 illustrations both in color and B&W by renowned artists such as Gustave Dore, George Cruikshank, Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane, and Maxfield Parrish. The fairy tales contained within this book are:Little Red Riding HoodCinderellaHansel and GretelBeauty and the BeastSnow WhiteSleeping BeautyRapunzelThe Frog KingRumpelstiltskinJack and the BeanstalkBluebeardThe Juniper TreeVasilisa the FairEast of the Sun and West of the MoonMolly WhuppieThe Story of the Three Little PigsDonkeyskinKate CrackernutsPuss in BootsThe Story of the Three BearsTom ThumbThe Emperor's New ClothesThe Little Match GirlThe Princess and the PeaThe Ugly DucklingThe Little MermaidThe author's annotations are interesting and thought-provoking. For example, in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the act of cutting open the sleeping wolf's belly is annotated. The author writes, "Freud and others read this scene as an allusion to the birth process. The wolf, as the poet Anne Sexton wryly notes, undergoes "a kind of caesarian section." (p. 26). In the story of Cinderella by Perrault, Tatar provides some thoughts on the emphasis on virtue in the story, i.e. that acts of kindness are rewarded, as Cinderella is rewarded with a "happy ever after" life. Tatar attributes this to Perrault's implied audience for the story, i.e. children, and why this emphasis on kind acts is thus important. In my opinion, it is insights such as these that make this work a must-read.Tatar also provides brief biographies of authors and collectors as well as biographies of illustrators whose works are portrayed in the book. There is also an extensive bibliography on fairy tales (which merit checking out!), a bibliography of illustrations, and suggested journals for further reading such as Children's Literature Association Quarterly and Folklore and Mythology Studies. I would recommend this to anyone who has a keen interest in exploring the underlying themes and cultures of fairy tales.

Arrived promptly and in great condition. Saved a bunch buying used for college!

In spite of what some other reviews say, these are not all the original versions, as mentioned in the annotations. Maria Tatar did however often go for the best known versions from the authors she chose.I was disappointed to find that most of these stories are the exact same ones from her other annotated books with the same versions and the same annotations.Already owning most of them didn't stop me from enjoying them, however and as usual for this series the books are well illustrated and fun to explore.I'd love to see more annotated books in the future, including more from the Oz series and the Narnia series.

This is a comprehensive compilation of fairy tales with interesting analyses and background information. I also love the addition of various illustrations for each story along with additional information on each and how it relates to tge story. The reason I gave this a 4 is the quality of paper used. Some of the beauty of the illustrations gets lost because of the rough paper. I think a glossy paper, especially for the artwork, would have made the color and details stand out more.

I bought this book a few years ago for a college class and this is one of the books I held on to. I didn’t hold on to many of my college books but this one is in my library. A lot of cute little nursery rhymes in there

I am always fascinated by annotations of classic works because of the insights I gain from them. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales is especially interesting because the works Maria Tatar includes are familiar (at least most of them are) but, her notes reveal, have a much deeper and sometimes darker history than we thought. The book includes some universal favorites like The Emperor's New Clothes and Cinderella and some less known but interesting stories like Molly Whuppie and The Juniper Tree. Each story has a great variety of classic illustrations from masters like Cruikshank and Dore. Another nice touch are the biographies of some of the authors and illustrators included at the end. Whether you are a child, have a child, or are a child at heart, you will love this collection.

Terrific like all the volumes in this series by Maria Tatar, but I was disappointed by the quality of binding. This is a hardcover, and the binding is "perfect" bound, which means it's just a big paperback with a hard binding, It doesn't have a sewn binding, Any book for your permanent library should be sewn, and the other volumes in this series are. A wonderful book, with great historical illustrations, but not gift quality. OK, so call me crabby.

It has a little less stories than I'd prefer, but still plenty and with good side information as well. Personally I still feel these stories are much better than anything meant for kids now-a-days.

Ótimo livro. Toda a série dos Annotated são muito boas. Para quem gosta do assunto recomendo veementemente.Muito obrigado

Ce livre n'est pas inintéressant, il est assez bien fait, mais il provoque une double insatisfaction : ceux qui aiment les belles illustrations en trouveront certes beaucoup, et commentées, malheureusement elles sont presque toutes reproduites en beaucoup trop petit format (impossible d'apprécier les détails) et les couleurs elles-mêmes sont de qualité discutable. Quant à ceux qui recherchent surtout les annotations sur les contes, ils les trouveront sans doute pertinentes, mais pour le moins succinctes ! Le parti pris de l'éditeur de laisser la moitié de chaque page blanche ne semble pas être la bonne idée du siècle. Certes, on fait des découvertes (même si certains auteurs de contes semblent anormalement représentés par rapport à d'autres), on apprend des choses, et le livre n'est pas désagréable (les infos sur les illustrateurs notamment sont intéressantes), mais au final l'impression est mitigée, mi-figue mi-raisin. Disons que ça peut compléter d'autres ouvrages sur la question, mais j'attendais mieux.

Bought as a present for my daughter when she was tacking her Masters degree in English Literature and was one of the books she was required to read

I chose this book because my wife asked for it for christmas and she collects these tipe of books. And she works at a liberary and told me to go here to order it.

グリム兄弟、シャルル・ペロー、アンデルセンなどによる、有名なおとぎ話２６話が入っています。ただし、子供向けではないように思われます。勿論、挿絵がカラーなので子供が見ても楽しいかもしれませんが、挿絵がかなり小さいのです。おとぎ話が大好きで、もう一歩深い内容を知りたいという方には嬉しい本。というのも、それぞれのおとぎ話について解説と注釈が付されており、有名な挿絵数枚が短い解説とともに掲載されているからです。それぞれのおとぎ話によって挿絵数が異なりますが、主にKay Nielsen、Arthur Rackham,Gustave Dore, Jessie W.Wmith,Edmund Dulac、Maxfield Parrishなど。全てカラーですが、サイズが小さくて残念。ただし、付録としてウォルター・クレインによる「三匹の熊」「赤頭巾」「シンデレラ」「蛙王子」「青髭」「美女と野獣」「ジャックと豆の木」「眠り姫」の挿絵が24ページにわたってカラー掲載されていたのにはオドロキ（なかみ検索で見られます）。挿絵は小さめですが３００以上入っているので、目で楽しみながら、おとぎ話を勉強できるよい書物かもしれません。