Brothers Grimm: The Most Beloved Fairy Tales – Book Review

Brothers Grimm: The Most Beloved Fairy Tales
Text adaptation: Valeria Manferto De Fabianis
Translation: Aubrey Lawrence
Illustrations: Manuela Adreani

Mom's Review
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of snuggling under the covers to be enchanted by Grimms' magical tales.  In the years since those entrancing bedtime stories, I've never stopped loving the tales. I've read a number of versions, in both English and German, and have become a bit of a Grimms' tales snob. De Fabianis's adaptation, Lawrence's translation, and Adreani's illustration of 8 tales in The Most Beloved Fairy Tales get my stamp of approval.

Adreani's artwork is splendid. the curving lines envelop the reader, drawing him or her into the page and into the story. I particularly like the soft colors; the art is beautiful, enhancing the story, rather than distracting. Several two-page spreads of pure illustration invite the reader further in – your eyes, and attention, are captivated by the characters.

Before diving into the fairy tales, an introduction explains who Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm were and why their work matters. The 8 stories, a tiny sampling of the brothers' collection, are touted as the "most beloved." Indeed, they are ones you'll probably know, and include one of my all-time favorites: "The Six Swans." The adaptation by De Fabianis maintains the spirits of the original stories (justice is served in brutal form) while adjusting for space and eliminating some content (Rapunzel isn't impregnated by the prince, for example). Lawrence's translation is pure magic. Not a word is wasted in the retelling, so rich is the narrative. While some minor details are changed, the tales are not only recognizable, but well adapted for readers.

I would like to point out that T and I disagree on one thing: the length of the book. As the person who is reading aloud, I say the stories are a comfortable length, and the book as a whole is doable. The person listening, however, wishes it were longer. I am not surprised since he wanted them read back to back to back.

The Most Beloved Fairy Tales receives high praise from this parent!

Son's Review
(Age: 4)
On what he likes and how it compares to other Grimms' collections:
I don't have a favorite story. I just like fairy tales. I like it the same as my other fairy tale books. We have the "Snow White" story where the witch tries to kill her more than one time. I like it better when the witch tries to kill her more than one time. I wish it [The Most Beloved Fairy Tales] has more stories in it. I wish it had 30 stories.
(In reading T's commentary, I think it sounds somewhat negative, but that was not my impression when he was talking to me. To give you some context, he really likes his one other fairy tale collection.)

On the art:
I like the pictures. My favorite is this one [of Little Briar Rose]. I wonder why she is sleeping in the thorns.

Why we chose this book:
Because it's good to read fairy tales (see Spotlight on Traditional Literature) and because we loved Adreani's illustrations of The Odyssey. Sterling Publishing provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review.