Rating:  Summary: OKAY STORIES, OKAY COPY Review: Not all the stories in this book are winners, and you can take a LONG time reading all of them. For the longest time I'd been hearing that Disney's version of these Grimm classics are much cleaner. No kidding. But being a hardcore fantasy reader, I like all the violence and dark senses of humor that the Grimm brothers have. Generally, for every 10 stories you read, you might find two that you like and one that you REALLY like. As for the actual book, the pages are apparently NOT acid-free, which means that it was cheaply made. It is still hardback, though. I'm not a HUGE Grimm fan, but there were enough illustrations for my taste. Along the same lines, I don't care if the works are out of order--what matters is that they're translated decently. I still hold that there is--somewhere--a better Grimm's book to be found--hence the 3 stars. Apart from all that, this is a good bargain bin book--which is where I found it. My favorite stories--so far--are The Frog Prince, Cinderella, The Three White Snakes, and The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake.
Rating:  Summary: Not a very good edition Review: Regarding the fairy tales: The Grimm brothers collected fairy tales from all over the Germanies and published the collected stories in 1812. Historically and culturally this is very important because we have a glimpse into an oral tradition back when oral tradition was alive and well. Many are surprised to find that the stories aren't Disney rated. They have gore and all.
Regarding this particular release of the Grimm Fairy Tales: The paper is bad quality. I have the 1981 edition and the pages are already very very yellow. The illustrations are in many different styles by four different artists. They aren't bad, but given the presentation and the fact that they are a mixed bag they come across that way. The translation by Margaret Hunt was originally published in 1884, and the language feels a little stale today.
This is an adequate copy of the text if you just want to read through it. It isn't durable, it isn't archival and it isn't good quality paper or presentation. These stories have been around long enough that they are now public domain and can be found for free in many locations online, if you just want to check out the original Grimm version of a story. (Paper is easier on the eyes, so there is a place for a poor quality widely available edition.) Libraries will want a more durable edition. Yep a better quality edition is a good idea for families too.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderful Reading for any Age! Review: The Brothers' Grimm wrote beautiful fairy tales, and they can be enjoyed by all ages. I think I enjoyed them most when I read them to my own children, but I have read them again since, and enjoyed them again. I read this collective edition in order to get all of them at one go, so to speak. The Brothers' Grimm were not writers by profession. They were scientific philologists, but decided to make up a collection of folktales. They spent thirteen years gathering the tales from various sources, and then put them down in writing in order to preserve them. Everyone knows these tales, but to name a few - The Frog Prince, Rumplestiltskin, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. These tales have endured and been loved for many years, and Disney has made some very memorable animated movies out of quite a few of them. Read them for your enjoyment, and to recapture a little of your lost youth.
Rating:  Summary: Stories okay, but book poorly made Review: These stories are a must read for all children. They are magical and intelligent, as well as, harsh and dark. However, if read over a reasonable period and with adult guidance, these stories provide invaluable life lessons that are more and more absent from our modern popular and mass market stories.
Rating:  Summary: The Real Stories. Review: These stories are a must read for all children. They are magical and intelligent, as well as, harsh and dark. However, if read over a reasonable period and with adult guidance, these stories provide invaluable life lessons that are more and more absent from our modern popular and mass market stories.
Rating:  Summary: Sure To Make Children Cringe At Bedtime! - Unpleasant! Review: This collection of "classics" certainly is a departure from the Disney versions. As a native German with recollection of "The Grimm Brother's magic story telling", I do not remember traditional storytime this GRIMM. - The tales are mostly very dark and pessimistic. Somehow the center of each story is some poor person's affliction, either with extreme poverty, a physical or mental handicap or some other "evil" thing that sets them apart form society's norm. The writing style exhibited here is sophomoric; at times the reader feels asthough a 15 year old "slapped" these stories together for a boring class project (in which case I would grade this work a C-). Much of the plot seems absurd and far fetched, often leading to an utterly unsatisfactory conclusion. There are very few "gems" amidst this mish mash of oscure garble. If THIS is classic German (or any other kind of) story telling, I would suggest a quick switch to the Cartoon Channel instead of reading this drivel to any more generations of unsuspecting kids who simply deserve MUCH better. Put this one back on the shelf and forget it!**
Rating:  Summary: complete brothers grimm fairy tales [hardcover] Review: when i received this book, i was amazed by how great it was. the condition was very good. i was so plesed by it. it was so clean, and looked untouched. i am very happy with it. thank you for doing a great job. this is the first time i have ever bought anything on the net. i was kind of scared about it. i know i can buy from you guys and not worry about it. ej
Rating:  Summary: Very Poor Quality Review: While I'm sure the stories are great, I can't get past the poor type setting, and cheap paper which is practically newsprint. The words and illustrations bleed through from the next page making reading very difficult. And to make matters worse, the stories are set in a terrible, hard to read font and tight leading. This book is NOT kid-friendly at all. YUCK! Same is true of the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by same Author/Publisher.
Rating:  Summary: save your money: poor translations/newsprint-like book Review: You don't need to trust me--you can look inside the book and get a load of the first translation of the "Frog King" which is unreadable. Someone just took an old translation and reprinted it on poor quality paper. This does not do justice to the tales.
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