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Saturday, February 18, 2012

2012 Book 7: Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know


According to Goodreads.com Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know is a comprehensive collection of tales edited by the American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer, Hamilton Wright Mabie. 

Most of the tales in this compilation were ones I was familiar with. Though there did seem to be some differences in how some of the stories went. For example, this compilation has the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk AND Jack the Giant Killer. I am not sure that the Jack's are the same character but I thought the Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk was the one to say, "Fe Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman." However, according to this book, that line belongs to a Giant in Jack the Giant Killer.  Furthermore, this compilation calls Cinderella "Cinderbritches" and Goldilocks "Silver Hair." There were also a few stories I had never heard before, including The White Cat and The Light Princess.

What I gleaned from reading these stories is that fairy tales are extremely gruesome and I am not sure that children should read them. Maybe wait until they are teenagers or pre-teens?

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