This was a total impulse purchase that I had come to regret. I just have SO MANY fairy and fairy tale books....truly more than any one human being should own. But I simply couldn't resist this lovely reprint of a beloved vintage book - illustrated by Garth Williams no less!
And so it came to live with us and, as many books do, languish on our shelves for a bit. As this is still the 'year of languishing books' we decided to give it a go - not expecting a great deal that was new or different. I was, happily, completely wrong! The stories in this one are quite unique. Certainly, many are variations of stories told elsewhere, but they are still fresh feeling. I also really like that several of the stories are set in 'modern' times (keeping in mind this was published in the 1950s). I also love the layout and order - several long stories interspersed with poems and lots and lots of illustrations.
Speaking of those illustrations - I can't quite decide how I feel about them! Some are just too precious for words - like the Merbaby - cuteness overload!! The elves and fairies are suitably awesome, but the humans....My daughter makes no bones about declaring them completely creepy and I will admit that a few of them do have unfortunate cases of the crazy eyes. Oh well. Overall, this is a fantastic book and totally worthy addition to any collection.
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