The brothers Grimm were the original writers of the of many of the fairytales that we have grown to love today. This book holds the complete set of the true versions of each of those stories. I recommend this for each of my students who are curious to know what was originally written. ( )

The stories of magic and myth gathered by the Brothers Grimm have become part of the way children—and adults—learn about the vagaries of the real world. Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow-White, Hänsel and Gretel, Little Red-Cap (Little Red Riding Hood), and Briar-Rose (Sleeping Beauty) are only a few of the more than two hundred enchanting characters included in this volume. The tales are presented just as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm originally set them down: bold, primal, just frightening enough, and endlessly engaging.

With black-and-white illustrations throughout
Illustrated by Josef Scharl / Commentary by Joseph Campbell
Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
Source: Publisher

Grimm fairy tales read by some of my favorite audio readers? Yes, please!

This collection is a joy. It features the voice talents of many of my favorite readers, including Jim Dale, Simon Vance, and Jayne Entwistle. (Flavia de Luce reads a fairy tale? How amazing is that?!?) This particular edition is all about the performance, and each reader tackles a different story and breathes new life into it.

As for the stories themselves, I just love them. I admire Jacob’s work with linguistics, and of course, I am impressed by both brothers’ efforts to preserve folklore. I don’t know from which edition these tales were taken, but I think it must have been from one of the later ones. The stories have been edited to make them more appropriate for children: the sex has disappeared from the stories, and the tales carry the reassurance that the evildoers won’t get away with their crimes. As a result, these are, in many respects, the same fairy tales that many of us knew as children. Childlike delight nostalgia = story magic!

If I could make one criticism of this collection, it would be that it’s too short. It only contains a selection of stories. I suppose a complete Grimm audio would be too much to ask for, and I’m still quite impressed with the level of quality here. Moreover, they did a fantastic job of making their selections. This audio performance includes many of my favorites, including “Snow White and Rose Red,” “The Goose Girl,” “The Six Swans,” and “Hansel and Gretel.” Pure delight. ( )

Book 291 - Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm - Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Scary… dark… and definitely not the tales you knew when a child. With tales ending with eaten children… Little Red Cap and not Riding Hood and death after death, these classic tales are not for the faint hearted.

Some are familiar but what struck me was the brevity of the stories. ‘Snow White’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘The Golden Goose’ are just three that are similar to the tales we all know but it is quite shocking how short and how quick the stories end.

Worth a second look but not one for the kiddiewinkles . Don’t have nightmares…do sleep well. ( )

Ok, so this was partially a nostalgia-inducing read. Can't believe so many of the stories I had encountered in my childhood are from the Grimm Brothers' collection. This compilation has many popular favourites in their original complete form. Some of the stories are absolutely beautiful while others are really gruesome. I had heard that the cruelty and violence in original versions of some of the tales led to the Grimms eventually sanitising them. So this book really made me wonder how much darker or gorier the original folk tales would have been.

Of course, the stories are really imaginative and do hold your attention. For a collection that is more than 200 years old, it's a big achievement to be remembered and read even when the world has changed so much since its original publication.

Then again, the problem with the stories remains the same today as it was originally: most of the stories are chauvinistic. The female characters hardly ever have a voice of their own, their only purpose in life is to be married off, and those women who do speak their mind are evil witches or vamps. So this isn't a collection that has adapted to the mentality of the 21st century.

Read it only for a glimpse back into your childhood and nothing else. This is a just-for-fun nostalgic experience, no morals or life lessons to be found here.



***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever!, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.

Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews ( )