The McElderry Book of Grimms' Fairy Tales

by Saviour Pirotta (Retold by), Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator)

Overview

Enter a magical world of beautiful princesses, handsome princes, goblins, faeries, and dwarves. Here are ten of the most loved fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm in one wickedly entertaining volume.

From that odd little man with the strange name, Rumpelstiltskin, to that slimy green frog who — when kissed — becomes a handsome prince, to brave Rapunzel, imprisoned high in her tower, this is a book full of wonder.

Saviour Pirotta's spirited, contemporary language is perfect for reading aloud. Emma Chichester Clark's illustrations glow with humor and mischief, capturing the loveliness and spookiness of these eternally enchanted tales.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416917984
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date:	10/01/2006
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Saviour Pirotta is an award-winning author of many books for children. Before he became a full-time writer, he was a storyteller. He lives in England.

Emma Chichester Clark is the award-winning illustrator of more than forty collections and picture books, including Michael Morpurgo's The McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables. She is also the author and illustrator of Follow the Leader! She lives in London, England.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 4-An appealing collection of 10 fairy tales, including some of the most familiar, such as "Sleeping Beauty," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Snow White." A few selections are less well known, such as "Little Mouse and Lazy Cat" and "The Swans and the Brave Princess." Pirotta writes like a storyteller, with great imagery and description, and the lively stories read aloud beautifully. They are not as severe as those by the Grimms, which makes them suitable for a younger audience. In "Snow White," for example, in the original version, the evil queen is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes at Snow White's wedding and dances to her death; here, her heart breaks into a thousand fragments as the mirror breaks. Pirotta also adds evocative descriptions, as in "Hansel and Gretel": "the forest echoed with the sound of hooting owls and howling wolves," which adds to the overall sense of fear. Clark's dark, twisty branches in the forest enhance the mood of this story. The large typeface, generous use of white space, and overall design make this book one children can read themselves, and the artist's expressive illustrations contribute to the appeal. No sources are listed.-Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

A British import offers ten mostly familiar tales from the Brothers Grimm, retold in clear if uninspired language. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rose Red, Rapunzel and the Frog Prince share the stage with the Little Mouse and the Lazy Cat and the Six Swans. Pirotta softens some of the tales slightly: Rapunzel doesn't give birth to twins she must raise alone, and the wicked step-queen in Snow White dies of anger rather than from dancing in red-hot iron shoes. Nice design features include large, attractive type and an open layout with full- and half-page images and flowers by the page numbers to track each story. Clark's pictures are clean-lined and richly colored with slightly exaggerated figures who have sharp features and pointed chins. They are set in an almost contemporary world: Snow White wears a cardigan and a flowered skirt in the dwarves' vaguely 19th-century front hall, and the 12 dancing princesses wear party dresses that could have been from the 1960s. A lovely new collection to add to the already stuffed shelves of fairy tales. (Fairy tales. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews