Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Okay, I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the BEST book of fairy tales you will ever find in the English language. Certainly, there are books out there with more tales or more happily-ever-after endings, but this is the best. Period. I received it as a gift when I was a child and I absolutely adored it. The illustrations are truly gorgeous - most have a pseudo-Renaissance appearance to them and ALL have really amazing detail. They are also quite enormous, taking up an entire page and sometimes 2 entire pages! You can tell a real painter, not a typical kids' book animator, created these works of art. The artwork adds an extra element of classical style to these 28 stories, which have been gathered from all around the world. Some of the stories are familiar, some are not, but all have been translated with great care and love; this is immediately evident when you read even the familiar ones like Sleeping Beauty and realize that the details are a little different from the typical sanguine, Disneyfied versions you commonly see. These tales are probably very much like their original versions; in other words, they are not always happy, and sometimes they are actually quite sad. I remember as a child loving the stories yet fearing to read a few of them too because they were so sad. But this very trait is what makes them so dear to me beyond any other versions of the same tales that you might read ... One last word - this is quite an oversized book - 11' X 20' or so. So if you buy it, be sure you have a large enough bookshelf for it, because this is a book you will keep forever! Five stars all the way!