Other editions of book The Blue Fairy Book

The poet, novelist, and literary critic Andrew Lang (1844-1912) wrote, edited, collected, or contributed to more than 150 works, of which the most notable are his Fairy Books, a series of 25 collections of stories for children published between 1889 and 1913. Lang created the enchanting world of fairyland inhabited by the snow-queen, the mermaid's son, giants, ogres, dwarfs, monsters and magicians. The Blue Fairy Book (1889) is the first volume in the series and contains some of the most familiar tales from sources like The Arabian Nights, Grimm, Charles Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, Norwegian folklore, and more. Tales featured in The Blue Fairy Book include "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast", "Blue Beard", "The Bronze Ring", "Cinderella", "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", "The Forty Thieves", "Hansel and Gretel", "Puss in Boots", "Trusty John", "Jack and the Giant Killer", "Goldilocks", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Rumpelstiltskin". Lang's versions of fairy tales are generally considered to be the best English versions, and his collections are the richest and widest in range.

If you are new to Lang, it started in 1889 with the blue fairy book, and then a series developed, yellow, crimson, orange, red, and so forth. The fact that this series has endured to now is a testament to its quality. As you read, you will discover fairy tales and myths from all over the world, including the well known writers such as Grimm, Andersen, Perrault, and Mme D'Aulnoy. These are not the politically correct stories you might expect, and I believe you will find them useful whether it's for your own reading pleasure, of for passing on stories to children. In fact, if you look beyond the surface of the story, there is a cautionary aspect for children who might get lost, and the evil characters they might meet like the wolf in sheep's clothing, or the boy who cried wolf, or the nice person who offers a gift, but is really a wicked queen in disguise. There may be a young prince who helps a hairy man escape, and the king embarrassed and enraged orders the child to be killed. Naturally the woodsman slaughters an animal instead, and returns those to the king instead as evidence of performance of the deed. There are stories of boys becoming men, being tested by the princess, and doing great deeds to prove their worth. Some characters are wicked and evil, and so the protagonist has to develop resources of their own to defeat the deceit, trickery, jealousy, ambition, and wickedness of the people they encounter. I recommend you start with the blue book, because it has most of the best known stories, for example, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots. You can check the contents of each book at mythfolklore, and even read the stories online I know you will enjoy these wonderful stories, and I hope this review was helpful. ( Amazon customer)