American Fairy Tales
L. Frank Baum (1856 - 1919)
MP3 CD
(IDB Productions, Jan. 1, 2016)
This collection of twelve fairy tales comes from the creator of the famous Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum. Dating from 1901, these stories are naturally a bit old-fashioned, and some may seem quite strange and overall politically incorrect for our present reality. If they were published today, it is very unlikely that they would be called fairy tales; they would be put instead in the “fantasy” category, because even if there contain magical elements, the stories are not exclusively about children, au contraire: they have the power to enchant both young and mature readers. Another thing to be appreciated is that they are original stories, not versions of classic fairy tales. “American Fairy Tales” is a work of its time that must be read and understood in the context. The author uses his great skills to transform the ordinary into magic, with enchantment and humor. Readers will meet original characters: modern fairies, pink glass dogs, the King of the Polar Bears, zombie birds, princesses - who causes extraordinary things to happen. Some ordinary town folks eat magic bonbons and their behavior goes crazy, a girl discovers something totally unexpected in her attic, a dummy comes to life, a young cowboy captures Father Time, a plumber falls in love with a princess, a regular water pump pumps gold and many other situations – all being set in… America: Chicago, Boston, New England etc.Each fairy tale has its own moral, which is detailed in the end, just in case you missed it. Most of them preach against the seven deadly sins. However, we can say that there is one exception where the moral seems to be missing, but actually it is a bit twisted: “The glass dog” tale, in which the wizard, who should tell the moral in the end, is scared away by the barking dog.