EducatingParents.org rating: Under Review

Contents:
• Tom Thumb / The Brothers Grimm
• The Fisherman and His Wife / The Brothers Grimm
• The Magic Boots / Hans Christian Andersen
• The Rabbit and the Turtle / Aesop
• The Cat and the Mouse / Aesop
• The Monkey and the Fox / Aesop
• The Wild Swans / Hans Christian Andersen
• The Winners / Hans Christian Andersen
• The Blackbird and the Peacocks / Aesop
• The Fox and the Crow / Aesop
• The Lion and the Mouse / Aesop
• The Frog and the Ox / Aesop
• Big Klaus, Little Klaus / Hans Christian Andersen
• Hans in Luck / The Brothers Grimm
• The Seven Swabians / The Brothers Grimm
• The Wolf and the Dog / Aesop
• The Fox and the Crane / Aesop
• The Wolf and the Lamb / Aesop
• The Grasshopper and the Ants / Aesop
• The Marsh King's Daughter / Hans Christian Andersen
• The Traveling Companion / Hans Christian Andersen
• The Evil King / Hans Christian Andersen
• About the Authors
• About the Artist

Carle, E. (1988). Treasury of Classic Stories for Children: by Aesop, Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, selected retold and illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Orchard Books.

0531057429

Carle's beautiful illustrations (in his usual style) help these classic folktales and stories to come--not alive, necessarily, but at the very least more eye-catching. With artwork incorporated onto each page, Carle's interpretations of the works of Aesop, the Grimms, and Anderson may be enjoyed.

While there is a great deal of trickery and the occasional death among the these pages, there is not nearly as much depressing or morbid content as could be found in the complete collections of the Grimm brothers or Hans Christian Anderson's works.

I also liked that the morals of Aesop's fables were not emphasized too heavily or pulled out into a special section as occurs in some other collections.

Overall, Carle includes some more famous stories (such as Tom Thumb by the Grimms and The Grasshopper and the Ants or The Rabbit and the Turtle by Aesop) balanced with stories that students will probably be less familiar with.

Activities to Do with the Book:

This collection would serve as an excellent read aloud to children who love fairytales and folktales, whether they've been exposed to such stories extensively or only have the Disney versions.

The stories would lend themselves to be acted out among children. Also, since most of these stories come to us from Ancient times or the 1800s, students could consider the clothing and setting Carle chose to use in his illustrations.

Many of the stories could be tied or used with other literature because of similar themes. For example, The Grimms' Hans in Luck works well with Shel Silverstein's poem "Smart." The Evil King by Hans Christina Anderson has details similar to The Emperor's New Clothes. etc.


Favorite Quotes:

“What a sad thing it is that we have no children. We live too quietly. A child would cheer us up" (p. 9).

"A well-known judge loved to talk about the good old times.
Whether he was visiting someone else or someone was visiting him, it wasn't long before he began talking about the olden days and how much better they had been" (p. 31).

"A rabbit and a turtle were looking for something to do to while away the afternoon.
"How about a race?" suggested the rabbit, who was a very fast runner" (p. 36).

For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.

Eric Carle’s Fairy Tales and Fables is Eric Carle’s retelling of selected tales from Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen. His artwork is in a similar style as he’s always done—multi-layered collages. This style of art worked well for stories with animals, but the illustrations with humans were not as attractive to me. (I thought the humans in “The Wild Swans” were horribly ugly, but I suppose it’s an art preference.)

Eric Carle selected the tales based on his favorite stories as a child, but I found his selection of stories to be odd. For instance, he retold “The Seven Swabians” and after reading it I seriously thought to myself, “that was dumb.” Nothing happened in it. I suppose that’s the reason it’s not a well-known story of the Brothers Grimm. Ultimately, I disliked his re-tellings. I did not feel they were well-written. After reading a few stories aloud to my son, I skimmed the rest before deciding I was bored with this collection. I’m glad I had checked this out of the library rather than purchasing it.

More thoughts on my blog

Classic stories selected, retold, and illustrated by Eric Carle. For mid-range readers. ( )