Cinderella, Puss in Boots and Other Favorite Tales [Hardcover]

Perrault Charles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000 | Grade Level: 2 and up

The universally celebrated fairy tales of Charles Perrault--Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Blue Beard, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, and Little Tom Thumb, among others--were first published in France in 1697. Everyone knows most if not all of these tales, but few realize that Perrault was the first to put these stories, which had been passed down through the oral tradition for generations, in written form.

Through the centuries, the stories have been adapted and changed. Now, this profusely illustrated volume presents Perrault's original texts--filled with beautiful princesses, evil ogres, talking cats, and fairy godmothers--and their concluding morals. Readers will find new enjoyment in these delightfully illustrated versions of Perrault's tales, some of the earliest and most entertaining accounts of our favorite stories.

CHARLES PERRAULT (1628 1703) published a collection of eight fairy tales in 1697 entitled Histoires ou contes du temps passe avec des moralites, (Histories or Tales of Long Ago with Morals). The work became the most important and popular collection of fairy tales until that of the Grimm Brothers in 1812. These fairy tales were not invented by Perrault; the stories had been passed down through many generations through the spoken word, but Perrault was the first person to write them down in the form which we know today as the fairy tale.

Corinne Chalmeau, Fabienne Fesseydre, Lionel de Neouanic are all European children;'s book artists. 168 pages of illustrations in full color, 8 x 10 1/2"

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-New translations of often-adapted Perrault tales, first published in 1697 as Histoires ou contes du temps pass avec des moralit s. Johnson provides a fresh look at "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Fairies" (also known as "Diamonds and Toads"), "Puss in Boots," "Blue Beard," "Cinderella," "Ricky of the Tuft," "The Sleeping Beauty," and "Little Tom Thumb." Children may have forgotten, or may never have known, that Little Red Riding Hood gets eaten by the wolf and that Sleeping Beauty's awakening is only the beginning of her story. Perrault's morals in verse also allow readers to rethink the tales. Each story is illustrated by a different French artist on partial spreads and in spot art on every page. The large text and use of white space add to the sense of elegance in the design. A short introduction lends some context to the translation, although John Bierhorst's The Glass Slipper: Charles Perrault's Tales from Times Past (Four Winds, 1981; o.p.) provides a much more intriguing and informative afterword and bibliography. As it contains the same eight tales, libraries that already own that book may not need this new one even though it is colorful and enticing. Libraries without such a collection should easily find use for this bright new translation of long-ago stories.
Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

While storytellers had passed these tales down orally through countless generations, Charles Perrault, a Frenchman, was the first to publish them in 1697. These eight old favorites, newly translated by A. E. Johnson into straightforward, simple English, do not shrink from the harsh truths of a more primitive time. Thus, the wicked Wolf devours Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother - no huntsman to save them. (Perrault's moral that "young lasses ... do very wrong to listen to strangers" hardly provides solace.) Cinderella's spiteful stepsisters, on the other hand, are pardoned by our heroine and married off to "two gentlemen of high rank." Each story is illustrated by a different artist, some more successfully than others. The tellings are leisurely, and more than one tale at a sitting would be too many. A 2000 Parents' Choice® Silver Honor.

Reviewed by Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice® 2000 -- From Parents' Choice®

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 162 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams; First American Edition edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810940140
• ISBN-13: 978-0810940147
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,286,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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