The Fisherman and His Wife [Paperback]

Jacob Grimm (Author), Wilhelm Grimm (Author), Margot Zemach (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1987

The fisherman's greedy wife is never satisfied with the wishes granted her by an enchanted fish.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A robust translation of the classic tale, with Zemach's charmed paintings of the carnival-like events. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

ea. vol: unpaged. CIP. Troll. 1987. PLB $9.79; pap. $1.95. Grade 2-4 Four traditional tales appear in dull, unimaginative language. In the two Grimm fairy tales the language has been cut and oversimplified, and de tails have been changed for no appar ent reason. In The Fisherman and His Wife , for instance, the penultimate in cidentthe wife asking to be Popeis omitted, and in Jorinda and Joringel the pearl in the flower found by Jorin gel becomes a drop of dew. The Sor cerer's Apprentice, on the other hand, is embellished with added detail. At least Mickey Mouse is not present. The version of Peter and the Wolf does present the action exactly as it is described by Prokofiev's text. Oddly enough, however, when the text de scribes the duck quacking from within the wolf, the illustrator shows the duck walking in the grass! The best il lustrations in this set are those for Jor inda, but they are hardly distinguished, and those for the other volumes are downright poor. For Jor inda try either Margot Tomes (Cow ard, 1978) or Jutta Ashe (Andersen Pr, 1987). For The Fisherman and His Wife, Randall Jarrell's translation with Margot Zemach's pictures (Farrar, 1980) is preferred. For the others, hold on to what you have and wait. Ron ald A. Van De Voorde, Graduate Library School, University of Arizona, Tucson
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J); First Edition edition (September 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374423261
• ISBN-13: 978-0374423261
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,480,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars It will always be in the family, October 30, 2011

By 

bellamina - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fisherman & His Wife (Fairy Tales) (Hardcover)

The Fisherman and his Wife was my sons favorite bedtime story when I use to read to him. I have to laugh because he is now a grown man and now has a brand new baby daughter Remi she is two weeks old now. We moved around alot and somehow the book came up missing so when my daughter had her first child, I ordered one for my 5 year old grandaughter and now it is time to get this brand new baby girl one. I know my son will enjoy reading this story to her, and it has such a good message. If you have never read this, buy it and I know you will understand the moral of the story. It's a great story to add to your library, just be sure you know its packed if you ever move or like me you will be replacing it. I think everyone should read it...I don't want to spoil the story for you but it will teach your children about priorities and the simple things in life are better then greed.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic retelling of an old fable, May 11, 2007

By 

Mrs. Esther J. Smith "book buff" (Queensland, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fisherman & His Wife (Fairy Tales) (Hardcover)

The fisherman and his wife can take any number of retellings and some are better than others. The story is a great parable about greed and the misuse of power and appeals to many age groups. I would like a few more versions of it to add to my collection.