Customer Reviews

Stories from Around the World (Stories for Young Children)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a Russian native, very familiar with Baba Yaga from an early age, let me first tell you that this is the ORIGINAL story, as told by the Russian folklore. That's how i heard it read to me by my mother, father, and granmothers. I dont know if children in US are more babied (and parents certainly have a right to their opinions on how to raise their children) but it often seems that parents want to protect their children from too much. there's nothing wrong with this book or with these stories. that's how they're told to millions of children who live in Eastern European countries and parts of Asia.

Personally I'd rather read this book to my daughter, than let my child watch Nickelodeon or Disney channel (which prmotes lots of violence in all of Disney cartoons).

I'd like to add that since i've become an Usborne Books & More Independent Consultant, I was very proud to learn that Peter Usborne maintained the authenticity of many of these stories, rather than "making them nicer" for the Western audiences.

We bought this book for our 3-year old as an alternative to her usually favorite princess and fairy stories, and she loves it! There are stories from different cultures, and she loves picking stories from the map on the inside cover. The artwork is also beautiful.

Beautiful presentation and wonderful stories, artwork is colorful. Purchased for grandchild who is presently just an infant, Stories are enchanting. Well done.

We have purchased hundreds of childrens books and borrowed hundreds more to read our daughter, but Usbourne's "Stories From Around the World" was consistently our daughter's favorite from when she was about 3-7 years-old. She asked me to read this book to her more often than any other book and consistently chose to bring it over all others on family trips. She still keeps it on her bed even though she has long since moved on to reading young adult books. Incidentally, one reviewer mentioned that certain stories like "Baba Yaga" were too scarey for small children. I too was initially concerned, but our often overly sensitive daughter thought the "scarey stories" were absolutely thrilling, especially when she was three.

I bought the book and my kids love it. They like to learn about fairy tales from other countries and they can read them and discuss among themselves and compare to fairy tales from the US

I got this book to use in the classroom one day but so far I haven't had that opportunity. However, my son and I have been enjoying reading from it!

This books is not for sensitive children, and many young children will find the stories too graphic. For example, in Baba The Witch, a girl is sent to a witch to be killed and eaten and has to run for her life to the point of exhaustion! It is not hinted it but literally said that the witch is going to eat her. The witch tries to kick her pets, and the images of her are terrifying! This is nothing like Snow White eating an apple and falling asleep. The book literally says that the witch is going to EAT the girl, and the story is written in a way that makes you feel how frantic the poor girl is. I really liked the idea of this book, but it is way too intense for sensitive or young children.

The things I like about this book: nice hardcover book, beautiful bright colors, nice children's map on the inside cover.

After reading a few of these stories to my children I decided I do not care for folklore, made up stories of (ex.) how the turtle got his shell. Instead of letting them read it on their own, I prefer to read this book to my children so, I can explain what really happened or how things really are.

I wish I had borrowed this book from my public library and read it with my children before purchasing it for our home library.