Megicce Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) Hi there! I have a 2nd grader (reading probably on a 4th-5th grade level? she's very comfortable whipping through Little House, Charlotte's Web, etc.) with a sensitive disposition and an obsession with fairy tales. She'd love more of them to read, and I'd love to steer her away from Disney adaptations and toward something more classic. Unfortunately, I don't know of any good collections apart from the Andrew Lang books (Blue Fairy Book, etc), and from what I have heard ​(I have not read them personally) they can tend toward the grisly/gruesome, which I don't think would be a good fit for her at this stage of the game. Are any of the Andrew Lang books milder than others, in that respect? Or do you have any recommendations for nice collections of perhaps slightly gentled fairy tales that are still truer to the classic versions? We've done very well listening to Jim Weiss's versions (Fairytale Favorites in Story and Song, etc), and something like that would be lovely - toned down a little but more faithful. Thank you! Edited March 17, 2016 by Megicce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) I LOVE the out-of-print "Book of…" series by Ruth Manning Sanders (Book of Wizards, Book of Dragons, Book of Mermaids, etc.). Many of these are available pretty inexpensively at used book sites. Really nice writing, with each book having 10-15 tales from around the world, all focused on a single type of character. Here's info on A Book of Giants, for a sample. Another nice collection (also out of print) is the Reader's Digest The World's Best Fairy Tales -- I had this one as a child; it looks like it also comes as a 2-volume set. What I esp. like about this one is that it includes ALL of the fairytales that are widely known, and loads of lesser-known ones as well. So, Lang, Grimm, and Anderson, plus others, all in one place. Here are some past threads with more ideas: Best fairy tale collection Beautiful fairytale books - illustrations and stories S/o fairy tale thread -- recommended fairy tale compilation Fairy tales (suggestions for anthologies) What is your favorite one-volume Aesop? Fairy Tales? Nursery Rhymes/Mother Goose? Edited March 17, 2016 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Thanks Lori D. You always have the best lists! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Thanks Lori D. You always have the best lists! :) You don't have a "like" option, so here's my work-around to like your post. ;) :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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