Treasury of Fairy Tales. This item is unavailable.Treasury of Fairy Tales

PreSchool-Grade 5?This generously scaled collection is the sort of all-in-one package that people buy as gifts. The layout is pleasing and easy on the eyes; there is plenty of color and decoration; and the table of contents indicates the origins of the tales. The large, dark print surrounded by pleasing white space delivers the stories in a simple, straightforward manner faithful to the different cultural traditions. There is a generic air to the volume, however. Originally published in France, it lists neither retellers nor translators. The border decorations are pedestrian and repetitive, while the full-page, full-color illustrations, though competently rendered in a cartoon style, are a bit crowded and unedifying. The characters' faces are particularly formulaic and lacking in expression. Most of the European standards are here, plus a few less-often anthologized selections (e.g., Andersen's "All's Well That Ends Well" and Perrault's "Ricky Tuftyhead"). A couple of the "Arabian Nights" tales are tossed in, as well. Libraries needing another anthology would not be disgraced by this one, but it is not essential.?Sally Margolis, Deerfield Public Library, IL
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