Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Grimms - Amazon reviews; added Links Page

The Grimm's Fairy Tales are all *Five* Favourite Stars in my Read and Make Read collection in my Library. Children love to read and listen. Even write reviews. Grimms Fairy tales are famous collection of German Folk Tales by two brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. The first volume contained 86 tales and the second 70 and the last around 210 tales. The translations are perfect in this book and and took minute care to language details. The Grimms had taken pains to collect the tales mainly from friends and acquaintances who lived in and around a place called kassel in Germany and printed as expression of the spirit of german people. These retold stories with their own versions, the brothers have come out to suit public taste and their ideas about telling tales effectively. The translator Ralph Manheim has taken pains equally in translations! Grimm Brothers made the tales softer as children loved to read them. National Geographic serves up an adventure into Grimm fairy tales, some of which include Audio. Click on the Treasure box for a Biography, resource links, and a kid's activity page.




Here are two Reviews from my Amazon Reviews List: (My Amazon Profile + Reviews + My Book (Bibliography) + My Author Blog + Listmania + Wish List + Guides + Friends & Interesting People + Customer Tags....)

Red Riding Hood
Grimms had a superb storyline but the version of Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman is a Perfect Example for the kids to follow in their day to day life. Red Riding Hood is a sweet innocent girl who in her childishness, does not obey her mom nor keeps her promise. She lacks in her manners but is a friendly, social girl who loves animals and nature. This version has minimum violence illustration. It sets a perfect example to the child with moral values to be good, obedient, careful, keep to promises and the sort. Good for classrooms or parental teach. A child centered tale, the book offers fun and entertaining with a moral in a renewed way and is a good collection of these series of stories in the library. A good Buy and gift for kids.

Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel is my fav fairy tales. Almost all stories of Grimm have moral values and this one is no exception. Fairy tales were told as form of entertainment too. They show the kids the right way to behave. However, If pondered over, Hansel and Gretel is one fairy tale with Biblical resemblance. The kids view their parents house as a place of security. The two children are wandering through the woods and are hungry, tired and alone. This closely resembles the passage where Jesus wandered through the desert for forty days. He too was tired and hungry and completely alone. During this time, Satan tried to tempt Jesus with food. Satan told Him that if He were the Son of God, then He should turn a stone into bread for food (Luke 4:3). Jesus did not get tempted but here in the story, the children saw the gingerbread house and ate parts of it until they were full. The children continued to eat pieces of it even after they were full, which is gluttony. And Gluttony is one topic in Bible is seen as one of the seven deadly sins, if I am not mistaken. Than the final part, Gretel traps the witch inside her own oven, right before she was getting ready to cook Hansel. The witch is burnt up. This resembles the story of Satan. At the end of Satan's reign over earth, the Christians will be saved from the fire and Satan will be thrown into the fiery pit of Hell, where he will be tortured forever. In end, there is rejoicing; very similiar when the satan (witch) dies,the children reap the rewards and rejoice to 'live happily ever after' Moreover, the tale show abandonment, hunger, fear,friendly sibling example, family unity - issues that startles kids minds to pause and think. It makes the kids dive into imagination and with the very good illustrations and very well re-told classic, this book is a wonderful Pick for all Children - Best of the Best Fairy tale to read and instill moral values in kids.

You can find more Profiles in Literature and hang on to Fairyland for stories to make Projects. Find more on Encourage Kids for Reading here with tips for developing reading habits. Also find Links to Stories in newly made Links Pages and more in Resources. Enjoy.

You can find more Profiles in Literature and hang on to Fairyland for stories to make Projects. Find more on Encourage Kids for Reading here with tips for developing reading habits. Also find Links to Stories in newly made Links Pages and more in Resources. Enjoy.

- ilaxi patelEditor, www.kidsfreesouls.com

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