Here in one attractive paperbound volume - with enlarged print - are Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltzkin, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Trusty John, Jack and the Giantkiller, Goldilocks, and many other favorites that have become an indispensable part of our culture heritage.All in all, this collection contains 37 stories, all arranged in the clear, lively prose for which Lang was famous. Not only are Lang's generally conceded to be the best English versions of standard stories, his collections are the richest and widest in range. His position as one of England's foremost folklorists as well as his first-rate literary abilities makes his collection invaluable in the English language.

    From the Barnes and Noble Classic Leather Bound edition of 'Fairy Tales from Around the World' and originally published 'The Blue Fairy Book' by Andrew Lang.

    He has always felt rather an impostor, because so many children seem to think that he made up these books out of his own head. Now he only picked up a great many old fairy tales, told in French, German, Greek, Chinese, Red Indian, Russian, and other languages, and had them translated and printed, with pictures. He is glad that children like them, but he must confess that they should be grateful to old forgotten people, long ago, who first invented these tales, and who knew more about fairies than we can hope to do.My Own Fairy Book, which you now have in your hands, was made up altogether out of his own head by the Author, of course with the help of the Historical Papers in the kingdom of Pantouflia. About that ancient kingdom very little is known. The natives speak German; but the Royal Family, as usual, was of foreign origin. Just as England has had Norman, Scottish, and, at present, a line of German monarchs, so the kings of Pantouflia are descended from an old Greek family, the Hypnotidae, who came to Pantouflia during the Crusades. They wanted, they explained, not to be troubled with the Crusades, which they thought very injudicious and tiresome. The Crest of the regal house is a Dormouse, dormant, proper, on a field vert, and the Motto, when translated out of the original Greek, means, Anything for a Quiet Life.

    Features 40 full-color depictions of ethereal figures clad in flowery garments, each of which appears with a whimsical verse. A treasure for admirers of fine book illustration, this charming volume will also delight flower lovers of all ages and anyone enchanted by fairies and make-believe.