Review: Unimpressive
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 22, 2013
Fairy Tales from the German Forests includes ten tales of German origins. I'm fairy certain that these stories are only written to seem like fairy tales, instead of being properly traditional tales ala The Brother's Grimm.Because they are stories rather than folklore, the morals are heavy-handed, the prose is overfull of descriptions, the ethnocentrism is more distinct, and the setting is a bit more modern.Most of this can be explained because the intended audience is children, but with the unexpected use of a swastika (it's totally just crossed axes, though, according to the text), and the period-appropriate but not currently-appropriate gender roles for little girls, I can't recommend you read it to children. And with the annoying descriptions I can't recommend you read it as an adult. Although I did vaguely enjoy skimming one or two of the tales.But basically you should go find something more productive to read with your time. Or just...stare at a wall for a bit and imagine what an awesome fairy tale would be, because it'll almost definitely be better than these.There's a clickable table of contents and a few illustrations (remarkable!)Contains the following stories:What's the Use of It?The Engineer and the DwarfsKathchen and the KoboldThe Old KingThe Dragon's TailThe Easter HareThe Nixy LakeKing ReinholdThe Witch's GranddaughterHoliday Adventures