The Brothers Grimm: Introduction

I have long loved fairy tales as I knew them – generally from popular saccharine representations in children’s picture books and (of course) Disney movies. Later on, I came to love young adult fairy tale novelizations such as those by Jessica Day George and Robin McKinley. But, apart from my childhood reading and re-reading of Anderson’s Fairy Tales, I haven’t read many original fairy tales.

Since I am familiar with Hans Christian Anderson’s original tales, I’ve selected a less familiar collection of originals for this month’s Reading to Know Book Club – Grimms’ Fairy Tales (link to Wikipedia).

Grimms’ Fairy Tales include 200 separate tales – familiar tales such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, and Little Red Riding Hood, but also much less familiar ones. Since the volumes are rather large, I don’t expect that many of us will read them in their entirety (I’m going to try but to give myself plenty of grace if I don’t end up doing so!). So this challenge will be to read one or more of the Grimm brothers’ original fairy tales and to write about them so we all can learn a bit more about the tales behind the children’s storybook versions.

As I mentioned on my nightstand post, I’m planning on reading:

• Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales 1993 edition published by Barnes and Noble Books
• As many picture book versions of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales as my library owns
• Whatever else strikes my fancy related to the Brothers Grimm (Tirzah Mae and I have been enjoying listening to a recording of Hansel Humperdink’s Hansel und Gretel, a German opera based on the Grimm fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel”)

I’ve already started reading a number of different picture book versions and will have frequent updates throughout the month on the best (and worst) versions I’ve seen – and commentary on the stories.

Anybody wanna read along with us?