This book contains the most beautiful, traditional Czech stories and has delightful illustrations. I'll be reading it to my baby soon!

The Ugly Duckling. The Little Mermaid. The Tinderbox. The Emperor's New Clothes. The Princess and the Pea. It's all here!

C. S. Lewis, in his preface to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," observed that as children we grow out of hearing fairy tales, but as an adult we can come back to them with fresh eyes and be enchanted in a different way. HCA stories have that amphibian quality of living above and below the supposed age limits.

I find it surprising that HCA writing in a minor language would be so popular, but he is a genius at writing fairy tales. The Grimm Boys just collected and edited the German fairy tales, but HCA was generating new and original fairy tales. I hope we don't sluff off this unique talent he had solely on the ground that he was writing to children. After all, how many naked Emperors have we seen? The comic Dilbert gets it's life blood from the fact that so many emperors can be smooth-talked by so many charlatans, and be sustained in their delusion by smarmy sycophants, and only brought to light by a child.

If children can understand this, why can't we adults?

On the printing-side of the book, I would like to see this in a hardbound, with durable paper, and not the thin and fragile newsprint. I am almost afraid to read this book since the opaper is so delicate!

Every child should read Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales a first introduction to fantasy and modern tales of today. The book is great for adults also. Many stories I recall from my own childhood as I devoured the fairy tales that are enduring and lasting as classics forever.
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three

It is a pity that most people only know Hans Christian Andersen for a few of his "easiest" fairy tales. What springs to mind for almost everyone is stories like "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Ugly Duckling" and perhaps "The Snowqueen". But Hans Christian Andersen has written a vast array of profoundly touching tales. In Odense, Denmark the Danish actor Troels Møller said (two years ago in a lecture on "H.C.A. & God"),

"We are all going to die. H.C.Andersen knew this, he worked with it and he used it to show us all the beauty of life - the beauty of all life."

His stories are not only for children they are for everyone. The likes of H.C.Andersen can be found nowhere. If you want to discover the full grandeur of his genius you MUST read more than just his popular works. I would even urge you to go to Odense to learn Danish - Much is lost in translation. But although the English translation doesn't reach the heights of the original Danish text I still give it one of my 5 star sets. And don't think that it's a case of petty nationalism - you will find no other Danish writer that I'll grant 5 great ones. It is entertainment, philosphy and religion.

Few fairy tale / folk tale collections contain anything from Spain, except possibly "The Half-Chick." However, the stories in this little book are diverse, entertaining, easy to read, and as worthy of notice as those from Germany or France. Especially for children who are bilingual in English and Spanish, these stories are a cultural literacy essential. The illustratiions are also charming, and the slight intermixture of Spanish words gives a pleasantly authentic flavor.

All children in this increasingly multicultural nation deserve a chance to enjoy these well-told, beautifully illustrated stories. My kids love them

Haviland did an excellent job, as she did in all of her fairytale books, to capture the culture and history of the country in her stories. She created a good interpretation of ancient fairytales from India. This book would be very useful in the classroom when learning about India and surrounding countries. It comes highly recommended.

With very original drawings and fun stories, Favorite Fairy Tales told in Ireland, retold by Virginia Haviland is a good buy. It gives the reader a different view of folklore than the traditional stories usually told in the US by adding different spins. Overall I feel this is a good book to own in a library collection.

The stories are very enchanting. Children who are over 8 years old will enjoy reading this book. Since there are several short stories in the book each one is perfect for a parent to read to their child at bedtime. There are a few black and white pictures throughout the book, so if your child is into pictures more than listening you might want to chose another book. Otherwise these stories are very amusing and fun to read.