my father bought this to read to me when i was a little girl. the stories, retellings of faerie tales from around the world, are at times gruesome, beautiful, captivating. there are witches, kings, princesses, and enchantments and curses, naturally, yet absolutely no faerie tale cliches. the stories are unique, yet maintain the air of tales from long ago and far away. i recommend this and others by ruth manning-sanders. i have several of her volumes on my shelf, which i will read to my children. this one will either give em nightmares or toughen em up ;)

Ruth Manning Sanders' fairy tale books were some of my favorite as a child. I remember summers spent at the air-conditioned library in town reading her books with those wonderful illustrations, and being taken to another world for a while!

In third grade I was obsessed with mythology and folklore so, naturally, I gravitated toward this title. The book was old and neglected in my grade school library but something spoke to me in its dated English and gorgeous but sparse illustrations. These tales are the real item; not a bit of harsh family life, violence or unrequited love has been left out. I remember being very impressed with its reality. It's a shame that another printing isn't available; I don't think I'll be able to scrape together almost $200.00 to purchase the copy this search found. If you are fortunate enough to find one, snap it up to keep with your Sandman and Brothers Grimm.

This book was a favorite of mine as a child. I just recently found it at a local library and am currently reading it. I now remember why I borrowed it so much when I was young! It is full of various stories from around the world, portraying mermaids both noble and mischievous. Truly detailed, imaginative, amazing. A must-have book!

This is one of the best books I've ever read. All of the stories have a distinct flavor and mix of all that is to be had in a fairtale book. All the stories are unique and are unlike any modern tale. And I've got a copy, yaaay!