Fables and Fairy Tales Books

I was always fond of reading the book as a small child, engrossed in the beautiful illustrations and unique stories. These aren't fairy tales, they're moon tales.

Well, recently I found another version at the library and checked it out. It was still great! I am loving it even after all of these years.

If you like Asia, or are just in for a breathtaking book -- well written, well drawn, and painted for anyone, then this is the book for you.

These stories are wonderful and really capture the imagination of children around 5-6 years old.

Just two things to mention:

The age level for these books is 9 & up, but I think they really appeal to younger readers. Certainly an independent reader would have to be reading at a 3rd grade level or above to handle the text. However, the stories are ideal for bedtime or shared family reading.

Also, this book is a continuation of the Wishing Chair stories. I would recommended buying the Wishing Chair Collection since you will also get the early stories where the brother and sister acquire the chair and meet their adventurous friend Chinky the Pixie.

Remember all the words of the nursery rhymes you learned as a child? Neither did we! My husband and I had a blast reading this to our son, and the illustrations are great. If you search the internet, you will see that this book is widely recommended by educators.

Mother Hen is not in the farmyard. Where could she be? Of course, like any good mother hen with a nest full of eggs, she's sitting on her eggs. The farm cat, dog, cow and horse all ask her why she's not outside enjoying the day. Mother Hen's response is always, "Cluck, click, I can't come out. I must sit on my eggs and keep them warm." Afterward, Mother Hen "fluffed out her feathers and settled herself again on her nest of soft, golden hay, where she cuddled her ten white eggs." The repetition of these phrases is calming as it's carried through the book. The dialog between the animals helps the story to flow, as well as helping children to identify with the characters.

What wonderful values Mother Hen teaches children. Sometimes there are obligations beyound what we want to do. In the end, Mother Hen is rewarded for her faithfulness -- her ten white eggs yield ten yellow chickens. The cat, dog, cow and horse celebrate with Mother Hen. Offspring are indeed a blessing.

At first, I found the illustrations too disjointed for children. Mine, however, have had not difficulty identifying with them. They are bright and colorful watercolor (I believe). The illustrations are not too busy, but contain enough objects to identify for younger children.

My rating of this unassuming little book has increased as I've watched my children interact with it. The small nature of the book fits nicely in children's hands. It's lasted very well with two small boys, both of whom really enjoy reading _Mother Hen_.

I have used this book with students of wide-ranging reading levels in grades 4 and 5. The plays are well written and it helps to know the reading levels. Students who were not strong readers were motivated to participate and also benefitted because they paid attention when other people were reading aloud -- so they would be ready for their turn to read.

Both of my children loved this book when they were toddlers, and continue to enjoy it now that they're 6 and 8 and reading many other things. The illustrations are cute, and the text has a jaunty feel that is amusing. The is a bit of dialogue in the pictures that is perfect for new readers. I'm buying a 2nd copy of this because ours has fallen apart from use.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely lovely. They are in whimsical style and should appeal to artists as well as children. Just check out the two page spread for The White Cat which depicts a theater staffed and attended entirely by cats. Every page in this book is covered with color and beautiful illustrations. The background color in an illustration covers the page, and the illustration covers part of the page with text on the rest. This is the kind of book that a child can "read" by looking at the picture, and then read the writing in as they learn to read.

Traditional stories are retold in large print and simple language. This would be a good book for a child who is first learning to read, because they can move from understanding the pictures to understanding the simple writing. The stories retold here are well known favorites:
Little Red Riding Hood
Mother Goose
Hop O' My Thumb
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Three Little Pigs
Rumpelstiltskin
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Frog Princess
The Princess and the Pea
The White Cat
Little Ida's Flowers
Ole Luckoie. Or the Dustman
Thumbelina
The Top and the Ball
The Darning Needle
Blockhead Hans
Sleeping Beauty
Puss in Boots
Tom Thumb
Hansel and Gretel
Beauty and the Beast
Babes in the Woods

This is a perfect book for very young children who are just learning to read. Unfortunately the older printings are likely to be fragile (I have a 1977 edition and it would not hold up to rough treatment). If you are buying a used edition for a child try to get the most recent printing available. The illustrations here also hold up artistically. Some are simple, but some are fantastic. Collectors of art for children are likely to enjoy this.

My daughter got this book about 3 years ago when she was 2. She never really played with it much because she was still too young to be interested.

When she turned 4 she started really playing with this book almost daily. She is now 5 and the book is worn but still in pretty good playing conditon. My daughter and her little girlfriends love to play with it whenever they are here.

It is a great interactive book and a lot of fun for girls ages 4-7. Heck my oldest (who is now 8) still likes to play with it at times.

I highly recommend this book to help your childs imagination sore to new heights!

Geraldine McCaughrean is one of the most respected author/editors of collections of traditional tales. Her tone is always right on in this volume which is excellent as a read-aloud for young children. Ms. McCaughrean keeps the humor in the tales but goes light on the menace. This is a most effective treatment for very young children. I wouldn't hesitate to begin reading these tales to children as young as one year of age. Children have an almost instinctive need for traditional folk tales and My First Oxford Book of Stories provides enough material for many nights of bed-time (or other time!) reading. Excellent illustrations add to the magic.

Every story (each ties to a household object) includes many possibilities for cooking which delights ME (author of RECIPES FOR READING) and encourages young (and formerly young)readers to concoct recipes to amplify and fill out the stories. If every family had a collection of grandmotherly tales like this based on household things, there would be no hope for FootballOnTheTube as a holiday mainstay.