In my opinion, this compilation of classics fairy tales is a must read for many reasons. First, the theme of this collection shifts from story to story. Classics such as "The Little Mermaid" has a plot where the main theme is of a young girl coming of age, and "The Ugly Duckling" which has a great message of not judging a book by its cover. Secondly, the characters throughout this collection of stories covers a vast variety from princesses, magical animals, and mermaids to more realistic characters such as, stories about bothersome siblings, or "The Story of a Mother." Each fairy tale included in this collection has a great take-away lesson or message of some kind that teaches readers of kindness, friendship, overcoming hardships, and the importance in believing in yourself. ( )

Anderson's fairy tales have not, on the whole, aged as well as Perrault's timeless classics which I read earlier this year. The collection reads along the same lines as Grimm: standouts that have become an integral part of our culture (Brave Tin Soldier, The Wild Swans, The Emperor's New Clothes, Ugly Duckling, the Princess and the Pea, etc.), mixed with other tales that either seem curiously pointless or with too dated a moral attached. Most could be summed up as "pride bad, humility good." Anderson had a predilection for placing sentience into the most unexpected objects, which can be kind of disturbing to think about after you put the book down and start looking around the room you occupy.

Among the stories I didn't know, there were a few standouts. "The Traveling Companion": seemed vaguely familiar but was a fun read, with some nice twists in the story. "Little Clause and Big Clause": nothing to do with the man in the red suit, as it turned out. I read this to my eight-year-old unwittingly, which was perhaps a bad idea as it contains an absurd amount of violence but portrayed in such a manner as got us both laughing. Can't be worse than the Simpsons. "Pa Always Does What's Right": follows the classic fairy tale's structure, with an appropriate ending and a moral that's more like a wink. "The Snail and the Rosebush": utterly bored me, but just as I was prepared to write it off, I read the final lines that took me from bored to puzzled to impressed. ( )

I read this to my six year-old. It was a big book for him :-) and it took us a few months to get through it. Recommended it to every parents who want their children to be aware of more than just Pokemon and video games. My son and I enjoyed it, although I'm not sure he understood everything. It would probably make a better choice for slightly older children. A wonderful read nonetheless. ( )

Interesting folk story collection, but as one who grew up on these, they are not for children. ( )

A book that's been in the family as long as I can remember, there isn't much more that I can say about Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales except to say that in a world where the Disneyfication of youth always paints life through rose-tinted glasses, there is a pleasingly chilling nature to many of these original tales that presents an alternative to the frequently cloying happy endings of most of Disney's re-tellings. Kids *like* danger presented through the "safe" lens of a book and I think it is a fantastic way for developing psyches to learn that not every story has a happy ending, but that you generally get what you deserve (bad or good). ( )