I love a good fairy tale. As an older child I read many of the Andrew Lang fairytales and had a nice collection of the red, yellow, green, and blue fairy books. (I loved it that they were just named by color.) I still have that set and can’t wait to share them with my kids. For now, though, we are still reading picture book versions. To me a beautiful fairytale is one you might read again and again and want to have in your home library. Pretty much every fairy tale has lots of different versions, illustrators, and styles to choose from. Here are two favorites that we’ve added to our collection:
Rapunzel by Sarah Gibb. I adored the illustrations in this version so much that I bought it right away. I knew this would be a gorgeous, readable story for my daughter to enjoy for many years. This is a classic Grimm tale and doesn’t shy away from including the gruesome elements, notably when the prince falls into the thorny patch and is blinded and has to wander the forest. This is a longer book with some full pages of text, but also some beautiful double page spread illustrations. As befits a story about a tall tower and long hair, the illustrations are very vertical and tall. The pictures are really lovely and romantic. And speaking of romantic, I love in this telling how clearly Rapunzel and her prince fall in love. The happy ending is not unexpected, but I still find it very touching every time.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Emma Chichester Clark. Goldilocks has always been my daughter’s favorite fairy tale, but when it came to buying our own copy, which one to choose? The possibilities seemed endless. We’ve read so many different versions from the library and there are so many different styles of illustrations and takes on the story, most of which we’ve enjoyed. I settled on this one because I’m keen on Clark’s pictures and I like how naughty Goldilocks is. The pictures show a lovely cottage with a prominent bird motif, and lavishly patterned curtains, rugs, tablecloths, and dishes. Cuckoo clocks, wall art, tea sets–I basically want to live in this house. In fact, Baby Bear’s bed is my ideal and I wish I could find one like it. Goldilocks does her typical thing-barging in and breaking things and eating things up, but the bears’ reactions are priceless. They seem so genuinely shocked by these bad manners. When Daddy Bear says “that someone is a hooligan and a thief” you completely agree with him. This is a very charming version and we love it!
Other versions we’ve especially enjoyed are:
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems-classic, goofy Willems. A hilarious twist on the story.
The 3 Bears and Goldilocks by Margaret Willey-in this version Goldilocks tries to be helpful and tidy the bears’ abode, but they are angry about it.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Caralyn Buehner-this version’s pictures show a very log cabin, plaid setting that is delightful
Fourteen Bears 