From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5 - From a frontispiece of a Maxfield Parrish Cinderella to small black-and-white engravings and everything in between, this edition of classic princess stories showcases artists from the Golden Age of Illustration, roughly the 1880s to the 1920s. Edens has brought together eight stories, "Cinderella," "The Frog Prince," "The Little Mermaid," "The Princess and the Pea," "Rapunzel," "Sleeping Beauty," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and "Beauty and the Beast," into one nostalgic volume. Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane, Jesse Wilcox Smith, Charles Robinson, Kay Nielsen, and Edmund Dulac are among the American and European artists represented. The edition is rich in language, tone, and picture and despite the disparate nature of each artist's style, it somehow comes together as a classic whole. There is no attribution as to which translation or retelling Edens is drawing from but all of the stories are traditionally retold. He is faithful to Perrault's "Cinderella" in which she attends two balls, losing her slipper at the second, and he also seems to be quite aware of the more or less "authentic" translations of the Brothers Grimm. A preface does identify the dates when the stories first appeared and spins the compiler's world view that these princesses are "powerful, if not indomitable." A handsome addition to collections where a treasury of stories is useful. - Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Princesses, both natural-born and aspiring, hasten toward matrimony in this entry in the Classic Illustrated Editions series of nicely produced volumes that pair beloved stories with vintage images from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Included here are tales by the Brothers Grimm ("The Frog Prince," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves"); Andersen ("The Little Mermaid," "The Princess and the Pea"); Perrault ("Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty"); and de Beaumont ("Beauty and the Beast"). Well-chosen artwork by Arthur Rackham, Charles Dulac, and many others charts changing sensibilities from romantic pre-Raphaelitism to the stylized Art Deco of the 1920s. On the flip side, the mishmash of styles and the inevitably varied interpretations of each princess' appearance may confuse children accustomed to more cohesive treatments. Excellent endnotes citing sources for the illustrations conclude; similar notes for the translations would have made this an even stronger collection. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
The classic tales in this lavishly illustrated collection have enchanted generations of readers. Here, among others, is the fair Snow White, Rapunzel with her golden tresses, and the princess so delicate that even just a small pea hidden under 20 mattresses keeps her awake at night. The stories are paired with magnificent artwork by some of the most renowned children's book illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From Arthur Rackham to Millicent Sowerby to Kay Nielsen, each brought a unique artistic vision to these timeless tales. This beautifully designed edition is equally at home on a child's bedside table as it is on a collector's bookshelf.
About the Author
Cooper Edens is an author and illustrator who lives in Seattle, Washington. His other books include he Night Before Christmas (0-8118-1712-1), The Glorious Christmas Songbook (0-8118-2204-4), and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (0-8118-2274-5), all published by Chronicle Books.
Princess Stories: A Classic Illustrated Edition FROM THE PUBLISHER
The classic tales in this lavishly illustrated collection have enchanted generations of readers. Here, among others, is the fair Snow White, Rapunzel with her golden tresses, and the princess so delicate that even just a small pea hidden under 20 mattresses keeps her awake at night.The stories are paired with magnificent artwork by some of the most renowned children's book illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From Arthur Rackham to Millicent Sowerby to Kay Nielsen, each brought a unique artistic vision to these timeless tales. This beautifully designed edition is equally at home on a child's bedside table as it is on a collector's bookshelf.
Author Biography: Cooper Edens is an author and illustrator who lives in Seattle, Washington. His other books include he Night Before Christmas (0-8118-1712-1), The Glorious Christmas Songbook (0-8118-2204-4), and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (0-8118-2274-5), all published by Chronicle Books.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
From folklore to poems and nursery rhymes, these diverse collections offer readers a host of traditional fare. Vintage illustrations add royal magic to Princess Stories: A Classic Illustrated Edition, compiled by Cooper Edens. The eight standards include "Cinderella," "The Princess and the Pea" and "Sleeping Beauty." As with Edens's other compilations, the illustrations here (taken from 19th- and 20th-century sources) hail from the best of vintage paintings and also incorporate fairy-tale-familiar pen-and-inks in a Germanic style. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Sheryl O'Sullivan
This beautiful collection includes eight traditional tales all involving young heroines. It is Edens' belief that the eight stories are actually, "one and the same story—a story that clearly represents to us that evil cannot absolutely destroy what is real and good." Edens has combined original versions of some of our best-loved folktales with the artwork from multiple retellings of these stories to produce a lovely book. Each tale is presented in its earliest known version dating from the Charles Perrault retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" (1696), to the relatively recent Hans Christian Andersen stories of "The Little Mermaid" and "The Princess and the Pea." Each of the stories is lavishly illustrated using authentic artwork from the many versions of these folktales that have been published throughout the years. This combination of original tales and classic illustrations makes for an intriguing and beautiful book that is satisfying to both the ear and the eye. The book will be a wonderful addition for adult lovers of folklore, however, it may not be as popular as a storybook for children. The use of multiple artists within each story means that the characters' appearances change from page to page which may confuse some children. Also, the original versions of some of the tales are not the sugar-coated versions we know from movies. Some parents may not find these versions acceptable for their children, but the sheer beauty of the book may mean parents will want to buy it for themselves. 2004, Chronicle Books, Ages 8 up.
Art & Photography
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