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pandobeano's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars, rounded up.
This was such a pretty book; LMA's descriptions of the fairy worlds and characters within were so lovely and whimsical. I listened to this book via a podcast called The Sleepy Bookshelf. It was a great pick, because this set of stories was perfect for falling asleep to- thanks in part to both the lovely imagery and the boringness of the fables.
I wasn't a huge fan of any of the morals in these fables. They were *very* Victorian, which makes sense as this was written in the 1850's (i think?). The preachiness of the morals in these books was very grating; the black and whiteness of the Good v Bad, etc. The 'too-good' character of the fairies was saccharine and irritating, and by the end of most of the tales, I wasn't rooting for the protagonist anymore because they bothered me too much.
One tale was more concerning than irritating, where the fairy straps a flower to a little girl's head to try and force her to be good via Pavlovian conditioning. It seemed more like brainwashing to me. Spooky stuff. The Victorians sure let some stuff fly that wouldn't today.
This was such a pretty book; LMA's descriptions of the fairy worlds and characters within were so lovely and whimsical. I listened to this book via a podcast called The Sleepy Bookshelf. It was a great pick, because this set of stories was perfect for falling asleep to- thanks in part to both the lovely imagery and the boringness of the fables.
I wasn't a huge fan of any of the morals in these fables. They were *very* Victorian, which makes sense as this was written in the 1850's (i think?). The preachiness of the morals in these books was very grating; the black and whiteness of the Good v Bad, etc. The 'too-good' character of the fairies was saccharine and irritating, and by the end of most of the tales, I wasn't rooting for the protagonist anymore because they bothered me too much.
One tale was more concerning than irritating, where the fairy straps a flower to a little girl's head to try and force her to be good via Pavlovian conditioning. It seemed more like brainwashing to me. Spooky stuff. The Victorians sure let some stuff fly that wouldn't today.
booksbyantheia's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Son historias muy hermosas, se me hicieron medias pesadas debido al lenguaje utilizado, pero son muy inspiradoras para la creatividad, y muestran un lado diferente de Louisa como escritora.
eringow's review against another edition
2.0
Not the best fairy tales ever, but it was worth reading this short collection simply because it's written by Louisa May Alcott.
toad_maiden's review against another edition
3.0
Sentimental and a bit didactic, but these would probably be magical to the right kid.
geenween's review against another edition
1.0
*** ITA/ENG ***
Scusami Louisa, non ce l'ho fatta a finirlo. Sicuramente potrebbe piacere a bambini più piccoli, ma per me è ormai troppo smielato e noioso.
***************
I'm sorry Louise, I could not finish this. I'm not excluding children might like it, but for me it was too saccharine and boring.
Scusami Louisa, non ce l'ho fatta a finirlo. Sicuramente potrebbe piacere a bambini più piccoli, ma per me è ormai troppo smielato e noioso.
***************
I'm sorry Louise, I could not finish this. I'm not excluding children might like it, but for me it was too saccharine and boring.
vi__'s review against another edition
3.0
The most adorable and soft short stories. They are so gentle and beautiful, the use of words and language is so lovely. I think that the stories got a little repetitive but it was adorable.
elevetha's review against another edition
2.0
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
2.5 stars.
This is a nice, fairly short, set of fables, and poetry, as told by, and featuring, the flower fairies of Alcott's imagination. The imagery in the fables is quite lovely, though the illustrations scattered throughout didn't fit my mental image of it or the characters. However, I have to say, I'm not a great fan of Alcott's moral tales. The content is on point, but there's something in the way that it's presented that mostly has me rolling my eyes. However, in the case of these fables, I can't really fault Alcott, considering that Aesop's Fables never did anything for me either.
My favorite of the fables, not counting the poetry, were The Frost King, which reminded me a bit of Strange Magic and Lily Bell and Thistledown, in which Thistledown is unlikable and mean, but comes to become a better person, rather than starting out perfect, like Lily Bell.
2.5 stars.
This is a nice, fairly short, set of fables, and poetry, as told by, and featuring, the flower fairies of Alcott's imagination. The imagery in the fables is quite lovely, though the illustrations scattered throughout didn't fit my mental image of it or the characters. However, I have to say, I'm not a great fan of Alcott's moral tales. The content is on point, but there's something in the way that it's presented that mostly has me rolling my eyes. However, in the case of these fables, I can't really fault Alcott, considering that Aesop's Fables never did anything for me either.
My favorite of the fables, not counting the poetry, were The Frost King, which reminded me a bit of Strange Magic and Lily Bell and Thistledown, in which Thistledown is unlikable and mean, but comes to become a better person, rather than starting out perfect, like Lily Bell.
phoenixs's review against another edition
2.0
While I'm sure this is a delight for children, especially the religious children of civil-war era America, I found this children's book saccharine and strangely uninspiring. Even the darker moments (if you can really call them that) of these fables come off as anti-climactic and shallow, and I feel that the moral lessons of each tale have had their impact lessened because of a sort of forced censorship. It seemed like any consequences the protagonists of each tale suffered for not heeding the moral lesson being taught them was rather harmless, as it was assured that nothing (not even death) could be final. Just as long as they worked hard, they could even resurrect the dead, which again felt rather trite to me. Not to sound harsh, but I feel that giving children the idea that you can bring back someone who's died just by wishing for it hard enough a little false. Even though it'd be a lot harder to include a tale like this in a set of fables, I would've rathered that in some instances they taught the audience of the story that in some cases, you will not be able to get what you want, even when you work long and hard. Or perhaps discuss how change will come to everyone and that it is better to accept change and learn to adapt than to endlessly toil and wish for things to go back to the way they were. I feel I might be asking too much of a set of fables that are meant to teach good values to children. Oh well. At least it was a quick enough read once I realized each of the fables was nearly the same in its essentials. Work hard and be kind and patient.
I wonder if this was an early work of Alcott's because even Little Women had more of a balance between its sentimentality and realism. I prefer Alcott's gothic stories, and shall stick to those and the sequel (sequels? Can't remember) to Little Women.
I wonder if this was an early work of Alcott's because even Little Women had more of a balance between its sentimentality and realism. I prefer Alcott's gothic stories, and shall stick to those and the sequel (sequels? Can't remember) to Little Women.
jessies's review against another edition
3.0
ARC from NetGalley.
This is a collection of very sweet fables by Louisa May Alcott. It is amazing that she wrote these stories when she was just 16! The stories feature fantastical characters such as elves and faeries, they teach lessons on fairness, love and even civil disobedience. One can definitely see themes of her future books in these fables. This addition features very nice black and white drawings to go along with the fables. This is a great book to read to young kids.
This is a collection of very sweet fables by Louisa May Alcott. It is amazing that she wrote these stories when she was just 16! The stories feature fantastical characters such as elves and faeries, they teach lessons on fairness, love and even civil disobedience. One can definitely see themes of her future books in these fables. This addition features very nice black and white drawings to go along with the fables. This is a great book to read to young kids.
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