Wishlist Wednesday #58

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

So what do you need to do to join in?

• Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
• Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
• Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.
• Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.
• Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of this post.
• Put a link back to pen to paper (http://www.pentopaperblog.com) somewhere in your post, and a note saying that Pen to Paper is the host of the meme.
• Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

Grimm Tales for Young and Old
by Philip Pullman

Goodreads synopsis:

In this beautiful book of classic fairy tales, award-winning author Philip Pullman has chosen his fifty favourite stories from the Brothers Grimm and presents them in a'clear as water' retelling, in his unique and brilliant voice.

From the quests and romance of classics such as 'Rapunzel', 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella' to the danger and wit of such lesser-known tales as 'The Three Snake Leaves', 'Hans-my-Hedgehog' and 'Godfather Death', Pullman brings the heart of each timeless tale to the fore, following with a brief but fascinating commentary on the story's background and history. In his introduction, he discusses how these stories have lasted so long, and become part of our collective storytelling imagination.

These new versions show the adventures at their most lucid and engaging yet. Pullman's Grimm Tales of wicked wives, brave children and villainous kings will have you reading, reading aloud and rereading them for many years to come.

Last year, at University, I studied a module called 'Children's Fiction'. Obviously we studied Fairy Tales, including those of the Brothers Grimm, at some length, and I discovered that I enjoyed them more now, than I ever did as a child. For whatever reason, they just didn't hold my attention all that much, when I was young, but I really loved reading them from a critical and analytical point of view, and this made them much more interesting to me (particularly when compared to modern children's fiction).
The Brothers Grimm did not create these tales (they may have created a couple I guess, but none that I've heard of) - the fairy tales are written re-tellings of oral tales, told by peasants for centuries before they were written down (again, not by the Brothers Grimm, but by others before them).
I love this tradition of taking a known tale, and re-writing and re-working it, for a new generation, and I can't wait to see what twist Philip Pullman has put on each of the tales.
I'm a huge fan of His Dark Materials, so I'm hoping that I will love his fairy tale re-workings just as much!

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