East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old tales from the North Hardcover – January 1, 1977

a few years ago, was greatly interested in the work of the illustrator Kay Nielsen ( who is, of course, the illustrator of this book ) so i bought a book about him. Nielsen's Fairy Tale Illustrations in Full Color Immediately fell in love with the illustrations , and was very curios to read the texts to which they refer.Unfortunately - all of his books are books that have not been reprinted for many years and therefore are hard to find and extremely expensive.However- a few weeks ago i bought "East of the sun and west of the moon" here on amazon from a used books store. The illustrations are beautiful, bright and very well printed. I'd say this book is worth buying for their sake alone. The stories will take you far away and back in time to "The Old Norse", the land of giants and trolls and princes under a curse waiting to be saved, told in a lovely and a bit archaic English that I found to be absolutely charming.It was a joy to read and I look forward to the day my kids are old enough to enjoy it with meOn a more prosaic matter - the cost:I hold a hardcover 1986 Omega edition of the book, and it is sold by some used book dealers at a very reasonable price. By reasonable I mean I don't think paying over 25$ is a good idea. No need to go all crazy with the spending unless you're looking for a first edition, and that, naturally , is going to cost you.But If , like i did, you're just looking to enjoy the stories and the illustration this is a great edition.As a last resort- if you can't find a used book in a sane price, I recommend  Nielsen's Fairy Tale Illustrations in Full Color  since the reproduction are very beautiful and high quolity.There is a NEW edition of the book  East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North (Calla Editions)  but i have read bad reviews about the quolity of the art reproduction and binding of it, i guess you'll have to read the reviews and decide for yourself.I have to say that buying a used book has it's own appeal to me since i feel that not only i have saved a tree, I have a little peace of history. Buying online Lacks the adventure of snooping for finds in flea markets and dusty book shelves, but when my copy arrived by mail it still had that much loved old book smell about him, and it felt as good as finding a treasure on your grandmother attic.

I love the stories in this book! Have always been dear to me. I have read and re-read several times!

Not the crappy black and white printing. Illustrations are large enough to appreciate.

This is an amazing collection of Nordic fairy tales with beautiful illustrations. I used to practice my art by imitating these drawings. The stories are also inspiration-inspiring and, many years after my own childhood, I had to buy this book for my own grandkids. My grandchildren love this wonderful stories as much as I did. Love creating that tradition.This is not a politically correct book with multicultural people and themes nor is it meant to be. Please don't expect that of a book of Nordic tales from over 50 years ago.

Kay Nielsen was a phenomenal illustrator! His style was definitely ahead of his time, so modern and stylized but delicately detailed. You can see that he had an emotional connection to these stories which are weird and wonderful. This book for me was pricey and it is difficult to find that's why. I feel it is completely worth the money and my edition from this seller was in very nice condition. You won't be sorry if you get it.

I absolutely love this book, the illustrations are amazing, this is a shortened version without all the stories or illustrations, but the quality of the illustrations is everything I had hoped for.

Beautiful book in great condition.

Very pleased

It's a great collection of lesser known Nordic fairy tales. The illustrations by Kay Nielson are not quite what I hoped for, not many colour plates. However, the (used) book is in good condition and arrived promptly.

Let me talk about the copy of the book i received. The prints by the celebrated Kay Nielsen are not of as high quality as some other books but they are printed on glossy paper, in colour and in my opinion , of good quality considering the price. The copy I received was in good condition and lacked any scribbles or marks, with its spine intact. There is slight fraying on the edges of the hardcover. Considering the price of other copies , this price was a steal. There are black and white illustrations as well adorning the pages and quaint borders reminiscent of other children's books of old. I had been looking for a economically priced copy for a long time and this copy fits the requirements to the 't'.Now, I'll dwell more on the content of the book. The stories are whimsical folk tales of Scandinavian countries, the language is delightfully archaic and the illustrations are beautifully surreal. The prints are good enough to discern intricacies in Nielsens brilliant paintings.As a children's book, perhaps it would seem slightly outdated with its sexist views but could definitely be read by older children and adults to dive into ancient worlds full of magic, mystery, princesses and princes.

Marvellous illustrations with hints of the Edwardian stage on one hand & Bilibin's Northern style on the other. & the tale text translations are lively too. A beautifully made book, good for generations.

Good book but illustrations could be clearer

It was lovely to find this book online, and to have it in my bookshelf again...and so nice to sit by the fire with !