Paul GaldoneThe Folk Tale Classics Heirloom Library

This is a great set of children stories. Galdone tells these fairy tales in classic form, meaning they are not Disney-downed to the point where they all have happy endings. In other words, in The Three Little Pigs, the first two pigs get eaten by the wolf; they don't escape to their brother's brick house.Now I love these classical re-tellings for my children. For starters, they're truer to the original stories. Secondly, they teach children that there are consequences to our actions (e.g. if you don't properly prepare for the dangers of the world by building a flimsy house, the wolves can get you). Third, my children love the stories the way they're told here. However, if you're looking for happy endings and Disney sunsets, these might not be the stories you're looking for.None of this is to say these stories are not appropriate for little children. They are all wonderfully illustrated and beautifully told and I read them to even my youngest child (who is 2) without reservation.Two more notes: 1) In the set we got, the books are hard covers, not paper backs as the description on this page gives; 2) The four books come packed extremely tightly in a cardboard box which is probably my only minor complaint. The books are packed so tightly in the box it is difficult for my kids to retrieve the individual books. They usually just bring me the box and I have to finagle the desired book out.

The stories are just slightly different from what I remember growing up but they are still good

Great

This is a very nice collection, but not quite the versions I hoped for. For instance, the wolf in little Red Riding hood dies from fright. I remember him dying because they’d sewn rocks in his stomach.... Also, the brother pigs are simply caught and eaten in this version of The Three Little Pigs. The pig that just so happens to get bricks was portrayed as cunning, but who’s to say the other two pigs aren’t just as smart? It was like luck of the draw with who had which material for there houses. Where’s the lesson in that? I couldn’t really explain it to my son.

Classic stories to be shared. Loved it.

These are wonderful versions of the classic fairy tales and are short enough to keep the attention of a two-year-old. I hadn't heard of the author before. The illustrations are so bright and eye-catching, and the text is great to read aloud. (There are so many versions of fairy tales out there that are impossible to read aloud!) I like how it is one separate book per story, and not a big, heavy anthology - makes it much easier for a little kid to pick out "just one" story. I will be buying the other set as well.

This book set comes with The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Gingerbread Boy, & Little Red Riding Hood. The illustrations are nice. However, I seem to remember different versions of these classic stories. For example, in this version of Little Red Riding Hood the hunter looks into the wolf’s mouth and pulls out the girl & grandmother. I remember him using an axe. My son is none the wiser, but it bothers me.

My boys, ages 3, 6 and 9 love these stories! I bought them after trying classic stories from a few different authors from the library. We liked the ones from Paul Galdone because he told the stories well, and I like that these are illustrated nicely too. They make a nice set and we'd like to get some more of the other sets in the future!