A review by hazelalaska
English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I enjoyed this collection, and it was especially a breath of fresh air after reading only Andrew Lang's collections for a while. I didn't read these aloud as the compiler said they should be, so I guess I can't fault the repetition in some of them because I think kids would like that. However, many of these were quite dark, and I think not all of these are suitable for children, especially "Mr. Fox", even though this collection was created with children in mind. I definitely would not read a lot of these to children before bed because they could be frightening.

Some of these tales are the same that are in other collections, but they have a distinct English twist to them.

Favorites:
The Rose Tree
Childe Rowland
Earl Mar's Daughter

Good:
Tom Tit Tot
How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune
Jack Hannaford
Binnorie
Cap O' Rushes
Jack and the Beanstalk
Molly Whuppie
The Golden Arm
Mr. Fox
Johnny-Cake
The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh
The Fish and the Ring
The Well of the World's End
The Three Heads of the Well

Okay:
The Three Sillies
The Old Woman and Her Pig
Mr. Vinegar
Nix Nought Nothing
Mouse and Mouser
The Story of the Three Little Pigs
The Master and His Pupil
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
The Story of the Three Bears
Jack the Giant-Killer
Henny-Penny
The Red Ettin
The History of Tom Thumb
Lazy Jack
Mr. Miacca
Whittington and His Cat
The Cat and the Mouse
The Magpie's Nest
Kate Crackernuts
The Ass, the Table, and the Stick
Fairy Ointment

Didn't Like:
Teeny-Tiny
Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse
The Strange Visitor
The Cauld Lad of Hilton
Master of All Masters