FAIRY TALES from

I have rather mixed feelings about this new edition of Andersen -- new in the selection of 28 not unduly hackneyed stories -- and new in the type of illustration. Tasha Tudor has done better work than this; some of the drawings are exquisite, with a real sense of the fantasy quality of the stories as in the picture for The Snow Queen some seem standardized derivative Kate Greenaway, as in The Ugly Duckling, some are distinctly unchildlike, as in The Mermaid and The Real Princess. There's less of the humor Tasha Tudor usually puts into her work, and there's an occasional sentimentality. The E. V. Lucas translation has been used for a majority of the stories which provide a wholesome blend of those no Andersen collection can omit with some rarely used. 31 in all. The stories will have to be read aloud, as the type chosen is too small for the reading ability of most children at fairy tale level. Gift book -- high price merchandise.