This DK book is something of an introduction to classic Western fairy tales. This collection contains all the classic fairy tales, including Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Because this is a collection, each of the fairy tales is fairly brief. They are all illustrated with colorful watercolor pictures that show what is happening in the book.

While this book is a great reference, where kids can remind themselves of what happened to popular fairy tale characters, the stories themselves do not go very deep into detail or description. The author also leaves some of the more gruesome bits out of her tales. For example, Cinderella's sisters don't cut off parts of their feet in this book. I would not make this the only source of fairy tales in my collection, but it might be a good supplement for younger readers.

For ages 4 - 8. ( )