3 stars
A nice collection of fairy tales. It contains the stories, “Snow White”, “The Frog Prince”, “Three Wishes”, “Toads and Pearls”, “Red Riding Hood”, “The Three Great Noodles”, and “Hansel and Gretel”.
The book does not adhere strictly to the originals nor are they reinvented into completely new tales. Instead, as Jenkins writes in her Author’s Note, “I wrote them simply as I myself want to tell them, using the storytelling techniques I have at my disposal”. It is a nice middle-ground between the originals and new retellings. While the stories are not reinvented, they do take place in and near the same icy forest, which is a fun detail. There are some connections between the stories which adds an interesting (and sometimes humorous- I enjoyed all of the “noodle” references) element.
The writing is fairly simple but does contain some great descriptions and details. Jenkins notes that she tried to answer various questions while she wrote, such as “Why would Red trust the wolf?” and “How would it feel to have pearls dropping from your mouth?” While reading, I enjoyed these extra details added to the stories that had not been brought to light in other renditions.
With that, the overall reading experience was good. The book provides its own unique voice as well as a few added details, but for the most part sticks to the elements of the original tales. I think the subtitle, “A New Book of Old Tales” is very appropriate and describes the content perfectly.