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Author Topic: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book  (Read 20624 times)

Offline zuse

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Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« on: Saturday 22 May 2010, 11:50 pm »
(I've posted this on other forums before with no success)

So, there's a book I'm trying to track down. Searching for it on-line is pretty fruitless and frustrating, as it's a collection of fairy tales and there are sooo many different ones in print. Anyways, I thought that I would just describe it and maybe someone is familiar with it. This specific one would have been purchased in the southeastern US although I imagine it was available elsewhere as well. I grew up with it but it's somewhat tricky to date it. I don't think that it was bought for me, the oldest child. I think its something my mom got as a teacher before I was born. It was a hardcover book about the height/size of a college textbook. The cover also had that shiny/laminated look like textbooks have (no dust jacket). The book itself was several inches thick, although I don't remember exactly how many pages it had but it was illustrated throughout. The front and back covers were illustrated and the predominant color was green. I believe the illustration was Hansel and Gretel, although it might have also featured other characters from the stories in the book. I think I remember Iron John being in the scene. It doesn't have cute bunnies and other woodland creatures, haha. I believe the book was from the 1970s or perhaps early 1980s because its watercolor illustrations seemed to have that kind of "feel." I have several childrens books from the 1970s and 1980s because of mom being a teacher and they definitely have a certain "look" to them. As for the stories inside, I remember that the first one was "Iron John." Some other stories included Hansel and Gretel, The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake, and The Three Feathers, Snow White and Rose Red (among others). I can't remember the actual title of the book either, although I'm pretty sure it was all Grimm's Fairy tales.

Anyways, like I said it was was my mom's and I think she took it to school with her when she started back teaching again. When she quit teaching a few years ago she just left everything behind because she was so ready to be done with the place (she is the opposite of me and my slight tendency to become a pack rat/too attached to objects).

So, if anyone recognizes this book try to hook me up with the ISBN or at least the title and illustrator. Thanks a ton! I have other books with the same stories but I really miss those illustrations!
« Last Edit: Sunday 23 May 2010, 07:37 am by zuse »
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Offline mouse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #1 on: Sunday 23 May 2010, 02:41 am »
Could it be a Andrew Lang book?
« Last Edit: Sunday 23 May 2010, 02:43 am by mouse »

Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 23 May 2010, 02:57 am »
Nope. :(

The illustrations are hard to describe. They're very soft (they are either watercolor or color pencil) but bordering on the grotesque.
« Last Edit: Sunday 23 May 2010, 03:03 am by zuse »
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Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 23 May 2010, 03:51 am »
The illustrations are very very very close to this style and color scheme (yes, I've searched and it's not this illustrator, but her style is very very similar). Not quite but very close. So DON'T search this author/illustrator. She's not who I'm looking for and these books have nothing to do with mine. I'm just showing them because the illustrations on the covers can give you an idea of the style of the illustrations I'm trying to describe. These are what I'd describe as a 70s style.

(Neither of these stories were in my book)








« Last Edit: Sunday 23 May 2010, 05:45 pm by zuse »
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Offline catlover51

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 23 May 2010, 03:58 pm »
Have you tried your local libraries? As a librarian I need to ask.  :D

Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 23 May 2010, 04:49 pm »
Yes. :(
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Offline EricaVee

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 25 May 2010, 05:54 pm »
Hmm, my grandmother has a HUGE collection of fairy tale books, and I was planning on helping her catalog her toys and books this summer. I'll definitely keep an eye out. I remember that lots of her books have that "soft" style of illustration, since a lot of them are older.
« Last Edit: Tuesday 25 May 2010, 05:56 pm by EricaVee »
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Offline Linkachu100

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #7 on: Monday 14 June 2010, 10:54 pm »
Maybe it was a "classic library" book from smithmark publishing. They were published in 1995. I have two with green covers, but the one I found on amazon has a blue cover. They have watercolor illustrations on the cover and throughout the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Water-Babies-Peter-Classic-Library/dp/0831712147

Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #8 on: Sunday 18 July 2010, 04:19 am »
Those are nice books, but sadly not it! :(
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Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #9 on: Wednesday 06 October 2010, 05:25 pm »
I *think* I've tracked it down thanks to BookSleuth on the Abebooks site! :)

I won't know until it comes in the mail (I ordered it because I have a good feeling that it's the right one!)

Violayne Hulne is the name of one of the illustrators. An example of some of her work can be seen on this other book cover: http://www.wormbook.addr.com/037474.jpg

WATERCOLORS! ;D
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Offline Fairy Dust

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #10 on: Thursday 07 October 2010, 05:38 am »
I hope you find your book. :)

Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #11 on: Tuesday 26 October 2010, 04:41 pm »
It's my book! I'm so happy! The cover doesn't look quite like what I remembered so I'm going to look into finding other editions or maybe I'm just crazy.

But I love it so much! :D

"The Best of the Brothers Grimm" - by Jane Carruth (Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm); Illustrated by Giovanni Giannini and Violayne Hulne.



(Have also seen it in another language as "Grimm: Les Plus Beaux Contes")
« Last Edit: Tuesday 27 December 2011, 02:22 am by zuse »
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Offline EricaVee

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #12 on: Friday 19 November 2010, 11:25 pm »
Hooray!
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Offline zuse

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #13 on: Tuesday 27 December 2011, 06:25 am »
So, that's the cover of the one I ordered and I swore it looked wrong. Sure enough I found a glimpse of my copy on the bookshelf in an old picture... and it definitely has a different cover!

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Offline jazzmatazz

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Re: Trying to Locate a Specific Fairy Tale Book
« Reply #14 on: Monday 23 January 2012, 12:27 pm »
I'm glad you found it! :D I'm really into Children's literature for the art. I have a medium sized collection, I think it's what I want to do in my spare time. Illustrate/Write Children's books. ^-^ My friend and I are slowly storyboarding up books for her daughter now while she's only a few months old so I have time to illustrate them.