Reviews for Clever Gretchen and other forgotten folktales

The average rating for Clever Gretchen and other forgotten folktales based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-12-31 00:00:00 Renate Schenkeli I need to buy about ten copies of this book and give one to every female friend I have and all young girls I interact with (cousins, sister, friends' kids). The stories aren't very long. Some of them are abridged versions of long songs; others are distillations of several tales that have the same themes, motifs, or storylines. All of them feature female characters who are clever, strong, resourceful, and work to get themselves, their families, and helpless princes out of trouble. These are the stories that the (male) Victorian compilers of fairy tales left out because they didn't follow the mindset that women should be weak, meek, and wait for a prince to rescue them. These are the stories that Tiffany Aching would approve of. These are the stories that we need to remember and tell both our daughters *and* our sons so that we teach that girls are not just what Disney says they should be. Yes, I really liked this book. I checked it out from the library and will be buying my own copy in short order. This is a wonderful collection and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-02-06 00:00:00 James Walkley This collection is a short introduction to lesser known folktales. Lurie's commentary is minimal--all she really does is tell you where the tale comes from. After reading this, I suggest you check out the source the tale comes from. The final tale is "Tomlin" based on the ballad "Tamlin," which is much different experience than the prose version. I'd check this out for the inclusion of Cap O'Rushes alone. Cap O'Rushes is a variant of Cinderella (and similar to King Lear) about a maiden cast out by her father when she says she loves him as fresh meat loves salt. The story does not rely on demonizing a stepmother, and the main character really shines as a clever, compassionate woman.