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Maggie
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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Hi Moms!
Have any of you read these with your children? The Olive Fairy, the Lilac Fairy, the Pink Fairy, or the Violet Fairy books?
What are they about? How is the language and prose for a preschooler? Would you categorize these as "living books"?
A friend of mine has these and really likes them...however, I am super picky about children's literature...as I know you all are...and you all are my trusted literature sources. 
God Bless,
Maggie
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 11:57am | IP Logged
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I think these definitely qualify as quality, living literature!
They are fine to read for my 4 1/2 year old, but a year ago, they were too much. I'm sure that varies greatly with children.
We get them from the library, though, so you might try that before investing in them.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 12:41pm | IP Logged
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Maggie - We have the Red Fairy Book and the Rainbow Fairy Book(I wish I could link you to a prettier edition (I don't care for the dover thrift edition) - I bought both of ours at a used book store and our Rainbow Fairy book is a lovely hardcover with original color illustrations.) I love Andrew Lang's Fairy books and these definitely qualify as living books! They are a gathering of familiar and unfamiliar fairy tales and come from the richest sources.
We use them as read alouds. I think it would depend on the sensitivity level of your preschooler as to when you read them...you'd have to gauge that yourself. Some of the fairy tales would be quite intense for a sensitive preschooler.
This series is a classic though, Maggie, so if you can check them out of the library do that. But, if you find a copy at a used book store, snatch it!!!! These are the kind of books I love to build my home library with!
Here are several of Andrew Lang's Fairy books from right now on ebay.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Maddie
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 5:15pm | IP Logged
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We have all of these and they are dearly loved by all my readers. My preschoolers aren't really into them yet, but all of my readers devour these. I remember reading somewhere that Andrew Lang influenced George McDonald (Princess and the Goblin author) and McDonald influenced C.S. Lewis, so the Lang books always rated high on my list of must haves.
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~Maddie~
Wife to my dh and Momma of 9 dear ones
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 5:17pm | IP Logged
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Andrew Lang also wrote a lovely children's version of the Arabian Nights tales. (I received it as a gift as a young child.) Definitely worth reading!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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hmbress
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 8:42pm | IP Logged
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Hmmm. I checked out the Blue Fairy Book from our library, brought it home and read the first story (The Bronze Ring) to my 5yo, and was taken aback by the offensive racial stereotyping. I don't remember the exact phrase, but there was a mention of something like "those horrid Negroes". There was also an evil magician who was specifically pointed out as being a "crafty Jew". The tale itself was quite macabre. So it kind of turned me off from the series. The copy I had from the library looked quite old, so it's possible that newer versions have been updated to remove the racism, perhaps others can comment on that.
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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missionfamily
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| Posted: Feb 09 2009 at 10:20pm | IP Logged
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We like the Andrew Lang fairy books, but the Arabian Nights and the Tales from the Round Table got an even more rousing reception here than the fairy books.
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Colleen
dh Greg
mom to Quinn,Gabriel, Brendan,Evan, Kolbe, and sweet St. Bryce
Footprints on the Fridge
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Andrew Lang "Fairy" books?
