Once in a while, we feel down. Some people vent their frustration by blasting out music at full volume. Some people eat. I simply pick up a book and read.
Therefore, when Longman Fairy Tales Collection arrived for review, I leapt at the chance to fight off the winter blues. The bilingual set contains 10 small books, featuring 14 stories from the popular Cinderella to the lesser known Diamonds And Toads. The set also includes audio discs.
The stories are short and easy to read. The English audio part is told by award-winning British author Mary Hoffman. As well as being fun to read and listen to, the books are very educational for junior students. There is a vocabulary list with a pronunciation key at the back of each book.
The editor's note emphasises the moral that comes with each fable - this is probably directed more at teachers and parents. Kids are more likely to read fairy tales for their magic, not their morals.
Classic tales are soothing. Although I have read The Frog Prince 100 times and know the plot well, I still worry that the princess may abandon the frog and lose the chance to return the prince to his handsome form.
You may have read, or even seen the movie of, Beauty And The Beast. I have. But my heart drops every time I read the part when Beauty is torn between her fondness for the Beast in the castle and her anxiety about her father at home.