Once upon a time ...
Fairytales are a universal part of childhood. No matter what time or what place you grew up, you have at one point or another heard that classic phrase โonce upon a time.โ They are usually the first stories we ever hear or read. These types of tales set us up to understand the art of stories and storytelling, and they are certainly worth revisiting.
Here in The Blue Fairy Book, the first of Andrew Langโs beloved collections of classic fairy stories, you will return to the tales you already know like โBeauty and the Beastโ and โRumpelstiltskin,โ tales you maybe remember a bit different like โThe Story of Pretty Goldilocksโ and โThe Sleeping Beauty in the Wood,โ and some you may never have heard of like โThe White Catโ and โPrince Darling.โ
Lang is an author of multivolume history books about Scotland and English literature, and he is considered one of the top folklorists in England. In The Blue Fairy Book, he has compiled thirty-seven tales from Arabian Nights, Charles Perrault, The Brothers Grimm, Madame Leprince de Beaumont, and more, in a first-rate English language collection.
Full contents:
โThe Bronze RingโโPrince Hyacinth and the Dear Little PrincessโโEast of the Sun and West of the MoonโโThe Yellow DwarfโโLittle Red Riding HoodโโThe Sleeping Beauty in the WoodโโCinderella, or the Little Glass SlipperโโAladdin and the Wonderful LampโโThe Tale of a Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear WasโโRumpelstiltskinโโBeauty and the BeastโโThe Master-MaidโโWhy the Sea Is SaltโโThe Master Cat; Or, Puss in BootsโโFelicia and the Pot of PinksโโThe White CatโโThe Water-Lily. The Gold-SpinnersโโThe Terrible HeadโโThe Story of Pretty GoldilocksโโThe History of WhittingtonโโThe Wonderful SheepโโLittle ThumbโโThe Forty ThievesโโHansel and GretelโโSnow-White and Rose-RedโโThe Goose-GirlโโToads and DiamondsโโPrince DarlingโโBlue BeardโโTrusty JohnโโThe Brave Little TailorโโA Voyage to LilliputโโThe Princess on the Glass HillโโThe Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy ParibanouโโThe History of Jack the Giant-KillerโโThe Black Bull of NorrowayโโThe Red Etinโ
Andrew Lang (1844โ1912), a Scottish man of letters educated at the Edinburgh Academy, St. Andrews, and Balliol College, Oxford, became a prolific and versatile London journalist. He took a leading part in the controversy with Max Mรผller and his school about the interpretation of mythology and folk tales. He published several volumes of verse and several solid contributions to the study of the philosophy and religion of primitive man. He also wrote the four-volume History of Scotland, A History of English Literature, and many fairy-tale collections, as well as works on Homer, Joan of Arc, Scott, Lockhart, Mary Stuart, John Knox, Prince Charlie, Tennyson, and others.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFileโs Golden Voices in 2012.
Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated many audiobooks, earning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She is multilingual and known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage, with leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has had starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.
Widely acclaimed best-selling author Orson Scott Card offers up a delightfully funny and supernatural story that delivers the ultimate dysfunctional family. Card is the author of Lost Boys and the popular Ender series.
John Rubinstein is an actor, composer, and director who won a Tony Award for his starring role in Broadwayโs Children of a Lesser God. He has narrated dozens of audiobooks, earning several AudioFile Earphones Awards and being named a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2013.
J. Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe. Hkis audiobook narrations have garnered nine AudioFile Earphones Awards and two prestigious Audie Awards for Best Narration, besides being a finalist for the Audie Award in 2012 and 2015. Between narrations, he is active in regional theaters across the country. His television appearances include guest spots on Nip/Tuck and Numb3rs.
Mirron Willisโactor of film, stage, and televisionโis the winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2012 and a finalist for the Audie in 2015, as well as the winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook recordings. He has worked extensively in film and television and on stage with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Houston Shakespeare Festival, and the Ensemble Theatre, among others. He has recorded some 150 audiobooks, including the Smokey Dalton series by Kris Nelscott and My Song by Harry Belafonte. He resides and records audiobooks on his familyโs historic ranch in East Texas.
Roxanne Hernandez is an audio narrator and a top narrator choice for young adult, adult drama, and Latin American/Chicano literature. She was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2011.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her โvelvet touchโ as an actorโs director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.