American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged)

American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged)
by Washington Irving

American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged)
List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $14.21
You Save: $12.74 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)

Book Summary Information

Author: Washington Irving
Edition: Audio Download
ISBN: N/A
Publisher: audible.com

Book Reviews of American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged)

Book Review: A beautifully illustrated, wonderfully written collection.
Summary: 5 Stars

Just having returned from 18 days in the UK two of those spent in jet and bus travel and eight more getting the most out of an eight day Brit Rail pass that we could I must say that even though I have stopped running I feel like I am still running in place. That is how I get some of my best ideas. Those of you who know me know that I sort hang at the margins of the formal academic study of literature. I do this because language and literature study are really sort games which you have to learn the vocabulary (lexicon) if I were presenting at a conference or writing for blue noses.

Well one of the hottest games now in the world of literature is the study of the postcolonial literature of the former European colonies, South Africa, Algeria, Vietnam, or what ever. If you were a young academic then it would be well to focus your study in this area. This is especially true if you want work in something other than the house keeping and food service industries as your ultimate career goal.

That got me thinking as I re-read and loved Rip Van Wrinkle by Washington Irving in this wonderful collection that I was reading perhaps the archetypal work of post colonial literature, old henpecked Rip (a subject of George III), has a few beers with some very serious 120 year old Dutchman as he falls in with them in their the secret Hudson River Valley meeting place.

Twenty years later he wakes up to find he is an American Citizen. I don't but know for sure but, I bet a lot of post colonials feel like that They share with Rip one very large hangover. Well I could go on and play the game further but I think you have the idea, and as a dear friend of mine once said sometimes Philip a little of something goes a long way. So let me get back to this wonderful book , as I urge you to add it to your collections

American Fairy Tales is a collection has something for everyone .It is a collection of American tales, which really serves three publics. First of course the adolescent reader who may miss or only seen fragments of these wonderful stories. Next the eternal Adolescent likes my self at age 55 who loves a good story. It also serves any serious students of children's literature, this medley of stories progresses chronologically across a century, from Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" to Carl Sandburg's "How They Broke Away to Go to the Rootabaga Country." From the Maleficent Witch, Mother Rigby, in Hawthorne's "Feathertop" to the ethereal fairy in "The Lad and Luck's House," Book List had some good things to say about it "A patriotic-looking jacket with blue stars and red stripes adorns this collection of 12 stories drawn from an emergent American literary tradition that includes such characters as bee-men, goose-girls, kings, fairies, and wizards." Editor Neil Philip provides an introductory essay about the "American fairy" tale" and briefly introduces each selection.

I loved the variety of stories and the collection of famous writers, including Hawthorne, Sandburg, Alcott, and Baum. McCurdy's woodcut illustrations give the stories a sense of the past yet still allow plenty of room for fantasy, woodcuts have a haunting timeless look about them. Theses stories are made to read aloud. But it must remembered that because of the time they were written but a few contain language or allusions that now seem politically incorrect. But we must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. American Fairy Tales is a beautifully Illustrated book you may have to work a bit to find it.

Philip Kaveny, Reviewer

Summary of American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged)

A showcase of familiar favorites and lesser-known gems from America's literary treasures. Capturing the zest and homespun charm of America's early years, the stories featured in this collection reflect the independent spirit that is distinctly good ol' USA.

Irving, Washington Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Irving, Washington Books
Astoria (Pacific Basin Books) ImageAstoria (Pacific Basin Books)
by IRVING
Taylor and Francis; Published: 1987-01-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $44.90
Price in other shops: $150.00
The Adventures Of Captain Bonneville.   Digested From His Journal. ImageThe Adventures Of Captain Bonneville. Digested From His Journal.
by Washington Irving
Echo Library; Published: 2006-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.72
Price in other shops: $14.90
Washington Irving's Life of Mohammed ImageWashington Irving's Life of Mohammed
by Washington Irving
Ipswich Press; Published: 1990-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $90.66
Rip Van Winkle (Library Edition): And Other Stories ImageRip Van Winkle (Library Edition): And Other Stories
by Washington Irving
Tantor Media; Published: 2005-01-01; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $28.22
Price in other shops: $49.99
The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow ImageThe Legend of the Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving
Blackstone Audiobooks; Published: 2006-10; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $8.16
Price in other shops: $14.95
American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged) ImageAmerican Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (Unabridged)
by Washington Irving
audible.com; Audio Download; Book
Best price: $14.21
Price in other shops: $26.95
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Library Edition ImageThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Library Edition
by Washington Irving
Blackstone Audiobooks; Published: 2006-10; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $15.12
Price in other shops: $24.00
Washington Irving : Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra (Library of America) ImageWashington Irving : Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra (Library of America)
by Washington Irving
Library of America; Published: 1991-03-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.00
Price in other shops: $40.00
Tales of the Alhambra ImageTales of the Alhambra
by Washington Irving
M. Sanchez; Published: 1971; Unknown Binding; Book
Bear That Wasn't (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) ImageBear That Wasn't (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)
by Frank Tashlin, Washington Irving
Topeka Bindery; Published: 1995-10; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $9.50
Similar Books and other products
The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome ImageThe Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome
by Peter Connolly, Hazel Dodge
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2000-05-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.18
Price in other shops: $26.95
American Fairy Tales ImageAmerican Fairy Tales
by L. Frank Baum
Dover Publications; Published: 1978-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.63
Price in other shops: $7.95
The Annotated Brothers Grimm ImageThe Annotated Brothers Grimm
by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2004-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.09
Price in other shops: $35.00