Monday, 16 April 2012

Book Review: The Kincaid's Book of Witches, Goblins, Ogres, and Fantasy, by Lucy Kincaid


Kincaid, Lucy (1984): The Kincaid's Book of Witches, Goblins, Ogres, and Fantasy..London, College Books. [Fairy tales, 7-12]

This lavishly illustrated volume of fairy tales collects thirteen tales, several of which are not commonly found in other collections.
The prose is serviceable, rendering tales such as “Raiko and the Goblin,” “Yellery Brown,”and “The Queen's Revenge” in a simple, orderly fashion; occasionally a tale will end abruptly or seem stilted, perhaps a result of compressing them into the available page count.
The illustrations, however, are the real draw of this book. Each page has a lovingly rendered fairy-tale scene; from grotesque ogres menacing stout farm boys, to wicked witches or dancing, flame-shrouded imps, the lush fantasy world will draw in readers young and old alike.
Most suitable for children who have read through more traditional collections of fairy- and folk-tale, such as Grimm's Fairy Tales or Hans Christian Anderson, and are looking for more.

1 comment:

  1. You're the 3rd person I've found online who calls the story "Raiko and the Goblin." This is very interesting to me. My mom bought this book (and Wizards, Giants, Trolls and Magic) for me in 1980, and in my version of the book, the story is titled "Taroh and the Goblin." Same book, same, author, same illustrations--different title. Fascinating. Do you have any idea why the name would have been changed in later editions?

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