Andersen's Fairy Tales Author:Hans Christian Andersen, Hans Christian Andersen With this new translation and selection, the unique inventiveness of Andersen's genius is revealed. At a time when children's stories were formal, moral and didactic, Hans Christian Andersen revolutionized the genre, giving an anarchic twist to traditional folklore and creating a huge number of utterly original stories that sprang directly from ... more »his imagination. From the exuberant early stories such as "The Emperor's New Clothes", through poignant masterpieces such as "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling", to the darker, more subversive later tales written for adults, the stories included here are endlessly experimental, both humorous and irreverent, sorrowful and strange.« less
Fairy tales are essential to childhood. They are imagination that whispers to us, takes us on journeys, and connects us to others. They also are about as gentle a way of exposing a child to the horrors of this world, as there is.