Kicking off a season of blogs about the books we most want to press on others,this is a book that will dazzle children and intrigue adults“It is the duty of every father to write fairytales for his children, pronounced Oscar Wilde, and while acknowledging that “the mind of the child is a distinguished mystery”. Asked by his small son what he dreamed about,Wilde ran through a phantasmagoria of imaginary creatures: “dragons with gold and silver scales … eagles with eyes made of out diamonds”. When he asked his son the same question, Cyril responded: “Pigs.” It’s an anecdote that brilliantly illustrates why reading books with children is such unpredictable fun – and why I’ve chosen this fairytale collection to kick off a seasonal series of blogs about books to share.
According to Wilde’s younger boy, and Vyvyan,father and sons were united in their love of one record in this book, The Selfish Giant, and though the brothers were puzzled as to why it brought tears to Oscar’s eyes when he read it to them. But what of the four other tales,most of which are best known nowadays through adaptations for opera and ballet?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com