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Thinking of reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Is it worth reading as an adult? ?

Thinking of reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Is it worth reading as an adult ? ?

Sean #recommend #kids

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59 Answers

Sarah

I’d say yes…they’re much darker than what most kids know as fairy tales.

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SeanQuestion author

Thanks , I’m trying to decide what to read next and I’ve had it sitting here for a while now ?

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Stephanie

Yes!! The originals are so much more gory and dark than their Disney counterparts

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SeanQuestion author

Great , thanks ?

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Jasmine

Absolutely

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A

Yes!!!!

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Charlotte

Yes!

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Rose

of course

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Laura

It has everything : murder, cannibalism , incest, true love treachery, source material for so muh literature and film.

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SeanQuestion author

Thanks , covers a bunch of dark subjects then ?

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Laura

Work thing out through story to avoid it in real life, but also a lot about the importance (often life sving)of kindness, loyalty, courage, and persistence.

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Laura

Oops, should read life saving

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Ruthie

Oh yes. Aesop’s Fables too!

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Ruthie

Definitely wouldn’t be for kiddies. I own two Grimm books.

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SeanQuestion author

Good to know. I’ve been interested in Aesop’s fables too , if I enjoy this, I may move onto Aesop next ?

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Ruthie

Yes! That’s awesome. Aesop’s has many moral lessons.

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David

Check out the Fables of Phaedrus; he’s the Roman Aesop.

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Athena

Oh yes. They aren’t exactly kids stories. Trust me

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SeanQuestion author

Thanks ?

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Laura

But they are for kids -how many kids wish a sibling or strict parent would “go away” and lots of life instructions from a time when it wasn’t safe to go into the woods alone -even bow, how many parents warn their kids about “stranger danger “

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Gee

La Fontaine’s fairytales and 1001 Arabian Nights and Days.

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Laura

Should be now, not bow. Also if you have horrible parents -neglectful or seemingly devoured by a monster like drugs, these stories could be comforting . , In fairy tales the child is often clever and resourceful . The message is often “might doesn’t make right.”

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Laura

Kids can handle more than we give them credit for . Sanitized Disney stories are dull as dishwasher and forgettablessings after the moment of seeing them .

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Laura

Sorry , my tablet is glitching, should read forgettable . If you are honest to your self , there is a lot of childhood dramas that parents are never told about . I remember play and conversations and also adult conversations overheard…

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Tabitha

Brothers Grimms is NOT children material, the true fairy tales are dark, horrible, and just downright effed up. Dinesy just glossed them over to make money as The Huntsman is closer to what Snow White is supposed to really be.

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Laura

I think that the important thing is for children to understand that the storis are from long long ago in a place where life was very hard . The stories are not all developmentally appropriate for the very young , but look at what we commonly do read to them. It’s OK to break into another families’ home , break their furniture and eat their breakfast ? Or its okay to climb into a magic castle and steal valuable objects , then kill the big guy when he comes down to take back what is rightfully his?

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Laura

Think Goldilocks and Jack the Giant Killer

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La

Yes

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Adela

Yes, you should. They are something else.

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Mary

I like, and respect anyone who reads what they want to read. Life is too short to read what others want you to read daily.

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Laura

Yes. Never feel compelled to read something (unless you are in a Lit class! ) Fortunately , there is a nearly endless variety to choose fron

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Addy

I just bought a beautiful edition—as an adult. I didn’t regret a minute of my time spent reading them. Some stories I liked better than others, but I love having it in my collection

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Carrie

I got one in great condition for 1.00 at a yardsale!

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Rebecca

Yesss

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Sean

Grimms is adult. Fairy tales are not the kind and gentle ones that we are told as kids

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David

Truth. Fairy tales were originally written for adults. Check out the French fairy tale salons of the late 17th/early 18th centuries.

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Tracy

Absolutely! Resoundingly yes :).

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Laura

Annotated versions of old tales are helpful to understand the origins of stories . Also , as an adult it may be helpful to take Carl Jung’s view that characters in these stories represent archetypes and aspects of the self . We all have a little wolf in us, a little witch, as well as prince or princess in disguise and fairy godmother .

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Louise

Yes

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Rhonda

Yes

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Laura

For more adult renditions , there are many wonderful new or alternate versions . I really like Terri Windling , who wrote A Wolf at the Door , as well as others.

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Laura

Kids get fairy tales , it is long ago and once upon a time , a place where strange things happen , but not grounded in the reality . Gangsta rap and Grand Theft Auto are much more frightening . Graphic news and politician frothing at the mouth or the psychotic dog you have to walk past to the bus stop are much more traumatic than the world of Grimm.

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Laura

Cute sweet little stories aren’t the alternative . Little kids need to feel safe and capable , and to know where their safety borders are, also that someone who loves them will keep them safe in those borders when they fall apart and can’t do it themselves . Look for those kinds of messages in books for the very young . Also that they are loved no matter what, and that loved ones will be there for them. Much like the needs of adolescence! Fairy tales can expand with the child’s own abilities 6 to 10, Maybe why teens like stories with fairy tale underpinnings . Think Hunger Games and a lot of Marvel superheroes and sci-fi.

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Laura

PS you guys are all great ! I don’t get much opportunity in real life to geek out about books and other rabbit holes!

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Melanie

Yes

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Gwenn

Yes

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Mela

Totally YES!

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Laura

And it’s totally okay to disagree . Nice to have a place for respectful discourse . Books are very personal. As a kid I was so passionate about the Oz books that I would say “Keep your paws off of Oz” to anyone who trashed them.

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Chelsea

Definitely!

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Kenneth

For me, Yes.

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David

Definitely. Get the complete Grimm’s though. These are different from the sanitized tales so many of us were exposed to as children.

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SeanQuestion author

Looks like it’s a yes ? will start it today , thanks everyone?

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Patricia

I loved that book when I was a kid read it many many times. I wonder if I would like it now. I’ll have to get it one of these days to find out ???

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Kris

Absolutely. There’s a new illustrated version out, ooo, I WANT IT.

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Laura

Ooohhh! Please post the edition/illustrator . I keep my own big collection of illustrated kids books old and new that I will never give up. Part of why I can’t give in to eReaders, except maybe as a travel supplement . I don’t read much popular fiction, which is mostly what is available , and screens don’t agree with my senses….

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Stefanie

Yes. Sure.Sure

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Carrie

Absolutely

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Nguyen

Best

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Laura

Anyone who decided to pick up Grimm as adult or these post from all, please post again to let us know what you think after reading them. My great grandparents came from the Black Forest region, so I was exposed to the original versions before any sanitized or Disney versions , which may be why I found them insipid . No nightmares about wolves, ovens, or evil queens resulted !

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