1st Edition
Green Magic The World’s Best Fairy Tales Collected and Arranged by Romer Wilson
With a Preface and biographies from Jack Zipes, as well as the original illustrations by Violet Brunton, this collection of fairy tales originally published by the award-winning Romer Wilson – Green Magic (1928), Silver Magic (1929), and Red Magic (1930) – offers a combination of classic fairy tales, alongside lesser-known, global and diverse tales.
Green Magic contains many traditional fairy tales, including “Rapunzel” by Grimm, “Ali Baba” by Diyab and Galland, and “Puss in Boots” by Perrault, as well as previously unknown tales, such as “The Golden Twins” by Iperescu and “The Brotherless Girl” by an anonymous author. It was Romer Wilson’s intention to combine the familiar with the unknown, and introduce authors and cultures from a variety of countries. As a researcher, she uncovered a remarkable amount of stories from other countries that remain unknown today. The collection gives voice to unique and intriguing tales that inspire children to have a better understanding of how people and their stories are alike despite major differences.
Through his Preface and commentary, Jack Zipes shows how all three books are a means to bring people together in the name of peace and justice. These books will therefore be of interest to anyone researching or studying fairy tales, folklore, and children’s literature, as well as global or comparative literature and social justice.
CONTENTS
Preface - Jack Zipes
Introduction - Romer Wilson
Puss in Boots - Charles Perrault
Fortunatus and the Wishing Cap - Laura Valentine
The Round Castle of the Red Sea - Charles Marius Barbeau and Gregory MacDonald
The Wolf’s Bride - Diamond Jenness
The Musicians of Bremen - Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Rapunzel - Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
The Shirt Collar - Hans Christian Andersen
The Ut-Röst Cormorants - Peter Christen Asbjörnsen and Engebretsen Moe
The Nightingale - Hans Christian Andersen
The Lake Princess - Herbert Giles and Pu Singling
Ali Baba - Antoine Galland
The Man Who Understood Animals’ Conversation -Charles Fillingham Coxwell
The Brotherless Girl -Charles Fillingham Coxwell
The Water King and the Wise Vasilissa -William Ralston
Foolish John - Charles Fillingham Coxwell
The Golden Apple-Tree and the Nine Peahens - Elodie L. Mijaatowitch
Stan Bolovan - Mite Kremnizt
The Golden Twins - Peter Isperescu
Perseus - Charles Kingsley
Tom, Dick and Harry - Ignacz Kunos
Biography
Jack Zipes is Professor Emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. In addition to his scholarly work, he is an active storyteller in public schools and has written and translated fairy tales for children and adults. Some of his recent publications include: Grimm Legacies: The Magic Power of Fairy Tales (2014) and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales (2017). In 2019, he founded his own press called Little Mole and Honey Bear and has published The Giant Ohl and Tiny Tim (2019), Johnny Breadless (2020), Yussuf the Ostrich (2020), Keedle the Great and All You Want to Know about Fascism (2020) and Tistou, The Boy with the Green Thumbs of Peace (2021).
