The Kincaid's Book of Wizards, Giants, Trolls and Magic

by Lucy Kincaid

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B001CCFL0E
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Derrydale Books
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Lavish vibrant illustrations for clever fairy tales

I remember this book very well from when I was a child. The biggest strength here is the illustrations. They completely cover every page. The only white on most pages is the whites of a characters eyes, the crest of a wave etc. (The text is cleverly laid out over sky, over a brick wall, over anyplace where not so much action is going on. These areas are smoothed out so that they are all the same color and then text is laid out there. It works well.) I would "read" this book before I could read. The illustrations are realistic in style. They have bright colors and are beautifully printed. They are perfect for children. This would be a good book to get for a child who is very young and can't read yet because the pictures are so strong, and the child can grow to read. Despite the title, this book is a collection of fairy tales and not a pseudo history about wizards and trolls. These stories tend to be humorous and not scary. My favorite concerns a hero's quest to get a magical potion. The potion will cure the wart on the princess' nose in time for her to attend a royal ball. He fails his quest and the princess attends the party with a beautiful fan in front of her face. Some of the stories here may be duplicates of stories already in your fairy tale collection: Nils in the Forest (A Danish Story) The Magic Book Poet, Goblin and Donkey The Giant and the Cobbler A Pot of Gold The Crystal Ball Molly Whuppie Pixie Visitors Long Nose French Puck The Boastful Tailor The Two Wizards Snow-White and Rose-Red Mother Holle The illustrations in this book are very colorful and lavish. This is a perfect book for younger children who are just learning to read. The pictures are enough to entertain a child, and the writing is large print with simple language. The stories are charming and clever, but written for small children. (If you do purchase this for a child, try to get a copy without a name written in the front. The opening page shows an old gypsy pointing to a label that says, "This book belongs to..." and a place for a child to write their name.) (And by the way this review refers to the 1983 printing of this book, but I believe they are the same.)