Title Brian Froud's Faeries' Tales Series --- Author Brian & Wendy Froud Illustrator Brian Froud Publisher Abrams - 2014 First Printing Abrams - 2014 Category Art Warnings None Main Characters Various faeries, Finn Main Elements Faeries

Faeries' Tales invites readers into the Faerie realm in a unique way: through the actual voices, stories, and portraits of faeries. Celebrated painter Brian Froud and author and 3D artist Wendy Froud, internationally renowned for their vast and initimate knowledge of faeries, trolls, goblins, and other folk, take us on a wondrous adventure into the world of Faerie told by the faeries themselves. Set against the story of the Dusters, a faery family who dusts and shines human memories - "things forgotten, hidden, stored / away in boxes, attic, drawers" - are the tales of many faeries, some well known to humans, others less so. Many of the tales are humorous, but just as many are heroic, poignant, and melancholy, creating a well-formed selection of the many stories the Faerie realm holds.

Some of the tales at first may seem familiar to humans, but when told by the faeries themselves, they often include an unexpected twist or anecdote. A faery is miffed that she must change her gift at the last minute to save Sleeping Beauty; Cinderella's godmother informs whining girls seeking Prince Charming to leave her out of it; Redcap insists (rather unconvincingly) that there is no blood on his hands; and Tam Lin's faery lover laments the loss of him. These and other tales are coupled with intimate portraits by Brian Froud and interspersed with interviews and drawings of the mysterious folk who wander between the human world and their own. Also included are stories about objects revered by their owners, from The Midsummer Slippers to The Bird-Claw Toe-Tweaking Tongs, The Prodding Scepter, and The Necklace in Question.

Your journey through Faeries' Tales will reveal many mysteries, wonders, and enchantments, and there are no better guides through this world than Brian and Wendy Froud.

I had to admit as I was flipping through the pages of this lovely book there were moments where I felt I had seen such faeries, though I'd never seen a Froud book before. Turns out he designed the creatures for The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth and that explained all, and suddenly I was all the more excited to read this book.

The artwork was gorgeous, as I expected (the one on the cover stares at you in quite a disturbing way, like a kindly old man...but not quite), pictures of faeries with small blurbs where they could retell the tales that humans tell about them, but from their point of view. Like the evil fairy godmother in Sleeping Beauty, or the good fairy godmother in Cinderella, but also many many more, some of which I knew, others I didn't. Some of the tales were short, some long, a few a little poem, and others were shy and didn't want to say much at all.

But there were two other treats I didn't expect and that was a story that ran through the whole book, the story of how the book was made. A family of Duster faeries would go through the "dust" in people's minds to find the stories, then those tales would be told and the faery that owned it would go to the Frouds to set the story straight and get their portrait painted. But these Dusters have some adventures along the way, including getting caught in the mind of a man obsessed with teeth (he even had a potato with teeth carved in it, ack that was scary image)

The second treat that I didn't know going in was that Froud's wife Wendy is a sculptor so in addition to the paintings there were images of these three dimensional beings...wow, were they realistic! I was more impressed by Wendy's work than Brian's and sometimes creeped out, faeries aren't all sweet, quite the contrary. And Finn holding that infamous potato was nightmare inducing. Talking of creepy, the artists stuck to the folklore so there are tales of seductions, drenchig one's hat in blood, children replaced by changelings, and more.

Mixed with the art and sculptures were other physical objects, little trinkets and knick knacks, some of which are part of the story, some just there to intrigue the reader. I wonder if Wendy made these as well or were they just some of the odd stuff we all collect in our houses over the years.

Now I need to read up more on the original tales, though I think the tale I enjoyed most was the one told in this book. Lots of fun and mischief.