22 NOVEMBER 1946, Page 26

NOBODY reading Grimm's stories au nu can claim that they

will all be pleasing to a child, say, of seven or eight. Modified and adorned versions are pleasing ; but the originals, gathered from past ages of violence, are ferocious, a-moral—crickery being represented as a virtue—and frequently tragic. In this handsome volume Mr. Peake's illustrations emphasise the grotesque, marvellous and horrible, and are least successful in representations of beauty. They have a distinction which is woefully lacking from most " art " for children ; but they may well frighten the youngest and most sensitive. The book should make an excellent Christmas present for the older child who can stand off a little and treat both stories and illustrations as forms of art.