What do I have to say about the Macmillan Fairy Tales? Well, let’s begin with the dismal fact that it is so obviously anti-feminism, continue with the sorry news that the morals are so common, and end with how little said stories actually caught the attention.

I don’t mean to hate on a children’s storybook, but, in the forward, I was promised new versions of stories, which actually got me pretty hyped for this ARC. What did I expect? A woman, perhaps, being the hero in Sleeping Beauty, maybe Cinderella realizing she doesn’t need a godmother to catch the prince’s attention, or at least less “she’s so beautiful, I literally love her!” and swooning from the princesses. Did I get that? NO. The only strong woman in this book was one villain, who was considered that for the minor fact that she didn’t want to get married, so she turned her suitors into beads. I’m sorry, but how is that wrong? If they wanted it to stop, why didn’t they just agree that she didn’t have to get married? Wouldn’t that have solved everything? But, no, her father wanted her to get married so he wouldn’t have to deal with her. How backwards is that? We are living in a new age and these stories don’t reflect that. 

But I digress.

But not really.

My second complaint is how basic the morals were; “be good to everyone and you’ll get something in return!” but read that in a singsong voice and imagine a racoon holding a flower. Of course, I’m all for these morals, but come on! How cliche can you be? Why can’t we get some new morals, as I thought I was promised, that would benefit kids? Like women can be strong too and that they’re not just good for turning frogs into princes.

Sorry. I just can't get over how sexist this book was.

Despite the story about the bead lady, this book of fairy tales hardly had any other stories worth mentioning. You have your common stories, and then your uncommon stories, both of which never caught the attention or are even worth remembering. 

Let’s just say that this book was a waste of time, and I wouldn’t read it again, or even consider reading to my future children. Needless to say, my daughters will grow up on less sexist stories that represent women instead of pushing them to the side to be cheerleaders for the apparent “real” heroes.