Thanks to Disney, few now come to fairytales in the innocence of previous generations. The true lover of wonder-tales will argue that even books are an intrusion on what should be an oral tradition. Be that as it may, we need these stories, for they are the rich earth out of which not only great children’s novelists draw their vigour but the foundation for all major works of literature.

Finding a good collection, well-written and properly illustrated, ought to be easy. How to get your Grimm not too grim, but not too anodyne either? How to get that authentic shiver of enchantment that doesn’t turn into full-blown nightmare? Parents of infants could once search out the individual picture-books of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc illustrated by the wondrous Errol le Cain, but as Puffin has neglected to keep these in print there is now a single volume, The Fairy Tales, which, though it contains only four stories, is a must-have for children of 3+.

Jan Pienkowski is probably best-known for his witchy Meg and Mog books, but he also illustrated two collections of fairy tales by the late, great Joan Aiken, and this book is a return to that style. His detailed black silhouettes placed against a marbled background may not sound like much, but the result is hugely dramatic, allowing a child to fill in the features of the protagonists themselves. I was fascinated to learn that the origins of Pienkowski’s style came from memories of paper cut-outs, a traditional art form in the Black Forest and South Poland – probably, as he says, inspired by “looking at a sunny clearing out of the dark woodland”.

Every page of the four fairytales is adorned with a miracle of fantastic grace and wit. Here are the inky profiles of Sleeping Beauty, suspended in a flowering rose bush; brave Gretel, pigtails flying as she pushes the blind, evil witch into a smouldering oven of orange; Cinderella pensively stroking a cat beneath a delicate cobweb inside a large fireplace; a dwarf incredulously holding a lantern over Snow White, while four surprised owls look down on her from the rail of a four-poster bed. The text, pared down by David Walser to the strange, dark magical atmosphere of the originals, looks as if it has been hand-written. Ravishingly beautiful, this is the kind of book that will stay in children’s memory for life.

A very different approach is taken by the Barefoot Book of Fairytales. The small independent company is one of the best for fairytale collections of all kinds, and their Mother & Daughter Fairy Tales and variations thereof are seriously good. This new book, retold by the bardic Malachy Doyle contains many of the same tales as the Pienkowski/Walser collection, but is more multi-cultural and less iconic. Here we have the Prince in Sleeping Beauty entering the enchanted castle, “where the sight that met his eyes was almost enough to freeze his blood, for the appearance of death was all around him.” Nicoletta Ceccoli’s vivid colours are attractive if a little too plastic for my taste – her characters look more like dolls than people, but many kids will love the way they swirl, bound or swoop across every page. Even if fairytales fill the mind’s eye with uniquely individual images, they are always enhanced by great pictures. Whether your child prefers the suggestive complexity of shadows or the exuberant play of light depends on taste.

Also enjoy:
Andrew Lang, The Yellow/Blue/Red etc Fairy Book. 8+. Gorgeous pre-Raphaelite illustrations by HJ Ford and complex language make this a rich feast to last a lifetime.
Joan Aiken, (ill Jan Pienkowski) The Kingdom Under the Sea, 6+ Haunting tales, about fisherman’s wives, wolves and heroes.
Sarah Hayes (ill PJ Lynch) Favourite Fairytales, 5+ Walker. Lovely, clear retellings exquisite pictures.
Jane and Alan Ahlberg, Each Peach, Pear, Plum 2+. Fairytale characters cross paths with comic or disastrous results before meeting for picnic. Irresistibly joyous.

The Times, November 2005