Classic Fairy Stories

October 15, 2001
With considerably more verve than Marguerite Gavin provides on Fifty Famous Fairy Tales
(see above), British actor Cribbins reads eight tales from the English tradition. From the brave little tailor who ends up a king (since he can kill "seven with one blow") to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Three Little Pigs," there's plenty of familiar fare here to please lovers of fairy and folk tales. American listeners may not readily recognize "The History of Dick Whittington," but the dramatic story of a lonely ragamuffin who, with the help of his beloved cat, rises to prominence as a three-term Lord Mayor of London (a fact that is historically documented) quickly proves engaging. Cribbins's enthusiasm for storytelling shines as he nimbly glides from one character voice to another. Typical of all the titles in the Naxos Junior Classics productions, snippets of popular classical music can be heard at dramatic moments and other breaks, as well as in between story selections. Ages 6-up.