10 h 32 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a poor person can outwit a ruler, and the smallest creature can beat the largest?
The Olive Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, brings together folk and fairy tales from many lands. Kings, poor families and clever animals share a world of difficult tests and magic that rewards or punishes. Each separate story offers a fresh encounter, without asking you to follow one long plot.
These tales open a world where strength and rank do not always decide who succeeds. Here, the pleasure lies in moving from one story to another: a contest of wits, a test to pass, a small creature facing a larger one. No knowledge of folklore is needed.
What you’ll discover
- Cleverness against power Meet poor people whose wits can matter more than a ruler's power.
- Small creatures, large challenges Discover tales where a small animal can overcome a much larger opponent.
- Magic with consequences Enter a world where magic can bring rewards or punishments, and tests demand an answer.
- Stories from many lands Explore folk traditions gathered together, with a different tale waiting at each turn.
- One tale at a time Enjoy stories short enough for one sitting, or share their pleasures by reading aloud.
Who will love it
For readers who love folk tales, clever animals and magic, and anyone curious about folklore from several cultures. Parents and teachers looking for stories to read aloud will find tales of courage, kindness and cleverness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A series built from many lands
- What kinds of tales you will meet
- How the tales were meant to be heard
- How to approach the book today
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- 15-minute summary
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Read and hear Il libro color oliva delle fate in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Il libro color oliva delle fate
by Andrew Lang (curatore) · 1907
Kings, poor families and clever animals face tests where magic rewards or punishes and kindness meets danger.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A series built from many lands
Lang began the coloured fairy books in 1889 with the Blue book. Each later volume took its name from a colour, and the Olive book comes near the end of the run. The series was meant for children, but Lang was a scholar of folklore, and he cared about where tales came from.
His idea was simple. The same kinds of stories turn up in places far apart, and each people tells them in its own way. By putting tales from many lands side by side, he let readers see both the differences and the likenesses.
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What is The Olive Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of folk and fairy tales from many lands, edited by Andrew Lang. Each story stands alone, with heroes, rulers, animals and magic, and most carry a clear lesson about cleverness, kindness or pride.
Who wrote The Olive Fairy Book?
Andrew Lang edited it. He did not write the tales himself. He chose them from traditional sources of many peoples and prepared them for young readers, with help from others who brought many into English.
When was The Olive Fairy Book published?
It appeared in 1907. It is the eleventh of the twelve coloured fairy books, a series that Lang began with The Blue Fairy Book in 1889 and that ended with The Lilac Fairy Book.
The author
Andrew Lang
1844–1912 · Scottish poet and folklorist
Andrew Lang was a Scottish writer born in Selkirk in 1844. He lived in London and died in Banchory in 1912. He wrote poetry, novels, literary criticism, and works on folklore. He edited The Blue Fairy Book, published in 1889, and other fairy-book collections, including The Violet Fairy Book in 1901.
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