Ruth Manning-Sanders (1886–1988)

A Book of Ghosts & Goblins is a wonderful collection of tales about all sorts of creatures and spooks, both good and evil. The 21 stories are reminiscent of fairy tales, most having a moral lesson (be kind, help others, don't judge by appearances, etc).

I loved this collection of stories. Some are scary, some funny and others are just weird. All of them were enjoyable! I liked the fact that the stories weren't just all about ghosts, but added in goblins and other supernatural creatures.

This book is middle grade appropriate, but also enjoyable for adults. The stories are spooky and strange, but not too scary for kids (yet not so benign that adults won't enjoy them). The tales are all well-written and each averages about 5-6 pages. Illustrations are by Robin Jacques (an amazing UK artist who illustrated more than 100 children's books in his career). The artwork is awesome and so creative! The pictures really add depth to the stories. :) The front cover art is just wonderful!

Ruth Manning-Sanders wrote several collections of fairy tales, all illustrated by Robin Jacques. Topics range from Giants and Dwarfs to Mermaids and Dragons! I loved this collection of stories. I definitely want to read more of her books! Magical stories!… (mais)

Terrific, as always. I loved these anthologies when I was a child, and upon reading this four decades later, have learned they hold up nicely. Even back then I remember looking for Jacques' work anywhere I could find it. And I love Manning-Sanders voice; she really makes the stories come alive, as if she's telling them to you. I never have liked the ones that use archaic stylings; to me they seem dusty....

This particular collection is, I believe, brand-new to me. Though some stories are vaguely familiar, they're the kind that occur in many cultures and thus in many anthologies, including the tale of Aladdin. Other things I don't remember at all; in Rich Woman, Poor Woman" the selfish and the kind get the same reward: "What work you do first in the morning, you will do until nightfall." Depending on what you're doing at dawn, this can be prize or curse....

I particularly like this bit, about a king who is fed up with a very finicky daughter and her shenanigans to get out of marrying even the most eligible princes. "... any man who (met her implausible requirement) might come forward and marry his daughter; and he would throw in the kingdom as a wedding gift, for he felt like going into a monastery, so greatly had Cannetella vexed him.""… (mais)

I really liked "A Book of Mermaids" because Ruth Manning-Sanders does a really good job at telling a different story about mermaids in every chapter. The main purpose of this book is to share different stories about mermaids. They are mystical and magical creatures who's worlds are enjoyable to read about. Although there are some similar characteristics in the stories, such as mermaids usually having long hair that they like to comb, no characters were similar and they all had different plots which I found very innovative. In one story, a mermaid's parent was a whale, while in another story, the whale is the king of the sea. Some of my favorite stories from the book are The Lost Prince, The Kingdom of Ocean, Margrette, The Comb, the Flute, and the Spinning Wheel, and The Untidy Mermaid. I liked The Lost Prince because it made the mermaid sort of the villain of the story, which is different than most popular mermaid tales. As a fan of tales of mermaids and the ocean, I really enjoyed reading these stories. However, a con about this book would probably be how short the stories are. Because each story is condensed, it does jump time periods quickly. I also felt like it could have had more clear, descriptive details to help enhance the story and its setting. There were times I would get confused about certain things such as the herd of cows and large bull in the story Rake Up! I wasn't sure if these animals were animals that lived underwater with the mermaids or if the mermaids were on land with them. I also really wanted to know more about certain stories despite it ending at the end of the chapter.… (mais)