I love this collection of nordic tales. I have read several of them to my children and enjoyed it by myself as well! ( )

A cute collection of folktales from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The book is beautifully illustrated. I’m looking forward to reading more from this series. ( )

received as part of librarything's early review program--

this is a GORGEOUS book. The illustrations, the stories, even the actual book as object; all satisfying. I hope to get the rest of the set.

‘’In the days of our forefathers, when there was nothing but wretched boats up in Nordland, and folks must needs buy fair winds by the sackful from the Gan - Finn, it was not safe to tack about in the open sea in wintry weather. In those days a fisherman never grew old. It was mostly womenfolk and children, and the lame and halt, who were buried ashore.’’

The Forest Bride: The Story of a Little Mouse who was a Princess (Finland): A very well-known tale about an enchanted princess who was turned into a mouse until a young man became her husband willingly. Versions of this tale can be found in Ukraine, Russia and the Czech Republic.

East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Norway): If you love fairytales and folktales, this one must surely be one of your favourites. A young woman is given to a white bear as a bride but her curiosity makes her travel East of the Sun and West of the Moon to save her beloved. The Nordic version of the Eros and Psyche Greek myth is a tale about the forces of love and evil.

The Magician’s Pupil (Denmark): When your son doesn’t like any job in the world, make him an apprentice to a mighty wizard.
…or don’t…

Hildur, the Queen of the Elves (Iceland): The queen of the elves has been cursed to see her people and her family only once in a year at the expense of a murder in the land of the mortals. A clever herdsman is the only one who can lift the curse in an atmospheric, bittersweet tale.

The Widow’s Son (Norway): An inquisitive young man finds himself in the centre of unfortunate adventures…

Toller’s Neighbours (Denmark): In this lovely tale, a farmer’s family and the Mount - Folk live together in peace and prosperity until the sound of the bells becomes too loud…

Mighty Mikko: The Story of a Poor Woodsman and a Grateful Fox (Finland): Mikko sees his fortune turned following his father’s blessings and aided by a delightful fox.

Old Nick and the Girl (Sweden): The Devil should have known better before he decided to mess with an intelligent, resourceful girl.

The Way of the World (Norway): A tale that teaches us that the ways of the world are unbelievably unfair and arbitrary.

Death and the Doctor (Norway): Death is willing to make a pact but when you try to trick him the end is not going to be in your favour. A whimsical, yet deeply sad tale.

‘’All I Possess!’’ (Sweden): A husband’s greed becomes his doom when his clever wife decides to put an end to his cruelty once and for all.

The Old Woman and the Tramp (Sweden): The sheer genius of a tramp rewards him with a hearty meal and a bright silver coin. Also, soup. Soup is magic, I tell you!

The Honest Penny (Norway): In this famous Norwegian tale, a boy is rewarded for his honesty and, for once, a mother’s advice is horribly wrong. And cats. Cats always save the day.

The Boy Who Did Not Know What Fear Was (Iceland): A boy meets corpses, ghosts, goblins, dead warriors, hags and remains unperturbed in a classic tale from Iceland.

The True Bride: The Story of Illona and the King’s Son (Finland): A magnificent, lavish tale about two siblings, an evil forest witch, the kingdom of the Sea and a brilliant dog.

The Giant Who Had No Heart (Norway): A clever boy stands up to a giant and saves her brothers and six princesses.

Jack of Sjöholm and the Gan-Finn (Iceland): In the most impressive tale of the collection, a young man is faced with the strangest of adventures, aided by a dark-haired maiden. Mystical, haunting, almost arcane like the Northern Lights.

Let us travel to the North in the company of beautiful legends…

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

My library just got a bunch of these illustrated books of folktales in. After reading "Irish Gothic Fairytales" I was excited to move on to the Nordic fairytales.
These stories were cute. Most were fun to read. A few (like the last far too lengthy story in the book) were confusing to read and didn't seem to follow much of a plot structure. They were just jumbles of events without a clear progression of plot or character.
My biggest complaint is that I didn't learn much about Nordic cultures, other than what I could suss out myself from the folktales. In the "Irish Gothic Fairytales" book I read, each tale started with an explanation of a specific aspect of Irish culture. I learned where the story of banshees came from and the Irish tradition of hiring a woman to wail at a wake. I learned how Irish people feel about fairies. Now, I didn't get any of that with this book. I didn't get any tidbits teaching me about the traditions or cultural beliefs of the Nordic countries. It was just the folktales.
Then I get to the end and read the footnote that all of these stories were taken from public domain works, not changed in any way.
So, it's really a lazy cash-grab for this publisher.
Three stars because some of the stories were still whimsical and fun to read. The book would have been much better if the publisher had added anything new to the works, maybe included some commentary from scholars of Nordic folktales and culture. ( )