A Book of Dwarfs

by Ruth Manning-Sanders

Seventeen traditional tales from various parts of the world about good and evil dwarfs1. Knurremurre (Zeeland)2. Freddy and his Fiddle (Norway)3. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Germany)4. The Field of Ragwort (Ireland)5. Thumbkin (Germany)6. The Girl Who Picked Strawberries (Germany)7. Little Mukra (Arabia)8. Bottle Hill (Ireland)9. The Skipper and the Dwarfs (Jutland)10. The Three Little Men in the Wood (Germany)11. The Hazel-Nut Child (Bukovina)12. The Silver Bell (Rügen)13. The Adventures of Billy McDaniel (Ireland)14. Timimoto (Japan)15. The Cobbler and the Dwarfs (Germany)16. The Story of Maia (Denmark)17. Fir Cones (Germany)

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Ruth Manning-Sanders, youngest daughter of an English minister, describes her childhood as “extraordinarily happy. . . with kind and understanding parents and any amount of freedom.” She read omnivorously, and she and her two sisters wrote and acted their own plays. A Shakespeare scholar at Manchester University, she later married Cornish artist George Manning-Sanders. They began married life in a horse drawn caravan, and traveled to all parts of the British Isles.
Mrs. Manning-Sanders has collected folk and fairy stories from around the world and she published more than 90 books during her lifetime.

Reviews

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another collection of delightful stories, although I felt that the author's definition of "dwarf" was a bit too vague. I've heard some of these stories, but the impish creature was referred to as a leprechaun, while other stories in the collection were clearly about elves or fairies. Still, I really enjoyed reading these.

My favorites were "Freddy and His Fiddle" "Bottle Hill," and "Little Murka".

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grew up on a fair number of Ruth Manning-Sanders fairy tale collections. Nicely told for children with good illustrations.

Includes a wide variety of very short characters, including the wished-for child of small size. A dwarf that hid as a cat until his master gets some news; three little men in wood for kind and unkind girls; Snow White but no other widely known tale. Includes the country sources but no more.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

C. short stories, folk tales, children's fiction, grade 4, Mom's stash, discard