This was a really great collection of stories. They were all fairly short [around 2-3k words each] and featured several really cute illustrations for each story. I liked that there was a wide variety in the stories both in terms of what the girls did in the stories and also the countries that they originated from. I would definitely recommend this for people who are looking for new fairy tale type stories to read to their daughters [and sons!].

I loved that not all of these stories ended in happily ever after and marriage. I feel like in fairytales a lot of the stories end in the girl getting saved by a prince or boy and it’s nice that all these stories depict independent women who stand strong on their own! Highly recommend for girls of all ages.

This is a great book that I think all young girls should read. Unlike traditional fairytales, the sole purpose is not to find a husband for the girls in these stories. I work at a school and am recommending this to my students.

A great collection of fairy tales from all over, with fearless girls and many types of happily-ever-afters.

I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy via Netgalley. 4 stars.

A wonderful empowering collection of fairy tales , a book full of new stories full of independent, strong females , also wonderful as from all over the world with lots of different cultural perspectives and this is recommended reading from for me to everyone , young, old, male or female. We need more books like this. Highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I adore fairy tales. I grew up on them, and firmly believe that you’re never to old for them. So, of course I was excited to read this collection. Some of the stories I already knew, such as Feng Mian, the Head of the Family, but many were new to me.

Alas, while I liked this book, I didn’t love it. I think the reason I enjoyed it but don’t feel the urge to gush is simply the arrangement of the stories in the book. The first two or three are incredibly similar, which diminished my enjoyment a bit. If they’d been spread out among other, different types of tales, I would have liked each one much better.

There were a few tales that I felt were much more interesting than others: Unanana and the Elephant being one. It follows a mom, first of all, and she’s both clever and determined. I could relate to her willingness to do anything to protect her kids. I also really liked Tatterhood and Dacia, which teaches a lesson about the importance of personality over looks.

Where this book really shines is in the gorgeous illustrations. After I finished the book, I went back through just to see them again. Khoa Le captured the feel of each story in a fascinating and original way.

Even though I didn’t love it, this book is still a worthy addition to any fairy tale collection.

This inspiring collection of myths, legends and stories from around the world showcases narratives that celebrate strong, independent women. These heroines aren't reduced to being wives or witches! They run free and possess the qualities we would hope for in our daughters and friends: self-confidence, strength, wits, courage, fearlessness, and independence. They live freely, happily ever after, without restraint or narrowly defined roles.

Stories include: Atalanta the Huntress (Greece), Nana Miriam (Niger), Fitcher's Bird (Germany), The Girl and the Puma (Argentina), Li Chi Slays the Serpent (China), Brave Woman Counts Coup (US/White River Sioux), Pretty Penny (US/Ozark Mountains), Mizilca (Romania), The Pirate Princess (Poland/Jewish), The Samurai Maiden (Japan), Bradamante (France), Molly Whuppie (England)- Goodreads

I adore this book. Some of these stories were familiar to me why other were not. The most important thing to take out of this read is that these women did things on their own terms and made options/choices for themselves. A lot of reviewers looked at this book like marriage isn't everything but that wasn't the point of this book.

For some of the characters marriage was exactly what they wanted. . . they just wanted it on their terms with who they want. In other stories, they just wanted to be left alone to do what they want. These stories show both of those sides and that is important and is what should be taken away from this.

I love the diverse stories within this book and I just don't mean the characters/regions. Each character had different skills and different intentions that was focused on. Also they are all different ages. It shows that no matter how young or old you are, you can create your own path and live on your terms although the road may not be easy it can be done. 

 My favorite read is Tatterhood and Dacia and this story is about a goat girl and how she perceives herself and what she wants the world to see. It was perfect. 

Overall, this would be great to add to any fairy tale collection because they are not stories widely known.

4 Pickles

The concept of this book is a very good one that’s much needed. Unfortunately, the execution fell a bit short. Each of these fairy tales is short enough for a bedtime story, but many of them lack that special something that makes fairy tales so enduring.

Part of the issue is the order that the fairy tales are placed in. The first story is one of the weakest, and the first two stories have a similar theme/ending.

On the plus side, the girls and women featured in these stories are all very strong. In most cases, they’re either stronger, smarter, faster, or more magical than their male counterparts. The illustrations are also nicely done.

Young girls may not have the same quibbles that I do, especially if they’re not familiar with the more impressive and memorable writing style of the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Sadly, though, this book probably won’t have much staying power for today’s youngster, nor does it offer a lot of incentive for multiple read-throughs.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Fairy tales have always been an immense love of mine and I've read them from the time that I was little. But the truth is that many fairy tales are very geared toward the damsel in distress trope that doesn't really feature young girls as advocates and fighters for themselves. Many of the tales I grew up reading were about knights saving princesses or men fighting men to win the privilege of marrying them. And let's be honest, that's not always the best image to put in the heads of young girls. Well, for all of you who have lamented in the past, and perhaps continue to, we now have <i>Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls</i> by Anita Ganeri and illustrated by Khoa Lee.

I <i>loved</i> reading this book. From the stories collected for all the young girls out there to the beautiful illustrations there was so much to enjoy. The tales chosen are from all over the world, featuring places like Greece and China to Romania and Poland. Each and every one of the tales features a strong woman, many who are incredibly strong fighters. And it was beautiful.

Of course, many of the stories continue some of the same fairy tale tropes that I'm sure readers will recognize. One theme in particular that was pretty prominent--and is in most fairy tales--is the theme of marriage. While I wasn't particularly annoyed at this inclusion, I do think that I would love to see more fairy tales that don't result in the hero sort of "winning" their partner. In fact, not all heroes even need to have a partner in the first place. Several of the stories included in this collection involve the female character now saving her fellow in distress.

All in all, there is so much to appreciate about this book. And while I will still treasure regular fairy tales--whilst also recognizing the problems within them--I am truly thrilled to have an opportunity to put a book of fairy tales on my shelf that is geared toward portraying incredibly strong women from all kinds of cultures. I would highly recommend giving this book a read.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls, written by Anita Ganeri and illustrated by Khoa Le, is currently scheduled for release on July 15 2019. This inspiring collection of myths, legends and stories from around the world showcases narratives that celebrate strong, independent women. These heroines aren't reduced to being wives or witches! They run free and possess the qualities we would hope for in our daughters and friends: self-confidence, strength, wits, courage, fearlessness, and independence. They live freely, happily ever after, without restraint or narrowly defined roles. The stories include; Atalanta the Huntress (Greece), Nana Miriam (Niger), Fitcher's Bird (Germany), The Girl and the Puma (Argentina), Li Chi Slays the Serpent (China), Brave Woman Counts Coup (US/White River Sioux), Pretty Penny (US/Ozark Mountains), Mizilca (Romania), The Pirate Princess (Poland/Jewish), The Samurai Maiden (Japan), Bradamante (France), and Molly Whuppie (England).

Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls is a group of fairy tales about strong willed girls and women taking matters into their own hands, standing up for themselves, and getting what they want and need via strength and intelligence. I love fairy tales and legends, particularly if they are from different cultures or with twists I have not seen before. So far as that goes, this book was just right. The stories covered a good variety of regions and the main characters were smart, cunning, and brave. However, two minutes into reading the book my heart dropped a bit. The adage "show don't tell' came to mind. The stories, characters, and action were all good- but they lacked the dimension and depth that I was hoping for. I know it is hard to get character development into such short stories, but I felt some could have been done- because I have seen it. I loved the idea, and wanted to adore this book. It does offer what the title suggests, but did not capture my heart, mind, or imagination as I read.

Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls is a fairy tale collection with good intent and some interesting tales. However, I felt like it could have been so much better with a bit more depth.

This sounded promising: strong girls and women getting to be the fierce and brave main characters. I found the execution to be rather lacking. Most of the stories were short and a lot of them just changed the classic hero from male to female. This doesn’t feel like equality, portraying your men as figures who never think their actions through. There were some messages that I did absolutely approve. For example, a happy ending is more than getting married, you don"t need a man to save you and you should make your own future.

Some of the stories were great but others felt a little repetitive. I know fairy tales aren't supposed to have plot twists or never before seen elements but it felt just a little too alike for me. I may have liked it more if there were fewer stories, while the remaining stories got a little more place. That way, you can make your readers connect a little more.

I do have to admit that this was diverse: all of the stories took place in different pieces of the world. You have Russia, Sudan, Romania, Norway and even the Incas. The illustrations were amazing. They fitted the stories, made them come to life. They definitely increased my reading experience!

This was a enchanting, empowering collection of stories that I would have loved to have had when I was younger (though I would have liked them to be a bit darker but I was a weird kid). I loved the illustrations, they were so full of colour and the style was beautiful. My favourite stories were:
How Mizilca tricked a Sultan & saved her father from disgrace - I loved how the Sultan using tricks to find out who she was illustrated that it's not your gender that counts but your actions and character.
Tatterhood and Dacia - I loved how the 2 sisters even though they were so different stuck by each other.
The warrior Queen and the wizard - This is one of my favourite Russian folktales, I've always liked it when the woman is the warrior and the man in need of rescue, it also had Baba Yaga, what more could you want? :)

A great book of fairy tales for boys and girls alike. Rather than your average one-note, passenger in their own story heroines, this collection features interesting, complicated female protagonists who take an active part in their own journeys. I plan on getting copies for the young folks in my life and will happily refer patrons to this title.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.


This was a great book. A new twist on the typical fairytales. my ten year old enjoyed most of the stories.

A HAPPY ENDING IS MORE THAN JUST GETTING MARRIED!

While this is very clearly a children's book, it is a book I wish I could have read when I was a child and that is what made me like it so much. I loved (and still do, actually) fairy tales as a kid, but traditional fairy tales have very rigid, stock female characters that only aim at one this - getting married. This book shows that there is more to being a girl that just finding 'the one'.

"Why shouldn't girls be heroes too?"

THE THINGS I LIKED

Illustrations: Every fairy tale in this book is accompanied by a handful beautiful, colourful illustrations that really drew me in. They brought the stories to life in a wonderful way.

Diversity: Each heroine in this book is different from the one before. She may be a princess or a queen, or she's been left by her poor parents. But it's not just their circumstances, that are diverse - their nationalities are as well. European, Asian, African - you name it! This book embraces all ethnicities.

Morals: Like I said, this book illustrates how getting married is not always the only happy ending. Some of the girls do get married and find their happily ever after with their husband. But other find happiness in adventures, family, careers or such. A Powerful statement to teach young girls - you don't need a man to make you happy. You have that ability all by yourself!

WHAT I DISLIKED

Arrangement: To me, the arrangement of the stories was off. First of all, it opened up with the weakest story of the bunch, the story of Brave Bradamante, which was a big disappointment. You have to open with a bang. Secondly, there were some stories that should just not follow each other simply because they were too alike - like Bradamante and Atalanta, who both challenged their suiters to beat them before getting married. Or the Little Molly Whuppie and Mizilca stories, that both feature a set of three sisters. To really stress the diversity, I think these stories should be spread out and not clumped together. But that's just my personal opinion.

Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls is exactly the kind of book I wish I had when I was younger, a collection of stories of girls being clever, honest, resourceful, brave, happy, courageous adventurous from all parts of the world. But most of all fearless and true to themselves. The stories were nicely complemented with the beautiful drawings depicting these amazing, fearless girls. Sincerely I want a few several copies to pass on to some of my friend's children and one just for me to own.

*thank you to Netgalley and Arcturus Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

These were pretty good. I enjoyed some more than others but I liked the diversity of stories. They blended well together and it was so good to read stories where the girl didn't need to be saved by a boy like typical fairytale stories. The introduction was amazing and had me hooked right away. If you are looking for short stories about girls who are strong and smart and independent, then this book is one to grab. I also really like the cover.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
As an adult my reading experience with this book might have been a bit different than what I am sure the author had intended. I really enjoy the concept of having strong and brave role models as main characters, I am sure young girls would love the characters.
I also quite enjoyed the diversity of the book, each story takes place in a different part of the world, so we get a lot of different nationalities, which is not that common with fairy tales. However, as an adult the stories was a bit weak and boring. Some felt a bit rushed, which definitely is a pity course I really loved the concept of the book. I will however recommend the book to my niece when her English gets better, I am sure she would love it.

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

A wonderful collection of 15 folktales and myths from around the world focusing on strong girls who aren't afraid to break the societal stereotypes!

There were only two stories in here that I'd heard of before, and only one that I actually knew the story behind, so for the most part these were all new to me! While many of the same motifs and plot points show up in many of the stories, each is unique in the way each girl handles the situation and saves the day. I specifically loved the stories about the girls who did all sorts of bad@$$ stuff to save the kingdom and its people and then rejected marriage, preferring to continue on being bad@$$.

My favorite of all the stories was probably "How Mizilca Tricked a Sultan and Saved Her Father From Disgrace"--definitely awesome on all levels.

The illustrations throughout were very pretty and while they didn't necessarily add anything to the stories, they were a colorful addition to the book.

I think it would have been a full 5 star read for me if there had been a bit about each tale at the end of the book, mentioning variations of the story in the region it comes from and any further adventures or continuations of the myth. The title also was off-putting to me... it makes it sound like "fearless girls" can only exist in the imaginary worlds of fairy tales, which certainly isn't true! I understand the reasoning behind the title was to inspire the exact opposite of that, but it just nagged me too much not to mention.

These are great read-aloud stories for younger girls who are sure to enjoy reading the book themselves once they're older, and continuing to be inspired by these awesome characters!

Anything that proclaims and fortifies female empowerment i will always be down with. I absolutely LOVED this anthology.

Girls Y'all are FEARLESS. Stay beautiful!!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*