The Story Without an End

I like children's lit, but I don't really read the classic ones.
When I read the blurb of this book, it looks so interesting, so I requested it from NetGalley.
At first it was little bit hard for me to get into the story since I'm not used to read this kind of book. But the more I read it, the more I enjoy it.
It was a short, entertaining read with illustrations in it.
If you like classic children's lit, I'm sure you'll enjoy this.

'The Story Without an End' is German tale from the Victorian era translated here by Sarah Austin. It includes 15 of the original full color plate illustrations by Eleanor Vere Boyle, also known for her illustrations of the works of Hans Christian Andersen.

This is a classic story of a young child discovering the wonder of the natural world around them. For the most part, it is a very peaceful and idyllic tale that lulls you into dreams of warm Spring days ly‌ing beneath trees. There is some darkness that crops up, but it goes away in time for there to be nothing more than the flicker of a dark thought. I'm not sure why this story has no end, except that it does just sort of blissfully fade out.

The full color illustrations are beautiful and serve the story well. Each shows a long-haired child interacting thoughtfully with flowers and fauna in a peaceful setting. It's quite old and archaic in language, so I'm not sure it would engage children today. The story is probably a bit too sugary to find an adult audience, but I enjoyed the story and the illustrations as a peaceful way to spend a short amount of time reading.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

I love Dover! What other publishing house would take the risk to re-release little gems like this?Yes, it's dated but it's supposed to be, so reflects the sensibilities of Victorian story telling perfectly. Thanks Dover for always affordable and sometimes forgotten classics such as this.

I was not familiar with this classic children story before and I'm very glad I was able to read it, courtesy of Dover Publications and NetGalley. The story follows a Child, whose parentage and origins are both left vague, as he wanders through nature and discovers both the beauty hidden within and lessons each discovery brings to him. There is a general sense of innocence which makes the Child both ignorant of the world out there and curious to learn more about it. The writing was very beautiful, both nicely descriptive and very lyrical. There were also a lot of gorgeous illustrations throughout the book, both in full color and in black and white, that added to the general beauty of the book. The story was short and bears its name rather well, but upon finishing this book, I was left in no way disappointed. I would recommend this special little story to anyone, regardless of the age, who enjoys beautiful stories.

Everyone has a childhood classic, the book that you're never going to forget about, no matter how much you grow up. The Story Without an End was that kind of book for Austin's daughter, which resulted in its translation from the original German. As a German myself I'd love for more childhood classics to cross international borders so we can all share our favourites. Thanks to Dover Publications and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Story Without an End is, in simple terms, an old school fairy tale of the middle 19th century. The author of the German original, Friedrich Wilhelm Carové, very much believed in the ideal of humanity and the church and, as such, the fairy tale is full of nature imagery and the wholesomeness of the beauty of nature. It can come across as a little bit overly sweet if the original Grimms' fairytales are what you're expecting, but that is because, as a literary product, this tale is significantly younger than the original versions of any of the old fairy tales. It's written with the intense purpose to make the natural world and natural order seem perfect in and of itself. As long as you can accept the purpose behind the story it's a lovely read.

The language of the story is beautiful, incredibly sumptuous and full of visual writing. It's no surprise that this would be a child's favourite book, with talking dragon-flies and a child hearing stories about mountains and clouds from a water drop. It creates a magical world for its readers and this edition is a large part of making that possible. In this edition of The Story Without an End Dover Publications reproduces the 1834, Victorian-era translation of the German Das Märchen Ohne Ende by Sarah Austin. It's a stunning translation, capturing the eloquence and ease of the German original. Vere Boyle's illustrations are beautiful renditions of different story elements and really add to the overall atmosphere of the book.

The Story Without an End is a beautiful story, rich in detail and descriptions. It would be perfect for parents with young children or fans of fairy tales. Dover Publications edition is definitely stunning and would make a great addition to any fairytale shelf.

I have always loved classic fairy tales, especially ones from different countries. This story is from Germany and I had never read it before. I'm very glad I did. This is a gorgeous story of a young girl who learns about the world around from the world around her. With butterflies, flowers, and trees, the peaceful writing is fluid and relaxing, a perfect bedtime tale for those kids who have a hard time sleeping. It reminded me of a dream and gave me a very peaceful feeling throughout the story. A beautiful illustrated and written tale!

A classic children's tale, translated from the German, with the original full color pictures is worth it just from that. An enjoyable tale of a child's discovery of the natural world.