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Flower Fables

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Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott Flower Fables contains wildly imaginative stories that grew out of Alcott's experience as a storyteller to the children of her Concord, Connecticut, neighbors. Through these enticing encounters with fairies, elves, and animals, the author creates a foundation for young people based on the themes of love, kindness, and responsibility. A collection of original fairy tales written by the acclaimed Louisa May Alcott. These stories are part of a large body of fantasy fiction the author wrote throughout her career. Each story features adventures of elves and fairy sprites in fairyland and are imbued with the lushness of Alcott's love of the natural world.

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 1854

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About the author

Louisa May Alcott

4,056 books10.6k followers
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May Alcott and Amos Bronson Alcott, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.

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5 stars
177 (20%)
4 stars
235 (27%)
3 stars
311 (36%)
2 stars
99 (11%)
1 star
23 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
Profile Image for Amanda.
3 reviews4 followers
June 8, 2012
I was uplifted by Louisa May Alcott's snippets of fairy life. I don't remember what I was expecting from this book, but it is now high on my list of favorites. It's free on Amazon Kindle.

We can learn many lessons from the fairies in this book. They embody the love of beautiful things, the unseen comforter of fallen sparrows and insects, the hope of diligent labor, and the contagious kindness of tender concern.

I like her interpretation of these magical creatures.
Profile Image for Anna [Floanne].
627 reviews300 followers
November 17, 2024
“Fiabe floreali” di Louisa May Alcott è una raccolta di racconti deliziosamente delicati e poetici in cui l’autrice dà vita a un mondo magico e naturale. Ogni fiaba è un piccolo tesoro, in cui fiori e creature della natura si trasformano in protagonisti di storie intrise di valori come la gentilezza, l’amicizia e l’importanza di rispettare la natura.
Ciò che colpisce è il tocco gentile e leggero con cui l’autrice descrive i suoi personaggi, trasmettendo l’idea che anche le creature più piccole e apparentemente insignificanti come fiori e elfi abbiano un ruolo e una bellezza unica. Il linguaggio è semplice ma evocativo, adatto a bambini e adulti, e riesce a catturare la fantasia e la curiosità, invitando il lettore a vedere il mondo naturale con occhi nuovi. La morale di ogni fiaba, poi, non risulta mai troppo stucchevole.
Una lettura perfetta, per chi ama fiabe capaci di regalare momenti di pura meraviglia e di trasportare il lettore in un mondo fatto di petali e colori, dove la bellezza della natura incontra la saggezza delle storie dal sapore antico.
Profile Image for Phoenix.
377 reviews1 follower
August 4, 2014
While I'm sure this is a delight for children, especially the religious children of civil-war era America, I found this children's book saccharine and strangely uninspiring. Even the darker moments (if you can really call them that) of these fables come off as anti-climactic and shallow, and I feel that the moral lessons of each tale have had their impact lessened because of a sort of forced censorship. It seemed like any consequences the protagonists of each tale suffered for not heeding the moral lesson being taught them was rather harmless, as it was assured that nothing (not even death) could be final. Just as long as they worked hard, they could even resurrect the dead, which again felt rather trite to me. Not to sound harsh, but I feel that giving children the idea that you can bring back someone who's died just by wishing for it hard enough a little false. Even though it'd be a lot harder to include a tale like this in a set of fables, I would've rathered that in some instances they taught the audience of the story that in some cases, you will not be able to get what you want, even when you work long and hard. Or perhaps discuss how change will come to everyone and that it is better to accept change and learn to adapt than to endlessly toil and wish for things to go back to the way they were. I feel I might be asking too much of a set of fables that are meant to teach good values to children. Oh well. At least it was a quick enough read once I realized each of the fables was nearly the same in its essentials. Work hard and be kind and patient.

I wonder if this was an early work of Alcott's because even Little Women had more of a balance between its sentimentality and realism. I prefer Alcott's gothic stories, and shall stick to those and the sequel (sequels? Can't remember) to Little Women.
Profile Image for Mandy Bookstagram.
256 reviews70 followers
April 17, 2023
“𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑒,
𝑊𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ;
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑘, 𝑏𝑦 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠, 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑛
𝐴 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ.”
—𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑦 𝐿𝑜𝑢𝑖𝑠𝑎 𝑀𝑎𝑦 𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑡𝑡

I love this book. So so much. It is a lovely little collection of shorts, all telling of the good deeds done by the fairies of the flowers. Elves and Spirits, Kings and Queens, Roses and Clovers, Birds and Butterflies — nature spirits dwell all around us. “Few are the mortals to whom we give this lovely gift;” But, if you can learn to look and listen, you will find them, in the sweet melody of songbirds and the sweet scent of the flowers.

“She needed no reward but the joy she had given.”

“Let us not tire of a good work, hard though it may be and wearisome; think of the many little hearts that in their sorrow look to us for help. What would the green Earth be without its lovely flowers!”

“But after each new trial, brighter shone her magic flower, and sweeter grew its breath, while the spirits lost still more their power to tempt her.”

“few are the mortals to whom we give this lovely gift; what to you is now so full of music and of light, to others is but a pleasant summer world; they never know the language of butterfly or bird or flower, and they are blind to all that I have given you the power to see.”

“This is a fairy flower,' said the Elf, 'invisible to every eye save yours; now listen while I tell its power. When your heart is filled with loving thoughts, when some kindly deed has been done, some duty well performed, then from the flower there will arise the sweetest, softest fragrance, to reward and gladden you.”
Profile Image for Brittany Parker.
185 reviews2 followers
April 10, 2025
3.5 stars. I took this book to the hospital with me when I gave birth to Reese and read it in quiet stolen moments while soaking up newborn snuggles. This is Louisa May Alcott’s first published book and, in spite of it being a bit repetitive and didactic, it is full of very sweet fairy stories written with charming descriptiveness. I think I would have loved this book as a teenager.
Profile Image for Richard.
Author 6 books473 followers
August 28, 2021
There was a recurrent theme of crime and punishment, followed by remorse, repentance and rehabilitation. This seemed very sophisticated for stories meant for children, and reminded me of what happens to Dan in Jo's Boys.
Profile Image for Samantha.
316 reviews12 followers
March 27, 2022
I read this through a podcast called Sleepy Bookshelf! These were sweet little stories all based around flowers and the natural world. Some of them had some surprisingly dark moments, or tragic consequences of choices, at least it was surprising for a book of original fairy tales. It was neat to read a lesser known Alcott offering!
Profile Image for Sarah.
Author 46 books459 followers
April 13, 2024
This is a sweet bit of whimsy, perfect for spring weather.
I don't usually read fairy stories or books with even fairy magic, but I enjoyed this expectation.
These were sweet moral tales, rich in world-building, and spring feels.
Profile Image for Anne-Lise.
441 reviews4 followers
January 31, 2024
J'ai lu ce recueil de contes dans le cadre du Parcours victorien (et aussi parce que je l'avais acheté pendant ma visite de la maison de Louisa May Alcott à Concord).
Comme en parallèle, j'ai lu le deuxième tome d'ACOTAR, je me dis que ça a probablement rendu ma lecture des Flower Fables un peu pâle en comparaison.
MAIS replacé dans son contexte historique, ce recueil a été écrit par une adolescente de seize ans au XIXè siècle. Il y a des histoires de fées qui aident les humains ou de fées qui s'entraident. Il y a aussi tout un monde invisible à nos yeux de mortels où les fées sont responsables du réveil des fleurs au printemps, de souffler le vent qui transportera les graines, de soigner les insectes et les oiseaux et de faire pousser le corail.
Bref, c'est poétique, très mignon et pas du tout négatif. Tout le monde est plein de bonnes intentions et c'est très doux et très chou.
Je conseille cette lecture aux enfants parce que même si on y parle d'être gentil et patient (et qu'il n'y a que des petites filles dans ce rôle actif, qui s'explique par le fait que Louisa n'avait que des sœurs), il n'y a aucune mention de religion chrétienne puisque les petit.e.s dieux et déesses ici, ce sont les fées de ces contes!
C'était un joli moment de magie et je ne le regrette pas!
Profile Image for Lindsay Lemus.
448 reviews52 followers
May 12, 2024
3.5 stars
This was such a sweet set of fairy stories and poems with great moral endings. Reminds me of fables. Because it's flowers and fairies, it gave me fern gully vibes, which if you were a 90s kid, you know the movie, lol.
I will say that I would get bored on the longer stories, which could have been the writing style, but I still enjoyed the point of the stories or poems.
Profile Image for ♡︎.
663 reviews3 followers
December 2, 2024
reading this felt like being transported into your childhood daydreams and coming out of them inspired by touching moral lessons and feeling fully at peace and content. but alas, one can only dream and dream and dream
Profile Image for Mariacristina.
63 reviews3 followers
Read
March 29, 2017
"Ora, amiche mie”, disse la Regina, “per ingannare il tempo, finché questa splendida luna non sarà tramontata, ognuna di noi racconti una storia, o riferisca quello che le è accaduto o che ha imparato nel corso della giornata”.
Quando ho visto questo libro sullo scaffale della libreria non ho saputo resistere...perchè l'autrice, Louisa May Alcott, è legata indissolutamente alla mia attività di lettrice in quanto ho cominciato proprio con i suoi romanzi più celebri.
Questo libro raccoglie 7 fiabe che lei ha scritto a 15 anni per i figli dei vicini. Si tratta di
fiabe che parlano di elfi, fate e animali. Il filo conduttore è rappresentato da quel sistema di valori ,quali l’amore per il prossimo, la solidarietà, l’altruismo, il senso di responsabilità e l’amicizia, che percorre anche gli altri romanzi. Per esempio, una fata regala un piccolo fiore fatato alla piccola Annie per insegnarle a controllare le passioni per fare posto nel suo cuore a sentimenti e pensieri lieti.
"Ascolta il suo avvertimento, lascia che la parola rimanga non detta, l’azione non compiuta, e nella serena gioia del tuo cuore e nel magico profumo del fiore che hai in petto, troverai una soave ricompensa”. Questo l'avvertimento per quei pensieri e sentimenti che, pur essendo talvolta spontanei, è meglio non ascoltare se non si vuole compiere una brutta azione.
Un libro per tutti. I bambini si lasceranno trasportare da elfi e fate nel loro mondo fatato e così facendo alimenteranno quell'incanto che, mantenuto da adulti, li renderà più sensibili degli altri; i grandi ricorderanno i sogni dell'infanzia e riscopriranno la gioia che solo i buoni sentimenti sanno dare.
Profile Image for Katharine Ott.
2,014 reviews40 followers
April 14, 2019
"Flower Fables" - written by Louisa May Alcott and originally published in 1855 by George W Briggs, this edition published in 1998 by Okey-Doke Productions. An important feature of this book of fairy stories is that it was written by an author who is revered for her later works, especially "Little Women" in 1868. The six stories here have a strong cautionary bent, admonishing children to be sweet, kind, and pure - likely prevailing sentiments in children's literature at the time. Alcott's descriptions of her fairy world are lush and imaginative, although I thought the illustrations, recently commissioned, were a bit garish. I appreciated this collection as an agreeable example of early children's fantasy fiction penned by a legendary author.
Profile Image for Helen Marquis.
584 reviews10 followers
September 14, 2015
A beautiful set of fables, delivered as campfire tales from a fairy get-together, each setting a good example to young impressionable minds. The basic theme running through all of them is to live honest and true and be nice to other people, even in the overwhelming face of negativity and seemingly insurmountable challenges, and when the chips are down, whatever you do, don't give up!
Reminiscent of Cicely M Barker's Flower Fairies, this may all be a bit too saccharine-sweet for the older more cynical reader, but for the younger reader these are a set of wonderful tales that everyone could learn a thing or two from.
Profile Image for Emma Fritz.
43 reviews
July 22, 2025
There’s a reason Louisa May Alcott is most known for Little Women…
Each short story in this book was a variation on a theme- if you go out of your way to be kind, everything ends happily ever after for everyone.

Though it was neat to read her first published work (dedicated to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s daughter), it was entirely made up of fluffy language that reminded me of writing composition assignments in middle school in order to sound smarter and more creative.

To her credit, I’m sure a 10 year old girl in the late 1800s would have eaten this stuff up, and then played “Fairies” in the woods with her friends. But alas, I’m not a Victorian era child.
Profile Image for Justin Rose.
320 reviews9 followers
November 29, 2019
Alcott creates some interesting images, but the stories are dull for the most part.
Profile Image for Abigail.
130 reviews
May 2, 2024
Ofc written by the wonderful Louisa May Alcott, who also wrote Little women, a tale so close to mine and many others' hearts. This is a collection of children's short stories so it satisfied as my bedtime read. I rated each story individually and then found the mean for the overall rating which was 3.25. I feel as though I’ve betrayed LMA in a way by not liking a couple😣 but the rest were fabulous

Fable of the Frost King: 1* A lil disappointed because I’m not sure what the message is here? In a nutshell.. I’m probably overthinking it lol but it just didn’t sit right with me.
Eva’s Visit to Fairyland: 3* This was more like it! A lovely story, Eva learns lessons about kindness from the fairies. Simple but sweet.
The Flower’s Lesson: 5* A beautiful story and poem <3 This was my favourite.. The poetic way it was written was pleasing, and I enjoyed the lesson in patience and pride.
Lily-Bell and Thistledown: 4* Okay Thistledown is a menace lool.. This tale was quite sad actually, pulled at my heartstrings but in a good way. The longest of the short stories so I felt I was able to establish more of a connection.
Little Bud: 2* Kinda boring, this one is overshadowed by the others.
Clover Blossom: 4* Another poem, I seem to just favour these at bedtime, it’s so relaxing to read.
Little Annie’s Dream: 3* I could do with the flower bell from this story :’) I liked Annie’s journey
Ripple, The Water Spirit: 4* Ended on a high, I enjoyed the seasonal connection.
Profile Image for Once  upon  a Dream .
253 reviews6 followers
December 13, 2020
Molto carino, alcune storie molto noiose mentre altre le ho trovate adorabili:
Il Re del Gelo: 3
La visita di Eva al Paese delle Fate: 2.5
La lezione del fiore: 2.5
Corolla di Giglio e Lanugine di Cardo: 3
La piccola gemma: 2.5
Il sogno della piccola Annie: 1
Ricciolo d’Onda, lo Spirito dell’Acqua: 4
Profile Image for Alicia Flegel.
9 reviews2 followers
April 3, 2024
This is by far one of the best children's books I have ever read. I bought it at a thrift store like ten years ago and just NOW did I pick it up to read to my kids. I cried in some part and was filled with childlike wonder of the fairy world and love of nature. I'm surprised this book isn't more talked about...it's amazing!!
Profile Image for Sw33t_heart89.
128 reviews3 followers
March 4, 2023
Il mio voto è 3.5 ⭐️
Ci sono 7 racconti ma ho apprezzato di più i primi due racconti e l’ultimo .
776 reviews6 followers
August 18, 2024
You can see the potential of Little Women in these fairy stories, but overall they're a bit too sentimental and moralistic and very much of their time.
Profile Image for Mars.
14 reviews5 followers
September 19, 2025
This is a wonderfully cozy fairytale book. It was perfect to read before bed.
Profile Image for Amanda Carver.
194 reviews
July 13, 2025
not for me, this one, I didn't follow some of the stories, one or two of them were nice.
Profile Image for Kyra.
67 reviews
November 27, 2025
A collection of short stories about fairies. Each story, in proper fairytale fashion, has a lesson. It’s overall a cute, wholesome collection of tales that would be appropriate for young audiences.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews

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