The Tale of Two... collections of folktales.

Juniper Tree, and other tales from Grimm

Grimm, J., Grimm, W. K., Segal, L., & Sendak, M. (1973). The juniper tree, and other tales from Grimm. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

This book is a collection of folk tales by the Grimm Brothers. It's been translated by Lore Segal and Randal Jarrell and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Some stories included in this collection are "Hansel and Gretel", "The Three Feathers", and "The Fisherman and His Wife". 

It seems clear, though not explicitly stated, that this collection aims to compile a selection of Brothers Grimm tales and translate them for English readers. The translation note reveals an attention to detail to not only translating the work as a whole but giving credit to how and from what this work was translated from. The translation note remarks that one of the stories, "Many-Fur" was translated from the text, Kinder - und Hausmärchen (1812,1815). While the rest of the tales were from texts that were translated by the Brothers Grimm. Meaning it's been made clear that nearly all of these stories are technically a translation of a translation. I think the transparency of this is very mindful. Additionally, in the translation note, there is additional gratitude offered to those who helped ensure that some tricky german words or phrases were translated correctly to English.

The illustrations from this collection are very dated. I doubt you would easily find a book of folktales published in this year with illustrations in an identical art style to this one. However, I believe this art style really lends itself to the topic at hand. That is to say, these old-school fantasical drawing fit the aesthetic of a book of fairytales and folklore. Because folklore, by nature, is something that viewed as old and something whimsical. 

Trickster: Native American Tales, a Graphic Collection 

Dembicki, M., & Farritor, M. (2010). Trickster: Native American tales : a graphic collection. Fulcrum Books.

This graphic novel is a collection of Native American Trickster tales told through graphics. The collection includes 21 stories using different art and illustration styles to aptly reflect the tone of each story. Some tales include "Coyote and the Pebbles", "The Wolf and the Mink" and "How Wildcat Caught a Turkey". The collection also includes the names of over 40 contributors, listed in alphabetical order. 

It's obvious that Dembicki has a deep admiration for the Native American Trickster stories. He even recounts how reading a compilation of Native American Trickster stories at his local library is what cause it him to want to create this book. He notes how interesting it is that though Native Americans are just that- Americans, pop culturally speaking their tales haven't broken into the American lexicon and mindset. Dembicki clearly states that his intention with this book was not appropriate the Native American culture but to rather shine a spotlight on it, so to speak. He even points out that he knew this could only be authentically accomplished by partnering with Native American storytellers and writers. This reverence for the culture and determination to be respectful and avoid appropriation or theft, is ultimately what makes this a successfull collection of folktales. 

I greatly admire the idea to have each story in a different art style. With a big collection such as this one, separating stories with completely different illustrations is part of what keeps it engaging. And, as I previously mentioned, the art style of each story reflects the tone of the given story. Darker stories have a more moody, monotoned art style while the happier more childlike stories have bright colors and cartoon-like illustrations.