Fairytale books for 3.5 year old

[EmmaPom]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend an anthology of fairytales for my 3.5yo DS. He can deal with longer stories and mild peril/challenge (we're currently reading James and the Giant Peach and he's following along with the story OK and hasn't been too concerned about the aunts getting squished or shark attacks etc). Ideally, I'd like an anthology that introduces him to the key stories, doesn't completely sanitize the grittier parts, but the language isn't to challenging and the ends aren't TOO sticky.

Thank you!

Edited for typo

Love this question.

I would genuinely recommend the Usborne collections. They’re really nicely told, very generous with a range of illustrations and nice layout, and there are loads of options.
On their website you can look at the pages inside to see what you think - often cheaper on Amazon though.

This one is nice, or there is a Grimm one: https://usborne.com/gb/illustrated-fairy-tales-9780746075562

You can see all the various collections here - there are some “ten minute tales” which are more simple for younger children, and others that are longer. Many of these stories are also available in little handheld books like the ladybird books I had when I was little - but the more modern ladybird books were nowhere near as nice as the old ones, and I found the usborne stories nicer.
https://usborne.com/gb/books/series/illustrated-story-collections
We had Illustrated stories from round the world, stories from India, Norse myths, pirate stories and King Arthur, and 100 stories.

Other options: I loved this Lucy Cousins collection. Probably not quite what you’re looking for as it’s only got about 4-6(?) stories but they are so beautifully and simply told, and the illustrations are great. Only available now second hand, or as indiv books: https://amzn.eu/d/ggHyKjy

I loved this Raymond Briggs illustrated one when I was little - some of the pics are quite creepy but it was great. Another one only second hand now (sorry my kids are teens now!) https://amzn.eu/d/aVtZeJT

Failing that, head to the biggest Waterstones or foyles you can find and have a look in the “classic” or “gift book” kids section. I do think the usborne ones are a really solid start though - the illustrators are often different for each story which makes it nice.