Author: Katharine Pyle. Illustrated by Katharine Pyle.
Title: Wonder Tales Retold.
Publisher: Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1916. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8" x 5.5".
Pages: viii-322 pages + publisher's advertisements.
Binding: Near fine original green cloth binding lettered in gilt and decorated in dark green with an attractive pictorial sailing ship design on the front cover. Exceptionally well preserved, with only the slightest traces of handling and shelf wear. A remarkably fresh and attractive example. Protected in a removable mylar cover. 
Content: Near fine content. Internally clean, bright, and tight, with no ownership inscriptions or significant defects noted. An unusually well-preserved copy of this increasingly scarce children's classic.
Illustrations: Complete with the beautiful color frontispiece and seven additional full-page color plates by Katharine Pyle. The illustrations are among Pyle's finest work, displaying her distinctive blend of fairy-tale romance, decorative design, and early twentieth-century color illustration.

Estimate: (USD 200–250).

The book:  Wonder Tales Retold is one of Katharine Pyle's most charming collections of traditional folk and fairy tales gathered from a remarkable variety of cultural traditions. Published in 1916, the volume presents stories drawn from Bohemia, Russia, Norway, Brittany, Korea, India, Scotland, Native American traditions, and elsewhere, reflecting the growing early twentieth-century fascination with world folklore.

Among the tales are The Dwarf with the Golden Beard, The Great White Bear and the Trolls, The Baba Yaga, The Farmer and the Pixy, The Fish Prince, and Princess Rosetta. Rather than merely reproducing traditional narratives, Pyle retells them in a graceful literary style that made them accessible to young readers while preserving much of their original atmosphere and wonder.

The book is particularly admired for its striking illustrations, which combine elements of the Golden Age of Illustration with influences from folklore, medieval romance, and Art Nouveau design. Today it remains one of the most desirable and attractive fairy-tale collections produced by an American illustrator during the early twentieth century.

The author and illustrator: Katharine Pyle (1863–1938) was an American author and illustrator best known for her fairy tales, legends, and children's books. She was the sister of the celebrated illustrator and teacher Howard Pyle and developed her artistic career within the influential circle of artists associated with him.

Although often overshadowed by her famous brother, Katharine Pyle produced a substantial body of work distinguished by its imaginative storytelling and elegant illustrations. Her books reveal a deep appreciation for folklore and myth, as well as a gift for creating dreamlike images that appealed to both children and adults. Today her illustrated fairy-tale collections are increasingly sought after by collectors of Golden Age children's books and early American illustration.