What’s Up With the Title?

Technically, in the original German, the collection was titled Kinder- und Hausmärchen, which translates to Children's and Household Tales. This is not, as you can see, the most attention-grabbing title in the world. When's the last time you heard household in the title of a book and were just dying to read it?

It's been variously translated over the years, with some titles drawing attention to the fact that it's the GRIMMS' FAIRY TALES DID YOU HEAR ME I SAID GRIMMS'! Mostly, the titles for the collection draw attention to the fact that a) the collection includes fairy tales, b) they were collected by the Grimm brothers, and c) they're intended for kids. In this case, we're left with Grimms' Fairy Tales. Nice and straightforward, sure, but the title's nothing to write home about.