Philip Pullman rewrites a selection of stories from the Brothers Grimm. These aren't embellishments, as far as I can tell he didn't add any new twists to the original or expand on the story. The tone is "just so", the way fairy tales are written, and each one is at most 5 pages of reading material. He doesn't go into what his selection criteria is (the criteria for the last one is explained, however!), and it seems to be a mixture of the classics (Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel) and some stories that particularly catch his fancy.
I enjoyed most of them, and obviously the original tales frequently had bite that the Disney version don't. What gives these stories more meaning are the notes that Pullman attaches to the end of each story. In many cases these notes provide a deep look at the symbology or the origins of the story (including a retelling of Ali Baba that leaves out the last bit!)
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