Nora is not named on the front cover or spines of any of the Coloured Fairy Books, which all tout Andrew as their editor.

The 12 Coloured Fairy Books were illustrated by Henry Justice Ford, with credit for the first two volumes shared by G. P. Jacomb-Hood and Lancelot Speed, respectively.

According to Roger Lancelyn Green, Lang "was fighting against the critics and educationists of the day" who judged the traditional tales' "unreality, brutality, and escapism to be harmful for young readers, while holding that such stories were beneath the serious consideration of those of mature age".

The series was immensely popular, helped by Lang's reputation as a folklorist and by the packaging device of the uniform books.

They always begin with a little boy or girl who goes out and meets the fairies of polyanthuses and gardenias and apple blossoms: "Flowers and fruits, and other winged things".

The book assembled a wide range of tales, with seven from the Brothers Grimm, five from Madame d'Aulnoy, three from the Arabian Nights, and four Norwegian fairytales, among other sources.

Media related to The Red Fairy Book at Wikimedia Commons Contains 153 poems by great British and American poets.

Media related to Green Fairy Book at Wikimedia Commons Contains 24 true stories, mainly drawn from European history.

Media related to The yellow fairy book (1906) at Wikimedia Commons Contains 30 true stories, mainly drawn from European history.

Media related to The pink fairy book (1897) at Wikimedia Commons Contains 34 stories from the Arabian Nights, adapted for children.

Romania, Japan, Serbia, Lithuania, Africa, Portugal, and Russia are among the sources of these 35 stories that tell of a haunted forest, chests of gold coins, a magical dog, and a man who outwits a dragon.

Media related to The Violet Fairy Book at Wikimedia Commons Contains nineteen stories from various medieval and Renaissance romances of chivalry, adapted for children.

Media related to The book of romance (1902) at Wikimedia Commons These 36 stories originated in Hungary, Russia, Finland, Iceland, Tunisia, the Baltic, and elsewhere.

The Brown Fairy Book contains stories from the American Indians, Australian Bushmen and African Sothos, and from Persia, Lapland, Brazil, and India.

Media related to Brown Fairy Book at Wikimedia Commons Contains 29 stories from various medieval and Renaissance romances of chivalry, adapted for children.

The Olive Fairy Book includes unusual stories from Turkey, India, Denmark, Armenia, the Sudan, and the pen of Anatole France.

Contains 12 true stories about role models for children, including Hannibal, Florence Nightingale, and Saint Thomas More.