Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children

Not that these are "soft" versions of the fairy tales we know and love—they're just not quite as jarring as the original material. Whereas the Brothers Grimm didn't hesitate to include excessive violence, genuine terror and even (on occasion) sexual references, authors like Andrew Lang opted to gentle the stories a bit so as not to spook the youngsters too much. While we certainly encourage you to read the originals and introduce them to your kids at some point, the books you'll find in this section are a great place to start small children on traditional tales and folklore.

It's not so much that fairy tales offer kids a new way of seeing the world, it's more that they are already in line with the way kids do see the world. For a child, monsters really do lurk in the shadows, pumpkins can turn into vehicles, and animals really do have rational thoughts and can even (at times, if you listen closely enough) talk. To force children into an adult world where only the unavoidable and routine can take place is to rob them of not only their youth, but their ability to imagine.

More than any other kind of story, fairy tales are only a segue to genuine creativity. Kids read about Princes Charming, Princesses in Distress, Dragons, Dragon-Fighters, dwarfs, elves and pixies—and then become each of these things in turn in the backyard. Not that most children need inspiration, but it certainly can't hurt, nor can it hurt for them to realize they aren't the first ones to imagine fairies in the trees and gnomes in the garden. We've chosen the books you'll find here for the quality of artwork, faithfulness of adaptation, and overall appeal both to kids and their parents (who may have missed out on good fairy tales themselves).

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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148 Items found Print
Active Filters: Picture Books, Kindergarten (Ages 5-6), Hardcover
Adventures of Tom Thumb
by Marianna Mayer, illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold & illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st Ed. from Chronicle Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
1st edition from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
1988 ed from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, Illustrated by Walt Sturrock
from Unicorn Publishing House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
Kohl's Cares Edition from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Derrydale Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Animal Folk Tales of America
by Tony Palazzo
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
by written by Marianna Mayer, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Beauty and the Beast
by Marianna Mayer
from Four Winds Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Beauty and the Beast
by M. Charlotte Craft, K. Y. Craft
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Boll Weevil
by Glen Rounds
from Golden Gate Junior Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bremen Town Musicians
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
Tra from Minedition
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bremen Town Musicians
by Ilse Plume retelling Brothers Grimm
Tra from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1981 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
1st edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bunyans
by Audrey Wood, illustrated by David Shannon
from Blue Sky press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Children of the Forest
by Elsa Beskow
from Floris Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cinderella
by K. Y. Craft
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cinderella
by David Delamare
from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
by Paul Galdone
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Classic Bedtime Stories
by Scott Gustafson
from Greenwich Workshop Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Cricket's Cage
by Stefan Czernecki
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Crystal Pool
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
Cupid and Psyche
by M. Charlotte Craft & K. Y. Craft
from Morrow Junior Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Dick Whittington and His Cat
by Marcia Brown
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dick Whittington and His Cat
by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Melisande Potter
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Dragon Kite
by Nancy Luenn, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Elves And The Shoemaker
by John Cech, illustrated by Kirill Chelushkin
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Elves and the Shoemaker
Tip-Top Elf Book
by Illustrated by Manning De V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Fairy Tales and Fables
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Favorite All-Time Classics
by Various Anthology
from Rand McNally
for Nursery-1st grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$48.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Fables
by Amanda Atha (reteller), illustrated by Jane Harvey
from Bracken Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fire Stealer
by William Toye; illustrated by Elizabeth Cleaver
from Oxford University
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Fireside Stories
by Veronica S. Hutchinson, illustrated by Lois Lenski
from Minton, Balch & CO.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Flying Trunk and Other Stories from Hans Christian Andersen
by Naomi Lewis retelling Hans Christian Andersen
from Simon and Schuster
for K-3rd
Folk Tale Classics Heirloom Library - Boxed Set
by Paul Galdone
Box from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$21.99
Folk Tale Classics Keepsake Collection - Boxed Set
by Paul Galdone
Box from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$21.99
Fox & the Cat
by Kevin Crossley-Holland, Susan Varley (Illustrator)
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Animal Fables for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Giant John
by Arnold Lobel
Weekly Reader Book Club Ed. from Harper & Row
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Gingerbread Boy
by Watty Piper, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gingerbread Man
by Jim Aylesworth; illustrated by Barbara McClintock
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
by Jennifer Greenway, illustrated by Elizabeth Miles
from Ariel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Grasshopper and the Ants
by Jerry Pinkney
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from Minedition
for Preschool-2nd grade
Hans in Luck
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, retold and illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hansel and Gretel
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
First Edition from Sun Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hansel and Gretel
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Berta & Elmer Hader
from Weiser & Weiser
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hansel and Gretel
by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Hare and the Tortoise
by Brian Wildsmith
from Oxford University
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Hatseller and the Monkeys
by Baba Wague Diakite
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Hey, Diddle Diddle and other Nonsense Rhymes
A Tip-Top Elf Book
by Davi Botts (illustrator)
from Rand McNally
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Iron John
by Marianna Mayer & Winslow Pels
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Jack and the Beanstalk
by Paul Galdone
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
John Henry
by Julius Lester & Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
1995 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
by Simms Taback
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
King Grisly-Beard
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Edgar Taylor, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
King Midas
by John Warren Stewig, illustrated by Omar Rayyan
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
King Midas
by Demi
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
King Midas and the Golden Touch
by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
from William Morrow & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
King's Chessboard
by David Birch & Devis Grebu
from Sun Dial Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Little Humpbacked Horse
by Adapted by Elizabeth Winthrop, Illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
from Clarion Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Little Red Riding Hood
by Paul Galdone, Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
First Edition Thus from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Lucky and the Giant
by Benjamin Elkin, illustrated by Katherine Evans
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Brush
by Robert B. Goodman & Robert A. Spicer (adapters), illustrated by Y. T. Mui, edited by Ruth Tabrah
from Island Heritage Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Mazel and Shimazel
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Michael Hague's Favourite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Misoso
by Verna Aardema
illustrated edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Monkey and the Crocodile
by Paul Galdone
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Moon Singer
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Thomas Crowell
Fairy Tales & Fables for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mother Goose
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Weathervane Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Viking Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Nightingale
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Alison Claire Darke
from Doubleday & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Nine in a Line
by Ann Kirn, Arabic captions by Leila Leonard
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Nutcracker
by E. T. A. Hoffmann & Janet Schulman
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Nutcracker
by E. T. A. Hoffman, Scott Gustafson (Illustrator)
from Barnes & Noble
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Once a Mouse
by Marcia Brown
from Atheneum
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1962 Caldecott Medal Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Pecos Bill
by Brian Gleeson
from Rabbit Ears
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Peter and the Rabbits
by Arthur Kubler, translated by Roseanna Hoover
First US Edition from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Princess Stories
A Classic Illustrated Ed, from Chronicle Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Puss in Boots
by John S. Goodall
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Picture-only Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Puss in Boots
by Charles Perrault, retold by Lincoln Kirstein and illustrated by Alain Vaes
from Little, Brown & Company
Picture-only Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Rapunzel
by Marianna Mayer, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Read to Me, Grandma
by Glorya Hale (editor), illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith and Charles Robinson
from Jellybean Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Right Fine Life
by Andrew Glass
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow
by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
from Orchard Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Rumpelstiltskin
by Paul O. Zelinsky
from Dutton Children's Books
1987 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter
by Diane Stanley
from Morrow Junior Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Saint Francis and the Wolf
by Richard Egielski
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Simeons
by Boris Artzybasheff
from Viking Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1938 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Seventh Door
by Norman Leach
from Child's Play Ltd.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Sinbad the Sailor
by Edmund Dulac, Illustrator
from Crescent Books
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Sleeping Beauty
by K. Y. Craft
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Snow Princess
by Ruth Sanderson
from Crocodile Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.95
Snow Queen
by Hans Christian Andersen, Retold by Allison Grace MacDonald and Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Snow White
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.95
Snow White
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Random House
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
by Wanda Gag
from University of Minnesota
for Preschool-2nd grade
1939 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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