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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236 Items found Print
Active Filters: Picture Books, In-Stock Books & Materials
Adelita
by Tomie DePaola
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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 Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Aladdin
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Pablo Ramirez
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
American Tall Tales
by Mary Pope Osborne, Michael McCurdy
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales & Fables for 4th-8th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
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
Babushka Baba Yaga
by Patricia Polacco
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Barefoot Book of Buddhist Tales
by Sherab Chodzin & Alexandra Kohn (retellers), illustrated by Marie Cameron
from Barefoot Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum
by Ashley Bryan
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-7th grade
$9.99 $5.50 (5 in stock)
Beauty and the Beast
by Deborah Apy, Michael Hague (illustrator)
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales & Fables for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Beauty and the Beast
by Jan Brett
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
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
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest House in the World
by Leo Lionni
from Dragonfly Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Black Heart of Indri
by Dorothy Hoge; illustrated by Janina Domanska
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$22.99
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)
Bony-Legs
by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Cloelia
by Jane Curry
1st edition from J. Paul Getty Museum
for 4th-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
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
Brer Rabbit and His Tricks
by Ennis Rees; illustrated by Edward Gorey
from Young Scott Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
from Puffin Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.99
Buckwheat
Scandinavia Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen
from Word Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humorous Folk Tale for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Cat and the Devil
by James Joyce, illustrated by Richard Erdoes
from E.M. Hale and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Story Book
by Kay Chorao
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
by Marcia Brown (translator)
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1955 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
by David Delamare
from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Diane Goode
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
by Charles Perrault, retold by Amy Ehrlich, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
from Dial Books for Young Readers
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Clod Hans
Scandinavia Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen
from Word Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Contest
by Nonny Hogrogian
from Greenwillow Books
Armenian Folktale for 1st-3rd grade
1977 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Crane Maiden
by Miyoko Matsutani, illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Crane Wife
by Odds Bodkin
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00
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
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.95
D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$22.95
Dance Me a Story
by Jane Rosenberg
from Thames and Hudson
for 3rd-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$12.00 (3 in stock)
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)
Each Peach Pear Plum
by Allan & Janet Ahlberg
from Puffin Books
Rhyming Story for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Each Peach Pear Plum
by Allan & Janet Ahlberg
from Puffin Books
Rhyming Story for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99
Elves and the Shoemaker
by Freya Littledale, Illustrated by Brinton Turkle
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Emperor and the Nightingale
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Bill Sokol
from Pantheon Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Emperor's New Clothes
by Virginia Burton, illustrator
from Sandpiper Books
Fairy Tale/Allegory for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.95
Emperor's New Clothes
by Hans Christian Andersen as told by Various Authors
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tale Set #1
by K. Y. Craft, Illustrator
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fairy Tale Set #2
by Paul O. Zelinsky, Illustrator
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)
Favourite Tales from Hans Christen Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Anastasiya Archipova
from Floris Books
for 4th-6th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Fin M'coul
by Tomie dePaola
from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
First Book of Fairy Tales
by Mary Hoffman
from DK Publishing
Fairy Tales for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
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
Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
by Arthur Ransome
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1969 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$24.99
Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
by Arthur Ransome, illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
from Sunburst Book
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1969 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Gift of the Sacred Dog
by Paul Goble
from Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh the King
by Ludmila Zeman
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 1st-4th grade
$8.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Gingerbread Boy
by Paul Galdone
from Clarion Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (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)
Gingerbread Man
by Jim Aylesworth
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.99
Golden Book of Fairy Tales
by Translated by Marie Ponsot, Illustrated by Adrienne Segur
from Golden Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
by Gennady Spirin
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 9th-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (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
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Don Daily
from Applesauce Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Hansel and Gretel
by Rika Lesser & Paul Zelinsky
from Putnam Juvenile
for 1st-2nd grade
1985 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
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)
Hansel and Gretel
by Ruth Belov Gross, illustrated by Winslow Pinney Pels
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (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)
Hercules, the Gentle Giant
by Nina Schneider; illustrated by Tomie DePaola
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (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)
Higglety Pigglety Pop!
by Maurice Sendak
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Images of God
by John and Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
1st edition from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Irish Cinderlad
by Shirley Climo & Loretta Krupinksi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Jack and the Beanstalk
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
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)
Johnny Appleseed
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperTrophy
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Johnny Appleseed
from Puffin Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (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 and the Golden Touch
by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
King's Chessboard
by David Birch & Devis Grebu
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
King's Equal
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Kitchen Knight
by Margaret Hodges; illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Holiday House
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
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