Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children

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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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Fiction & Literature

Fiction by Genre

Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children

Subcategories

Aesop's Fables

American Tall Tales

Andersen's Fairy Tales

Asian Myths & Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales

43 Items found Print

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Preschool (Ages 4-5),

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	Adelita by Tomie DePaola Reprint from Puffin Books for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
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	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 from Puffin Books for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $8.99
	Crane Wife by Odds Bodkin from Sandpiper Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.00
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	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
	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)
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	Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney from Little, Brown & Company for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.99
	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
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	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
	Kindergarten Gems by Agnes Taylor Ketchum, Ida M. Jorgensen from Yesterday's Classics for Preschool-1st grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $15.95
	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
	Lion and the Mouse Step into Reading Level 1 by Gail Herman from Random House for Preschool-kindergarten in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP) $4.99 $2.50 (7 in stock)
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	Magic Fan by Keith Baker from Sandpiper Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00
	Midsummer Night's Dream - A BabyLit Fairies Primer by Jennifer Adams Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith for Nursery-Preschool in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD) $11.99
	Ming Lo Moves the Mountain by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Monkey and the Crocodile A Jataka Tale from India by Paul Galdone from HMH Books for Young Readers for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
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	Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen & Dorothee Duntze from North-South Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $7.95
	Puss In Boots by Charles Perrault & Fred Marcelino from Square Fish Publishing for Nursery-2nd grade 1991 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $6.75
	Rain Player by David Wisniewski from Clarion Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.95
	Rumpelstiltskin by Paul Galdone from Sandpiper Books for Preschool-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.95
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	Snow Queen A Retelling of the Fairy Tale By Hans Christian Andersen 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
	Story of Jumping Mouse A Native American Legend by John Steptoe from HarperCollins Native American Fable for Preschool-2nd grade 1985 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $6.99
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	Three Bears by Paul Galdone from Sandpiper Books for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
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	Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie from Puffin Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)

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