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

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Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children

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Aesop's Fables

American Tall Tales

Andersen's Fairy Tales

Asian Myths & Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales

41 Items found Print

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7th grade (Ages 12-13),

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In-Stock Books & Materials

	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, illustrated by Harry Rountree from Gallery Books for 3rd-9th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham from Macmillan Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.99
	Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights by Anonymous, illustrated by William Heath Robinson from Everyman's Library for 6th-9th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $17.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
	American Indian Tales and Legends by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup from Paul Hamlyn for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.00 (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
	Arctic Twilight Old Finnish Tales by Samuli Paulaharju 1982 Edition from Finnish American Literary Heritage Foundation for 7th-Adult in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Arthur the Always King by Kevin Crossley-Holland, illustrated by Chris Riddell from Candlewick Press for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $29.99
	Beautiful Stories of Life Six Greek Myths, Retold by Cynthia Rylant 1^st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers for 4th-7th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $17.99
	Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo from Candlewick Press for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Celtic Fairy Tales by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent from Viking Press for 3rd-8th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $12.00 (2 in stock)
	Children of Odin The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany from Macmillan Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $40.00 (1 in stock)
	Cinderella and Other Tales from Perrault by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Michael Hague from Henry Holt and Company for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.50 (1 in stock)
	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
	Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition by Gail Carson Levine from HarperCollins for 3rd-7th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen from Viking Press for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Favourite Tales from Grimm and Andersen by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Jirí Trnka 1983 Printing from Paul Hamlyn for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean from Eerdmans for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $20.00
	Grimm's Fairy Tales Windermere Readers #4 by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap 1954 printing from Rand McNally for 4th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Illustrated Treasury of Grimm's Fairy Tales by Grimm Brothers, illustrated by Daniela Drescher from Floris Books for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $24.95
	It's Perfectly True and Other Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Paul Leyssac and illustrated by Richard Bennett from Harcourt, Brace & World for 5th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Jack Tales by Richard Chase Reprint from Houghton Mifflin for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Sir Thomas Malory, edited by Sidney Lanier and illustrated by Florian from Grosset & Dunlap British Fairy Tales/Prose Epic for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.50 (1 in stock)
	Legends of the Wild West by James A. Crutchfield, Bill O'Neal, Dale L. Walker from Publications International for 3rd-8th grade in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon from New York Review of Books for 4th-8th grade 1955 Carnegie Medal in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Merry Ballads of Robin Hood by Laurabelle Dietrick, assisted by Joseph Franz-Walsh and illustrated by Edna Reindel from Macmillan Songs and Ballads for 7th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies from Harcourt Realistic Fairy Tale for 6th-9th Grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $14.99
	Myths Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mabie, illustrated by Mary H. Frye from Garden City Books for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Odyssey (retold) by Gillian Cross from Candlewick Press for 6th-9th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	People Could Fly American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton 1^st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan from Disney-Hyperion for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.99
	Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan from Disney-Hyperion for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.99
	Princess Academy by Shannon Hale from Bloomsbury Publishing for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Princess and the Goblin Everyman Library by George MacDonald from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	Robin Hood The Prince of Outlaws by Carola Oman, illustrated by S. Van Abbé 1984 Reprint from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $20.00 (1 in stock)
	Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker, illustrated by Junyi Wu First Ed from Henry Holt and Company for 4th-8th grade 2020 Newbery Honor Book in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $16.99
	Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin, illustrated by Peter Hurd from Yesterday's Classics for 5th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $14.95
	Tales from Shakespeare Manhattan Young People's Library by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Louis Rhead from Gilbert H. McKibben Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger 1971 printing from Doubleday & Company for 4th-8th grade 1925 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (2 in stock)
	World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves and Other Little People from Avenel Books for 7th-Adult in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Young Oxford Book of Folk Tales by Kevin Crossley-Holland from Oxford University for 4th grade-adult in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $9.00 (1 in stock)

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