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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61 Items found Print
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$6.99
Arabian Nights Entertainment
by Andrew Lang
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-5th grade
$15.99
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Frank C. Pape
from Living Book Press
for 4th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Baktar
by Laurie J. White
from Shorter Word Press
for 3rd-6th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Yesterday's Classics
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$13.95
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Living Book Press
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
Book of Legends
by Horace E. Scudder
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-5th grade
$9.95
Dream Coach
by Anne Parrish
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
1925 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.95
English Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
$10.99
Fairy Ring
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yesterday's Classics
$23.95
Famous Legends Adapted for Children
by Emeline G. Crommelin
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 5th-9th grade
$7.99
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
$11.95
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Living Book Press
for 1st-4th grade
$8.99
Gilgamesh (retold)
by Bernarda Bryson
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$26.87
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
Heroes
by Charles Kingsley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-7th grade
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Heroes
by Charles Kingsley
from Living Book Press
for 4th-7th grade
$9.99
Heroes Every Child Should Know
by H. W. Mabie
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 5th-8th grade
$15.95
Heroes Every Child Should Know
by H. W. Mabie
from Living Book Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
$13.99
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
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 Arthur and His Knights
by Maude Redford Warren
2nd edition from Yesterday's Classics
Arthurian Legends and Myths for
$11.95
King of Ireland's Son
by Padraic Colum
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-7th grade
$14.95
King of the Golden River
by John Ruskin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-6th grade
$9.95
King of the Golden River
by John Ruskin
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
$5.99
Life and Death of Cormac the Skald
by W. G. Collingwood
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
$7.99
Mary Frances Cook Book
by Jane E. Fryer
Reprint from Applewood Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cooking for Kids (Location: COOK-KID)
Mary Frances Knitting and Crocheting Book
by Jane Eayre Fryer
Reprint from Applewood Books
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
Number Stories of Long Ago
by David Eugene Smith
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
$8.99
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
Pied Piper of Hamelin
by Robert Browning, Illustrated by Kate Greenaway
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Princess and Curdie
by George MacDonald
from Living Book Press
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Princess and the Goblin
by George MacDonald
from Living Book Press
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Reading-Literature: First Reader
by Harriette Taylor Treadwell, Margaret Free
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$10.95
Reading-Literature: Second Reader
by Harriette Taylor Treadwell, Margaret Free
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$11.95 $6.50 (1 in stock)
Reading-Literature: The Primer
by Margaret Free and Harriette Taylor Treadwell, illustrated by Frederick Richardson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$10.95
Romulus
Makers of History series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.95
Sampo
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Sleeping Beauty & Cinderella
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
Myth & Legend for 2nd-5th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$9.95
Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.95 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Stories of Roland Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.95
Stories of Siegfried Told to the Children
by Mary MacGregor
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.95
Story of Roland
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-10th grade
$14.95
Story of the Iliad
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$9.99
Story of the Odyssey
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$8.99
Tales of King Arthur and the Round Table
by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
$8.99
Tales of Troy and Greece
by Andrew Lang
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
$11.99
Tanglewood Tales
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
$13.95
Tanglewood Tales
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ill from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
$16.99
Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$12.95
Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.99
Viking Tales
by Jennie Hall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-10th grade
$10.95
Viking Tales
by Jennie Hall
from Living Book Press
for 1st-4th grade
$8.99
West African Folk-Tales
by William H. Barker
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-6th grade
$10.95
Wonder Book for Girls and Boys
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Yesterday's Classics
Myths for 5th-10th grade
$12.95
Wonder Book for Girls and Boys
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Living Book Press
Myths for 5th-10th grade
$15.99