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 & Stories

Asian Myths & Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales

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In-Stock Books & Materials

	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
	Beautiful Blue Jay and Other Tales of India by John W. Spellman, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney 1^st edition from Little, Brown & Company for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.75 (1 in stock)
	Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth PF from Collier Books for 4th-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales by Jacqueline Onassis, illustrated by Boris Zvorykin from Viking Press for Preschool-2nd grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Fool of the World and the Flying Ship A Russian Tale 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 A Russian Tale 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)
	Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent Reissue from Puffin Books 1973 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $5.99
	Goddesses, Heroes and Shamans The Young People's Guide to World Mythology by David Bellingham from Kingfisher for 4th-6th grade in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman from Yearling Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo & Ruth Heller from HarperCollins for 3rd-5th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Little Humpbacked Horse A Russian Tale 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)
	Lon Po Po A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young from PaperStar Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade 1990 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $6.99 $4.50 (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)
	Magic Fan by Keith Baker from Sandpiper Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Magic Leaf by Winifred Morris & Ju-Hong Chen from Atheneum for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Ming Lo Moves the Mountain by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
	Monkey and the Crab Saru Kani by Seishi Horio (reteller), illustrated by Tsutomu Murakami from Heian International, Inc. for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	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
	One Grain of Rice by Demi for Nursery-Kindergarten in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	One Grain of Rice by Demi from Scholastic Press for Nursery-Kindergarten in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $21.99
	Prince Ivan and the Firebird by Bernard Lodge from Whispering Coyote Press for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng from Scholastic Inc. for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng from Scholastic Inc. for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Shen of the Sea Chinese Stories for Children by Arthur Bowie Chrisman from Dutton Juvenile for 3rd-5th grade 1926 Newbery Medal in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $17.99
	Shen of the Sea Chinese Stories for Children by Arthur Bowie Chrisman, illustrated by Else Hasselriis from E.P. Dutton & Co. for 3rd-5th grade 1926 Newbery Medal in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Snow Princess by Ruth Sanderson from Crocodile Books for Preschool-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.95
	Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin Reprint from Little, Brown & Company for 5th-7th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $11.99
	Sweet and Sour Tales from China from HMH Books for Young Readers in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $8.95 $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Tale of the Mandarin Ducks by Katherine Paterson from Puffin Books for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Tale of Two Rice Birds A Folktale from Thailand by Adapted by Clare Hodgson Meeker, Illustrated by Christine Lamb from Sasquatch Books for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Tales from Indian Classics Book III by Savitri (reteller), illustrated by Sukumar Chatterjee from Children's Book Press for 2nd-6th grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel from Square Fish Publishing Humorous Folk Tale for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Urashima and the Kingdom Beneath the Sea by Ralph F. McCarthy for 4th-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Usborne Stories From India by Anna Milbourne, illustrated by Linda Edwards from Usborne for 2nd-5th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Willow Pattern Story by Allan Drummond from North-South Books for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	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)
	Yu the Great Conquering the Flood A Chinese Legend by Paul D. Storrie from Graphic Universe for 3rd-6th grade in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC) $4.50 (1 in stock)

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