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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American Tall Tales

Andersen's Fairy Tales

Asian Myths & Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales

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Short Story Anthologies for Kids

	Aesop and Company With Scenes from His Legendary Life by Aesop, prepared by Barbara Bader and illustrated by Arthur Geisert from Sandpiper Books for Preschool-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Aesop's Fables Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel from Grosset & Dunlap Fables for 2nd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	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)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop, edited by Ann McGovern from Scholastic Inc. for Nursery-2nd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.50 (3 in stock)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham from Avenel Books for Nursery-2nd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (2 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 1^st 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 Charles Santore 1988 ed from Dilithium Press, Ltd. for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop, Isaac Bashevis Singer from International Collectors Library for 6th-10th grade in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
	Aesop's Fables Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel from Grosset & Dunlap for 2nd-6th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Aesop's Fables Puffin Classics by Aesop Reprint from Puffin Books Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Kindergarten-4th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99
	Aesop's Fables Children's Classics by Aesop, illustrated by Nora Fry from Dilithium Press, Ltd. for 2nd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Aesop's Fables Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel from Grosset & Dunlap for 2nd-6th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	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 Walt Sturrock from Unicorn Publishing House for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	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
	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)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop, retold by Anne Terry White, illustrated by Helen Siegl from California State Department of Education for 2nd-4th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	American Fairy Tales From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories 1^st edition from Hyperion Books for Children for 3rd-Adult in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenberg from Puffin Books for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.99
	Anansi and the Moss-covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel Reprint from Holiday House for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Anansi the Spider Man by Philip M. Sherlock, illustrated by Marcia Brown for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Animal Stories by Edited by Walter de la Mare from Charles Scribner's Sons for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Anpao An American Indian Odyssey by Jamake Highwater from HarperCollins for 5th-9th grade 1978 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Arabian Nights Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Earle Goodenow, illustrator from Grosset & Dunlap Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Arabian Nights by Orton Lowe from John C. Winston for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Atlantic Treasury of Childhood Stories by Mary D. Huchinson Hodgkins (selector and editor), illustrated by Beatrice Stevens from Atlantic Monthly Press for 1st-5th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $16.00 (1 in stock)
	Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum by Ashley Bryan from Aladdin Paperbacks Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-7th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.99 $5.50 (5 in stock)
	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) $9.00 (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)
	Classic Myths to Read Aloud The Great Stories of Greek and Roman Mythology, Specially Arranged for Children Five and Up by an Educational Expert by William F. Russell from Three Rivers Press in Reading Aloud & Story-telling (Location: LIR-RAST) $16.00 $9.50 (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)
	Cow-Tail Switch And Other West African Stories by Harold Courlander, George Herzog Reissue from Square Fish Publishing for 5th-7th grade 1948 Newbery Honor Book in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Brian Pinkney from Yearling for 4th-7th grade 1993 Newbery Honor Book in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.99
	East of the Sun and West of the Moon Old Tales from the North Calla Editions by Kay Nielsen from Dover Publications in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs from Everyman's Library for 3rd-6th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $21.00
	Eric Carle's Treasury of Classic Stories for Children by Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, retold & illustrated by Eric Carle from Scholastic Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Fables of Aesop Dover Evergreen Classics by Joseph Jacobs from Dover Publications for 2nd-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $5.99
	Fables of Aesop by Aesop, illustrated by Edward J. Detmold from Gramercy Books for Kindergarten-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Fables of Aesop by Aesop, selected & illustrated by David Levine, translated by Patrick & Justina Gregory from Gambit for 2nd-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Favorite Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs from Dover Publications for 3rd-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Favorite Folktales from Around the World by Jane Yolen from Pantheon Books for 4th-Adult in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters Heroines in Folktales from Around the World by Kathleen Ragan, Foreword by Jane Yolen from W. W. Norton and Co. for 5th-Adult in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $16.95
	Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin from Yesterday's Classics for 1st-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $11.95
	Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin from Living Book Press for 1st-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.99
	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)
	Freedom's Fruit by William H. Hooks from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $6.50 (1 in stock)
	Gift of the Sun A Tale from South Africa by Dianne Stewart for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney from Little, Brown & Company for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Green Willow and Other Japanese Fairy Tales Calla Editions by Grace James from Dover Publications for 7th-10th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Kaleidoscope of Fairies & Fables by Hans Andersen, Aesop, Kipling & the Brothers Grimm, retold by Robert Mathias from Hamlyn for Kindergarten-4th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	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
	Kingfisher Treasury of Stories from Around the World by Linda Jennings from Kingfisher for 3rd-5th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	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)
	Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book Forty World Folktales Especially for Reading Aloud by Bob Hartman, Krisztina Kallai Nagy from Lion Publishing for Nursery-1st grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger by Glen Rounds from Holiday House for 2nd-4th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Oscar Wilde Stories for Children by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by PJ Lynch from Hodder Children's for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Paul Buyan Twenty-One Tales of the Legendary Logger by Esther Shephard Reissue from Odyssey Press for 3rd-7th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	People Could Fly American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton 1^st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	People Could Fly American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon from Scholastic Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo & Robert Florczak Reprint from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo With Seventeen Other Laughable Tales and 200 Comical Silhouettes by John Bennett from Longmans, Green & Co. for 3rd-8th grade 1929 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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)
	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)
	Real Book About Our Armed Forces by Clayton & K.S. Knight from Garden City Books for 4th-6th grade in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
	Real Book of American Tall Tales by Adolph Regli, Robert J. Lee from Garden City Books for 4th-6th grade in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
	Seven Spools of Thread A Kwanzaa Story (Albert Whitman Prairie Paperback) by Angela Shelf Medearis Reprint from Albert Whitman & Company for 3rd-5th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Stories from Africa by Marguerite P. Dolch, Vincent D. Smith from Garrard Publishing Company for 4th-6th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	Stories From France Folklore of the World by Edward W. Dolch from Garrard Publishing Company for 2nd-4th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Stories from Hawaii Folklore of the World by Edward W. Dolch, Marguerite P. Dolch, & Ted Schroeder (Illustrator) from Garrard Publishing Company for 1st-3rd grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	Stories from India Folklore of the World by Edward W. Dolch, Marguerite P. Dolch, & Gordon Laite (Illustrator) from Garrard Publishing Company for 1st-3rd grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	Stories from Old China Folklore of the World by Edward W. Dolch, Marguerite P. Dolch, & Seong Moy (Illustrator from Garrard Publishing Company for 1st-3rd grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	Stories of Wizards by Gillian Doherty, illustrated by Linda Edwards from Usborne for 3rd-6th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $8.10 (1 in stock)
	Sun, Moon, and Stars by Mary Hoffman from Dutton Children's Books for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Sweet and Sour Tales from China from HMH Books for Young Readers in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $8.95
	Tale of the Cid: and Other Stories of Knights and Chivalry by Andrew Lang from Dover Publications for 6th-Adult in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.95
	Tales from Japan by Helen & William McAlpine from Oxford University for 4th-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger from Dover Publications for 4th-8th grade 1925 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $12.99
	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)
	Tales Told Again by Walter De La Mare from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	Tales Told in Holland by Olive Beaupre Miller, Illustrated by Maud & Miska Petersham from Book House for Children for 1st-6th grade in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH) $18.00 (2 in stock)
	Tenggren's Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights by Gustaf Tenggren from Golden Books for 1st-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Thirty More Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin from Yesterday's Classics for 2nd-5th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.95
	Thirty More Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin from Living Book Press for 2nd-5th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Through Golden Windows (Ten Volume Set) from Grolier Publishing for 1st-6th grade in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
	Tiger and the Brahmin by Brian Gleeson from Simon and Schuster for 1st-3rd grade in Tools for Young Historians (Location: BIBWV-TYH)
	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)
	Viking Tales by Jennie Hall from Living Book Press for 1st-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.99
	Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers for 1st-3rd grade 1969 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell Reprint from Scholastic Inc. for 1st-3rd grade 1969 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell, illustrated by Blair Lent from Houghton Mifflin for 1st-3rd grade 1969 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Wise Words by Peter Leithart from GCB Publishing Group for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	World's Best Fairy Tales A Reader's Digest Anthology by Belle Becker Sideman (editor), illustrated by Fritz Kredel from Reader's Digest for 3rd-6th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	World's Best Fairy Tales Volume 1 A Reader's Digest Anthology by Belle Becker Sideman (editor), illustrated by Fritz Kredel from Reader's Digest for 3rd-6th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	World's Best Fairy Tales Volume 2 A Reader's Digest Anthology by Belle Becker Sideman (editor), illustrated by Fritz Kredel from Reader's Digest for 3rd-6th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
	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)
	Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer; illustrated by Maurice Sendak from Harper & Row for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (2 in stock)

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