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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34 Items found Print
Active Filters: Picture Books, 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover, Used 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 Heidi Holder
1st 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 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)
Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Beauty and the Beast
by Deborah Apy, Michael Hague (illustrator)
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales & Fables for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Black Heart of Indri
by Dorothy Hoge; illustrated by Janina Domanska
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Brer Rabbit and His Tricks
by Ennis Rees; illustrated by Edward Gorey
from Young Scott Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Story Book
by Kay Chorao
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Emperor's New Clothes
by Hans Christian Andersen as told by Various Authors
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of Fairy Tales
by Translated by Marie Ponsot, Illustrated by Adrienne Segur
from Golden Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Hansel and Gretel
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Berta & Elmer Hader
from Weiser & Weiser
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hercules, the Gentle Giant
by Nina Schneider; illustrated by Tomie DePaola
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Higglety Pigglety Pop!
by Maurice Sendak
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Images of God
by John and Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
1st edition from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Misoso
by Verna Aardema
illustrated edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
by John Steptoe
1st edition from Amistad Press
for 2nd-5th grade
1988 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Nightingale
by Hans Christian Andersen; retold by Stephen Mitchell and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Old Stories from Denmark
from Kaj Elle-Ebeltoft
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Paul Bunyan the Work Giant
by Ida Virginia Turney
from Unknown Publisher
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Peter Bull
by Helen Oechsli, illustrated by Kelly Oechsli
from Viking Press
Danish Folk Tale for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Read Me Another Fairy Tale
by Andrew Lang, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Robin Hood
by Jane Carruth, Illustrated by Chris Higham
from Award Publications, Limited
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Shadow
by Marcia Brown
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Fairy Tales & Fables for 3rd-5th
1983 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Song to Demeter
by Cynthia & William Birrer
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.00 (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)
Tale of Two Rice Birds
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)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Tatterhood and the Hobgoblins
by Lauren Mills
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
by Eugene Trivizas
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
To Everything There Is a Season
by Diane Dillon, Leo Dillon
1st edition from Blue Sky press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams Bianco, illustrated by Donna Green
from Smithmark Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You (Fairy Tales)
by Mary Ann Hoberman, Illustrated by Michael Emberley
from Little, Brown & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)