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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37 Items found Print
Active Filters: Princess Stories, 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
$15.95
Cinderella
Calla Editions
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
Cinderella
by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-8th grade
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.99
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Fairest
by Gail Carson Levine
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
Fairy Tale Set #1
by K. Y. Craft, Illustrator
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
$7.99
Fantasy Stories of George Macdonald - 4 Book Set
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Craig Yoe
from Eerdmans
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Grain of Rice
by Helena Clare Pittman
from Yearling
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-4th grade
$7.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Don Daily
from Applesauce Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
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)
Korean Cinderella
by Shirley Climo & Ruth Heller
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Sunburst Book
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
$9.99
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop
from Macmillan
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Ned Bustard
from Rabbit Room Press
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
$18.00
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Craig Yoe
from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Arthur Hughes
from Barefoot Books
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by William Pene du Bois
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Maud Humphrey
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
Ordinary Princess
by M. M. Kaye
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Princess and the Kiss
by Jennie Bishop
from Warner Press
Allegories and Moral Stories for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Princess and the Kiss with Audio CD
by Jennie Bishop, Illustrated by Preston McDaniels
from Warner Press
Allegories and Moral Stories for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Rapunzel
by Paul Zelinsky
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
Rapunzel
by Alix Berenzy
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Rose & the Ring
by William Makepeace Thackeray
from Heritage Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Sleeping Beauty
Calla Editions
by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
Sleeping Beauty
by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, illustrated by Edmund Dulac
from Hodder & Stoughton
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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
Snow White
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.95
Snow White
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Random House
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Thirteen Clocks
by James Thurber
from New York Review of Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Thirteen Clocks
by James Thurber
from Penguin Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00
Twelve Dancing Princesses
Calla Editions
by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
from Dover Publications
for 4th-9th grade
Two Princesses of Bamarre
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Two Princesses of Bamarre
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)