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

39 Items found Print

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Short Story Anthologies for Kids,

1st grade (Ages 6-7)

	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 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 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 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)
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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) $18.99
	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
	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)
	Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo & Robert Florczak Reprint from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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)

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