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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Parent Categories

Fiction & Literature

Fiction by Genre

Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children

Subcategories

Aesop's Fables

American Tall Tales

Andersen's Fairy Tales & Stories

Asian Myths & Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales

29 Items found Print

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1st grade (Ages 6-7),

Library Binding

	Adventures of Tom Thumb by Marianna Mayer, illustrated by K. Y. Craft First Edition from SeaStar Books for Nursery-2nd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Aladdin by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Pablo Ramirez from Bobbs-Merril Co for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Arabian Nights: Three Tales by Deborah Nourse Lattimore from HarperCollins for Preschool-2nd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Cat and the Devil by James Joyce, illustrated by Richard Erdoes from E.M. Hale and Company for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $28.50 (1 in stock)
	Chinese Mythology: The Four Dragons from PowerKids Press for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC) $5.00 (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 in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $15.95
	Cinderella Everyman's Library Children's Classics by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 1st-4th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.75 (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)
	Crane Maiden by Miyoko Matsutani, illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki from Parents Magazine Press for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $3.75 (1 in stock)
	Curious Critters by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Don Madden from Garrard Publishing Company for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $27.00 (1 in stock)
	Emperor and the Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Bill Sokol from Pantheon Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	How Many Donkeys? A Turkish Folk Tale by Regina & Haig Shekerjian, illustrated by Bob Binkley from Scott, Foresman & Co. for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Hungry Leprechaun by Mary Calhoun, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin from William Morrow & Company for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Just So Stories Everyman's Library Children's Classics by Rudyard Kipling from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	Ma Lien and the Magic Brush by Hisako Kimishima, illustrated by Kei Wakana, retold by Alvin Tresselt from Parents Magazine Press for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Magic Beans A Follett JUST Beginning-to-Read Book by Margaret Hillert, illustrated by Mel Pekarsky from Follett Publishing Co. for Kindergarten-1st grade in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
	Magic Leaf by Winifred Morris & Ju-Hong Chen from Atheneum for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Master of all Masters An English Folktale by Marcia Sewall, illustrator from Little, Brown & Company for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	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)
	Monsters of the Middle Ages by William Wise, illustrated by Tomie de Paola from G.P. Putnam's Sons for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Ogre and His Bride by Nami Kishi, retold by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Shosuke Fukuda from Parents Magazine Press for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $3.75 (1 in stock)
	Our Lady of Guadalupe by Helen Rand Parish, illustrated by Jean Charlot 1964 Printing from Viking Press for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Pecos Bill and the Mustang by Harold Felton, illustrated by Leonard Shortall from Prentice Hall American Tall Tale for 1st-3rd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Pegasus by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft 1st ed from Morrow Eagle for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Pied Piper of Hamelin by Sara and Stephen Corrin (retellers), illustrated by Errol Le Cain from Harcourt Brace Jovanich 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) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Shoemaker and the Elves by The Brothers Grimm, translated by Wayne Andrews, illustrated by Adrienne Adams from Charles Scribner's Sons for Nursery-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $2.25 (1 in stock)
	When the Mississippi Was Wild by LeGrand Henderson from E.M. Hale and Company for Preschool-2nd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Wings by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Dennis Nolan from Harcourt Brace Jovanich for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.00 (1 in stock)

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