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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65 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Harry Rountree
from Gallery Books
for 3rd-9th grade
$14.00 (1 in stock)
American Folklore and Legend
by Robert Dolezal
from Reader's Digest
for 3rd-6th grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Babar the King / Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar); Rose Dobbs (reteller, Grimm), Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott Espensheid
from Random House
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.25 (1 in stock)
Bag of Moonshine
by Alan Garner, illustrated by P. J. Lynch
from Delacorte Press
for 3rd-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Blue Jay and Other Tales of India
by John W. Spellman, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.75 (1 in stock)
Beowulf (retold)
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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Cloelia
by Jane Curry
1st edition from J. Paul Getty Museum
for 4th-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.95 $12.00 (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 (1 in stock)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.00 (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)
Every Common Bush
by Hilary C. J. Boyle, illustrated by Caryll Houselander
from Sheed & Ward
for 3rd-6th grade
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales and Stories
by Hans Christian Andersen, Edited by Signe Toksvig, Illustrated by George and Doris Hauman
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.75 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen
from Viking Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Faun and the Woodcutter's Daughter
by Barbara Leonie Picard, illustrated by Charles Stewart
from Criterion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.75 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Favourite Tales from Grimm and Andersen
by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by JirĂ­ Trnka
1983 Printing from Paul Hamlyn
for 4th-8th grade
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Folk Tales and Fables of the World
by Barbara Hayes, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
First Edition from Portland House
for 1st-6th grade
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Folk Tales and Legends
by Michaela Tvrdikova (reteller), translated by Vera Gissing, illustrated by Vojtech Kubasta
from Octopus Books Limited
for 3rd-6th grade
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh the Hero
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Eerdmans
for 4th-8th grade
$20.00 $12.00 (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)
Grimms' Fairy Tales
Sterling Classics
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 4th-8th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant, and Other Stories
by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Octopus Books Limited
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Higglety Pigglety Pop!
by Maurice Sendak
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Saw Esau
by Iona & Peter Opie
First U.S. Edition from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$9.00 (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)
In the Beginning
by Virginia Hamilton, Illustrated by Barry Moser
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 3rd-8th grade
1989 Newbery Honor Book
$14.00 (1 in stock)
It's Perfectly True
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Paul Leyssac and illustrated by Richard Bennett
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jack Plank Tells Tales
by Natalie Babbitt
First Edition (first thus) from MDC Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jack Tales
by Richard Chase
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
King and the Green Angelica
by Isabel Wyatt and Joan Rudel
from Lanthorn Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Land of the Long White Cloud
by Kiri Te Kanawa, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Pavilion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Legends of Paul Bunyan
by Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht, illustrated by Kurt Werth
from Crowell-Collier
for 3rd-6th grade
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Legends of the United Nations
by Frances Frost, illustrated by Karl M. Shultheiss
from Whittlesey House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$13.50 (1 in stock)
Legends of the Wild West
by James A. Crutchfield, Bill O'Neal, Dale L. Walker
from Publications International
for 3rd-8th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
1st edition from Harcourt
for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Yowder and the Train Robbers
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Myths Every Child Should Know
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Hamilton Wright Mabie, illustrated by Colleen Browning
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-8th grade
$5.00 (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 (1 in stock)
Odin's Family
by Neil Philip, illustrated by Maryclare Foa
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Old Stories from Denmark
from Kaj Elle-Ebeltoft
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Once the Hodja
by Alice Geer Kelsey, illustrated by Frank Dobias
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Princess Academy
by Shannon Hale
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Susanne Suba
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (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)
Robin Hood
by Carola Oman, illustrated by S. Van Abbé
1984 Reprint from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Round About and Long Ago
by Eileen Colwell (reteller), illustrated by Anthony Colbert
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by John Yeoman (reteller), illustrated by Quentin Blake
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Silver Nightingale and Other Stories
by Ruth Gipson Plowhead, illustrated by Agnes Randall Moore
from Caxton Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Song of Paul Bunyan and Tony Beaver
by Ennis Rees
from Pantheon Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Stories from the Arabian Nights
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Retold by A.E. Housman, illustrated by Girard Goodenow
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Swallowing the Golden Stone
by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
1st Ed. from Augsburg Fortress
for 4th-8th grade
$10.00 (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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Tales of King Arthur
from Armadillo Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$6.00 (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)
$13.50 (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)
Urashima and the Kingdom Beneath the Sea
by Ralph F. McCarthy
for 4th-6th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Young Folk's Book of Epic Heroes
by Amy Cruse
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$33.75 (1 in stock)
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; illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 in stock)