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

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

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Used Books & Materials

	Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin from Scholastic Inc. Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	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) $2.00 (3 in stock)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop from Wordsworth Classics for Nursery-2nd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Aladdin and Other Favorite Arabian Nights Stories Dover Children's Thrift Classics by Philip Smith, editor from Dover Publications Eastern Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.55 $1.60 (1 in stock)
	Black Ships Before Troy The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff from Laurel-Leaf Books Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth from Aladdin Paperbacks Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade 1931 Newbery Medal winner in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.00 (2 in stock)
	Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth from Aladdin Paperbacks Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade 1931 Newbery Medal winner in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $5.94 $3.20 (3 in stock)
	Fables by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade 1981 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.49 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman from Yearling Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.79 $3.20 (2 in stock)
	Happy Prince and Other Stories Puffin Classics by Oscar Wilde from Puffin Books for 3rd-6th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
	Heroes & Monsters Of Greek Myth by Bernard Evslin, Dorthy Evslin, ned Hoopes from Scholastic Inc. for 5th-7th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Lightning Thief Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1 by Rick Riordan from Scholastic Inc. for 4th-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $3.60 (1 in stock)
	Lion and the Mouse Step into Reading Level 1 by Gail Herman from Random House for Preschool-kindergarten in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP) $5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Thea Kliros from Dover Publications for 2nd-5th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.40 (2 in stock)
	Mother Goose by Arthur Rackham (illustrator) from Wordsworth Classics for Nursery-Kindergarten in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye from Puffin Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.79 $2.80 (1 in stock)
	Percy Jackson & The Olympians - Boxed Set by Rick Riordan Box from Hyperion/Madison Press for 4th-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $14.80 (1 in stock)
	Robin Hood Stepping Stones: A Chapter Book by Annie Ingle (adapter), illustrated by Domenick D'Andrea from Random House for 1st-3rd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $5.94 $2.80 (1 in stock)
	Story of King Arthur by Children's Dover Thrift, Tom Crawford from Dover Publications for 4th-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $1.20 (1 in stock)
	Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, editors from Aladdin Paperbacks for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Tales from Shakespeare Puffin Classics by Charles & Mary Lamb from Puffin Books Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Tales of the Greek Heroes Puffin Classics by Roger Green from Puffin Books Greek Mythology for 6th-9th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Tales of the Greek Heroes Puffin Classics by Roger Green from Puffin Books Greek Mythology for 6th-9th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.64 $3.20 (2 in stock)
	Talk, Talk An Ashanti Legend Legends of the World by Deborah Newton Chocolate from Troll Publishing for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Ten Tales from Shakespeare by Charles & Mary Lamb from Dover Publications Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $3.60 (1 in stock)
	Trojan Horse How the Greeks Won the War Step Into Reading Level 5 by Emily Little from Random House Greek Mythology for 2nd-4th grade in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP) $5.09 $2.40 (2 in stock)
	Water Babies (abridged) Puffin Classics by Charles Kingsley from Puffin Books Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	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) $2.80 (1 in stock)

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