"Folklore, in the broadest sense of the word, includes all of the great stream of anonymous creation that is the accumulated wisdom and art of everyday people: superstition, games and songs, nursery rhymes and ballads, dance rituals, medicinal arts, old tales, verses and proverbs, fables, myths, legends, hero tales and epics." (Zena Sutherland, Children and Books)
Aardema, V. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain A cummulative rhyming tale about how Ki-pat brings rain to the Kapiti Plain.
Aesop Aesop Fables A collection of Aesop's fables retold, accompanied by intricately detailed illustrations.
Arrington, H. The Heart of a Friendship In this East African folktale, the friendship between a mango-eating monkey and a crocodile is tested when the leader of all crocodiles falls ill and needs to eat a monkey's heart to be cured.
Backstein, K. The Blind Men and the Elephant A retelling of the fable from India about six blind men who each get a limited understanding of what an elephant is by feeling only one part of it.
Bruchac, J. The Great Ball Game Bat, who has both wings and teeth, plays an important part in a game between the Birds and the Animals to decide which group is better.
Bryan, A. Lion and the Ostrich Chicks Four traditional folktales in this collection represent distinct African cultures: Hausa, Angolan, Masai and Bushmen.
Chang, C. The Seventh Sister A lonely shepherd is saddened when he must let the maiden he loves return to help her sisters weave the tapestry of the night sky.
Chen, J. The Legend of the Kite To make him feel better about losing his kite, a boy's grandfather tells him a story about why the Chinese build kites.
Climo, S. The Egyptian Cinderella Fact and fiction are weaved together in this charming story of a Greek slave girl who is chosen by the Pharaoh himself to be queen.
Courlander, H. The Hat-shaking Dance Twenty-one illustrated tales from the Ashanti people of Ghana.
Demi The Donkey and the Rock In this version of a tale with many Asian variations, a wise king, who rules a town full of foolish people in the mountains of Tibet, puts a donkey and a rock on trial to settle the dispute between two honest men.
Diakite, B. The Hatseller and the Monkeys An African version of the familiar story of a man who sets off to sell his hats, only to have them stolen by mischievous monkeys.
Ehlert, L. Moon Rope Bilingual adaptation of a folktale in which animals try to climb to the moon.
Emberley, R. Three Cool Kids In this retelling of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" set in the heart of a city, an enormous rat tries to keep three goats from crossing the street.
Forest, H. Stone Soup A lass, in need of a meal, shows some stingy villagers how to make soup starting with a magic stone.
Forest, H. The Baker's Dozen : A Colonial American Tale A greedy baker who offends a mysterious old woman suffers misfortune in his business, until he discovers what happens when generosity replaces greed.
Galdone, P. The Three Billy Goats Gruff Three clever billy goats outwit a troll that lives under the bridge they must cross on their way up the mountain.
Heyer, M. The Girl the Fish and the Crown While on a dangerous quest which requires her to take the form of different wild animals, a selfish young girl learns about compassion and generosity.
Hodges, M. The Boy Who Drew Cats A young boy's obsession with drawing cats changes his life.
Hong, C. The Legend of the Kite To make him feel better about losing his kite, a boy's grandfather tells him a story about why the Chinese build kites.
Irving, W. Rip Van Winkle A man who sleeps for 20 years in the Catskill Mountains wakes to a new world.
Jaffee, N. Older Brother, Younger Brother After being turned out by his greedy older brother, Hungbu and his family manage to prosper when his kindness to an injured sparrow is richly rewarded.
Lobel, A. Fables Twenty original fables about an array of animal characters from crocodile to ostrich.
Lester, J. Sam and the Tigers Relates what happens when a little boy named Sam matches wits with several tigers that want to eat him.
McDermott, G. Anansi the Spider Anansi is responsible for placing the moon in the sky.
Martin, R. The Rough-Faced Girl In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beautiful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being.
Mayer, M. The Unicorn and the Lake When a serpent poisons the lake where all the animals drink, only the unicorn has the power to save them.
Mayer, M. Beauty and the Beast Through her great capacity to love, a kind and beautiful maid releases a handsome prince from the spell which has made him an ugly beast.
Mosel, . Tikki, Tikki Tembo When the eldest son of a Chinese family falls into a well and his brother runs for help, he almost drowns because of his long name.
Palazzo, J. The Magic Peach An extraordinary Japanese boy sets out to destroy the ogres who have terrorized his village for years.
Podwal, M. Golem A saintly rabbi miraculously brings to life a clay giant who helps him watch over the Jews of sixteenth-century Prague.
Rosales, M. Leola and the Honeybears An African American version of Goldilocks and the three bears.
Souci, S. Cendrillon: a Caribbean Cinderella Set in the Caribbean and narrated by the godmother who helps Cendrillon find true love.
Simms, L. The Bone Man A retelling of the Modoc Indian story about Nulwee, a boy who learns tradition and courage from his grandmother which enables him to defeat the evil creature that has stolen life from the land.
Steptoe, J. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.
Trivizas, E. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig An altered retelling of the traditional tale about the conflict between pig and wolf.
Van Laan, N. Rainbow Crow When snow threatens to engulf all the animals, it is Crow who flies up to receive the gift of fire from the Great Sky Spirit.
Van Lann, N. So Say the Little Monkeys A rhyming retelling of an Indian folktale from Brazil about tiiny, playful monkeys and why they have no place to call home.
Yep, L. The Man Who Tricked a Ghost Sung, a brave man who is not afraid of ghosts, meets one on a dark road and tricks it into revealing its secret weakness.
Yep, L. The Dragon Prince: a Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale A poor farmer's youngest daughter agrees to marry a fierce dragon in order to save her father's life.
Vuong, L. The Brocaded Slipper and Other Vietnamese Tales In this Vietnamese version of the Cinderella story, the young heroine must rely upon her own persistence and the help of Mother Nature many times before she and her prince can be truly together.
Young, E. Lon Po Po Three sisters staying home alone are endangered by a hungry wolf that is disguised as their grandmother.
