Fairytales, Folktales, and Fables tell stories of emotional intelligence, facing fears, and imagination. They are important for allowing children to process complex emotions and adversity in a safe setting. The following titles are included in this Core Collection for their diverse characters and settings, impactful storytelling by the authors, and meaningful illustrations.
Fairytales
Fairytales are defined as children's stories about magical and imaginary beings and lands.
In this reinvention of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale, a little mermaid trades her voice for legs and makes a new friend on land, but must return to the sea to save her family.
The story of Rapunzel where she's being locked in a tower by a witch is a good one--but it's not totally the truth. The real story is about a young princess in China named Ra Pu Zel who doesn't want to talk to princes or look proper. What Pu Zel wants is to cook and eat in peace, her long hair neatly braided to keep it out of her food. And when she gets tired of everyone telling her what to do, she locks herself in a tower with her dog Bao. Although princes from everywhere try to convince her to come down, it's not until a young chef arrives with an intriguing food to share that Ra Pu Zel finally has a reason.
Once there was a bridge and a terrible and VERY hungry troll lived underneath it. When the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip-clop across the bridge to get to the grassy ridge, the troll is already imagining all the way to prepare a delicious goat dinner. But the troll underestimates those seemingly sweet but oh-so-savvy goats!
In this outer space adaptation of the fairy tale in rhyme, Cinderella dreams of becoming a spaceship mechanic.
A rhyming twist on a classic fairy tale in which a queen places a pea under a young lady's mattress to see if she is truly a princess. Incorporates Spanish words and includes a glossary.
Folktales
Folktales are defined as traditional stories that people of a particular region or group repeat among themselves
As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.
Kweku has grown up hearing stories about the mischievous spider Anansi. He is given the nickname Anansi by his father because of his similarly cheeky ways. On a holiday to visit his beloved Grandma in Ghana, Anansi the spider and Anansi the boy meet, and discover a magical pot that can be filled with whatever they want. Anansi fills it again and again with his favorite red-red stew, and eats so much that he feels sick. Will he learn to share this wonderful gift?
Several animals sleep snugly in Nicki's lost mitten until the bear sneezes.
Long ago, in Puerto Rico, all the animals did was eat, sleep, and snack. The parrot, queen of the forest, grew worried and challenged them all to a race. Will they participate and who will win?
In this version of "The blind men and the elephant", based on a poem by Rūmī, Persian villagers try to figure out what strange animal in a dark barn has arrived from India.
Fables
Fables are defined as short stories, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.
A boy tending sheep on a lonely mountainside thinks it a fine joke to cry "wolf" and watch the people come running--and then one day a wolf is really there, but no one answers his call.
Even long ago, there was day and night. The day was full of light and warmth, and people and animals alike rejoiced in the rays of the sun. But what happens when people get greedy and take the Night for granted? What will become of the Earth and those who dwell upon it? Katherine Jumbe masterfully brings the world of the Malawian savanna to life, telling a rhythmic tale perfect for bedtime.
After barn mice make a collar with a bell to warn them when Marmalade the cat is approaching, Smart Mouse must devise a way to safely put the collar on her in this retelling of a Aesop fable.
Three anxious goats scramble to avoid being eaten by the legendary chupacabra, whose favorite food is not what they expect.
In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.