Little Red


Bethan Woollvin - 2015
    The wolf is hungry, and Red Riding Hood looks tasty, so he hatches a dastardly plan, gobbles up Grandma and lies in wait. So far, so familiar. But this Little Red Riding Hood is not easily fooled, and this big bad wolf better watch his back. In this defiant interpretation of the traditional tale, the cheeky, brave little girl seizes control of her own story (and the wolf gets rather more than he bargained for).

James Marshall's Cinderella


Barbara Karlin - 1989
    Retold by Barbara Karlin, Cinderella will be a favorite of all children. "Retold and illustrated with wit and humor, this is an excellent version of the favorite fairy tale."--School Library Journal (starred review) "This collaboration is whimsical and fresh and full of undeniable child appeal."--The Horn Book "Saccharine-free and filled with a robust, earthy humor, this rendition has a studied nonchalance laced with wit. . . . [It] will take its rightful place on the fairy-tale shelves, but won't sit there for long!"--Booklist (starred review)

East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North


Peter Christen Asbjørnsen - 1845
    The 33 Scandinavian folk tales take the imagination of the reader from rags to riches, from skulduggery to heroism, via witches' curses, beautiful princesses, giants, quests, billy goats and the occasional wicked troll, to a happy ending.

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig


Eugene Trivizas - 1993
    But the little wolves' increasingly sturdy dwellings are no match for the persistent porker, who has more up his sleeve than huffing and puffing. It takes a chance encounter with a flamingo pushing a wheelbarrow full of flowers to provide a surprising and satisfying solution to the little wolves' housing crisis. Eugene Trivizas's hilarious text and Helen Oxenbury's enchanting watercolors have made this delightfully skewed version of the traditional tale a contemporary classic.

Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains


Barbara Knutson - 2004
    Quick-witted Cuy fools Tio Antonio not once, but three times. Combining striking wood block artwork with an authentic South American voice, this sly trickster tale shows that clever thinking is key when you're out-foxing the fox. Discover more about this title and Barbara Knutson at www.barbaraknutson.net.

Little Roja Riding Hood


Susan Middleton Elya - 2013
    But Grandma's no fool and Roja's no ordinary chica. They send that hungry lobo packing with a caliente surprise! This sassy retelling of Little Red Riding Hood has accessible Spanish rhymes and fresh illustrations, with hip cultural details throughout.

Abiyoyo


Pete Seeger - 1963
    The tale of how a father with his magic wand and a boy with his music triumph over the giant Abiyoyo is based on a South African lullaby and folk story.

Swamp Angel


Anne Isaacs - 1994
    She single-handedly defeats the fearsome bear known as Thundering Tarnation, wrestling him from the top of the Great Smoky Mountains to the bottom of a deep lake. Caldecott Medal-winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky's stunning folk-art paintings are the perfect match for the irony, exaggeration, and sheer good humor of this original tall tale set on the American frontier.A Caldecott Honor BookAn ALA Notable BookA Time magazine Best Book of the YearA New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the YearWinner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book AwardA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

The Three Billy Goats Gruff


Paul Galdone - 1841
    With plenty of repetition, this adventure is perfect for reading aloud and for joining in, and a satisfying ending provides a reassuring touch.

The Beckoning Cat: Based on a Japanese Folktale


Koko Nishizuka - 2009
    When Yohei faces a crisis, the cat remembers his generosity and brings help.

Duffy and the Devil


Harve Zemach - 1973
    The Zemachs have interpreted the folk tale which the play dramatized, recognizable as a version of the widespread Rumpelstiltskin story. Its main themes are familiar, but the character and details of this picture book are entirely Cornish, as robust and distinctive as the higgledy-piggledy, cliff-hanging villages that dot England's southwestern coast from Penzance to Land's End.The language spoken by the Christmas players was a rich mixture of local English dialect and Old Cornish (similar to Welsh and Gaelic), and something of this flavor is preserved in Harve Zemach's retelling. Margot Zemach's pen-and-wash illustrations combine a refined sense of comedy with telling observation of character, felicitous drawing with decorative richness, to a degree that surpasses her own past accomplishments.Duffy and the Devil is a 1973 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1974 National Book Award Finalist for Children's Books, and the winner of the 1974 Caldecott Medal.

Japanese Fairy Tales


Yei Theodora Ozaki - 1903
    Some are "Momotaro, "The Son of a Peach", "The Jellyfish and the Monkey", "The Mirror of Matsuyama", "The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Child", "The Stones of Five Colors and the Empress Jokwa."

The Little Red Hen


Jerry Pinkney - 2006
       As he did with his Caldecott-winning The Lion and the Mouse, Jerry Pinkney has masterfully adapted this story of the hardworking hen and her lazy neighbors. Its Golden Rule message and sassy finale are just as relevant and satisfying as ever. Read it in tandem with Pinkney’s Puss in Boots and The Tortoise and the Hare or David Wiesner’s The Three Pigs.     "Perfect [for] sharing with one listener, or a crowd." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)   “Cheerful [and] luminous. Kids will gleefully chime in.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)   “A lush light-filled rendition of a folktale staple.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale


Laurence Yep - 1997
    When a poor farmer falls into the clutches of a dragon, only Seven, his youngest daughter, will save him—by marrying the beast.

The Girl of the Wish Garden


Uma Krishnaswami - 2013
    Because she is so tiny, adventure and mishap easily befall her — a giant frog leaves her stranded on a lily pad, she is freed by curious fish, then pestered by crazy bugs. Lina lives by herself in the depths of a forest until the cold of winter approaches and she begins to feel lonely. She encounters a mouse, who is happy to have someone to dust and sweep for him, but one day in the back room of his house Lina comes across the body of a swallow. The mouse is convinced the bird is dead but Lina, thinking she sees a wing tremble, brings it food and water. Amazingly, the swallow revives and the two of them fly together to the garden of wishes…Iranian-born illustrator Nasrin Khosravi won the Grand Prize at the Noma Concours in Japan (2000) and was selected as best illustrator at the Tehran International Biennial of Illustration (1999) when these paintings were first published in a Farsi version of Andersen’s tale. They now grace this new Thumbelina story, giving young readers in North America an opportunity to delight in her work. Uma Krishnaswami’s text perfectly captures the spirit of the luminous illustrations, creating a book that is beautiful, magical and mysterious.