6 Fairy Tale Books From Around The World

Fairy tales existed long before authors, such as the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, compiled the tales into popular volumes. While most people are familiar with the classic English fairy tales, there are also plenty of other fairy tales from across the globe to discover. Many of these tales share a lot of similarities with their English coun-terparts, but there are also plenty with completely unique twists and turns. If your children are already tired of the Grimm’s Fairy tales or Mother Goose Stories the following six free fairy tale books from around the world might come in very handy.

English Fairy Tales

by Joseph Jacobs

English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs contains a lot of familiar stories, such as The Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Story of the Three Bears and Jack and the Beanstalk, but also a couple of more obscure ones. These range from Molly Whuppie, to Earl Mar’s Daughter. The former is a Scottish fairy tale about a couple abandoning their three youngest children in the forest, while the latter deals with a girl who falls in love with a bird that transforms into a prince.

Irish Fairy Tales

by James Stephens

Irish author, James Stephens, offers a retelling of ten Irish folktales in this compilation that was first published in 1920. The tales in this book, which includes The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran, The Boyhood of Fionn and The Carl of the Drab Coat, will appeal more to older children, but still contains enough references to kings, warriors and fairies to intrigue any fan of fairy tales.

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Grace James

With a total of 38 different stories, this collection of Japanese Fairy Tales by author Grace James can keep readers enthralled for hours. The tales were all collected from numerous sources, with many stories retold from childhood memories, originally heard from other students or the school nurse. The stories include The Flute, The Wind In The Pine Tree and The Singing Bird of Heaven.

Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends

by Getrude Landa

For those who can appreciate stories with a more biblical slant, this compilation of Jewish fairy tales and legends by Getrude Landa will be a joy to read. In addition to the tales based on people or places in the bible, the book also features a couple of more straightforward fairy tales as well. The stories are all written in a way to make them understandable to children, but they are charming enough that adults will enjoy them as well.

Old French Fairy Tales

by Comtesse de Segur

The stories in Old French Fairy Tales by Comtesse de Segur are all aimed at young readers or those who are young at heart. With everything from magical animals and fairy godmothers to princesses, enchanted woods and quests, the tales in this volume ticks all the right boxes for the genre. Although there are only five stories, they are split into smaller chapters that are perfect for bedtime reading.

Russian Fairy Tales

by Robert Nisbet Bain

When Robert Nisbet Bain translated the stories in his 1892 book, Russian Fairy Tales, it was the first time that Eng-lish reading audiences experienced any of these unique tales. The stories he chose to translate came from “Narodnuiya Russkiya Skazki” written by Peter Nikolaevich Polevoi, who was a Russian historian and archaeolo-gist. Now, many years later, these stories are still as imaginative and captivating to read as they were back then.