Fairy tales have a sanguine melancholoy about them much like their namesakes, the faeries themselves. Told world over, fairy tales are perhaps the most intrinsic and symbolic of human nature which explains childrens' instinctive drive to choose and explore them. Beautiful yet horrific, fairy tales lay bare our worst fears and traits while adding an element of otherwordly magic that is a promise of salvation amidst a vulnerable, unpredictable childhood of immense powerlessness. Scholars, anthropologists, psychologists and academics continue to debate and analyze the merits and meaning of fairy tales, each offering a valuable perspective for adult minds. Children, however, void of the need to compartmentalize and justify, are drawn to fairy tales intuitively because they feed the fertile darkness of our souls where creativity, truth and imagination are born. There are many versions of the same fairy tale - and all are accurate in that stories are meant to be told and retold. Story relies upon the improvisation, personality and flavor of the teller so that the core or heart of the tale remains the same while the details change or grow through time. Below please find examples of well known fairy tales given as starting points for discovery. Often times the most beloved fairy tale is best enjoyed through the talents of a favored illustrator or author. As such, I've included artists whose breathtaking paintings brilliantly set the mood and feel of their chosen tales, opening the doorway into the land of glamour and mystery of the fairy tale. Fairy tales have a deeply personal impact on the listener so they are meant for in-arms, cozy readings with our children as we enjoy the dream world with them. OneWomansMind.net has partnered with Amazon.com to offer product previews using simple mouseovers. Just roll your mouse over a book title and the product information and associated links are provided. Any item linked from this site and purchased from Amazon.com helps support and maintain OneWomansMind.net. Search for a specific title, author or illustrator   Web OneWomansMind.net

Beauty and the Beast retold by Marianna Mayer illustrated by Mercer Mayer

Teacher, Parent and Adult Resources

Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension: Select Essays, 1944-1968 by Joseph Campbell - phenomenal discussion of story types and listing of each Brother Grimm story recorded

Folktales on Stage: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater (or Readers Theatre), With 16 Play Scripts From World Folk and Fairy Tales and Legends, Including Asian, African, Middle Eastern, European, and Native American by Aaron Shepard

Tales of the Brothers Grimm edited, selected, and introduced by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, illus by Arthur Rackham

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales / [Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm] ; introduction by Padraic Colum ; folkloristic commentary by Joseph Campbell; illustrations by Josef Schard

Scholarly Research and Psychological Value of Fairy Tales

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Marie-Louise von Franz

Robert Bly

Internet Resources

SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages

Authors and Translators

Hans Christian Andersen

Anthea Bell

Virginia Haviland

Marilee Heyer

Naomi Lewis

Jacob and Wilhelm - the Brothers Grimm

Andrew Lang

Freya Littledale

Marianna Mayer

Charles Perrault

Charles Santore

Illustrators

Jan Brett

Ivan Bilibin

John Bauer

K.Y. Craft

Angela Barrett

Leo and Diane Dillon

Edmund Dulac

Dorothee Duntze

Warwick Goble

Michael Hague

Felix Hoffman

Trina Schart Hyman

Susan Jeffers

Mercer Mayer

Kay Nielsen

Jerry Pinkney

Josephine Poole

Ruth Sanderson

Gennady Spirin

Arthur Rackham

Paul Zelinsky

Lisbeth Zwerger

Compendiums

Cooper Edens

Eric Carle's Treasury of Classic Stories for Children Hans Christian Andersen, and the Brothers Grimm / selected, retold, and illustrated by Eric Carle

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales selected and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger ; translated by Anthea Bell

The Juniper Tree: And Other Tales from Grimm by Lore Segal, Randall Jarrell and Maurice Sendak .

Michael Hague's Favourite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

The sleeping beauty and other fairy tales from the Old French retold by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch ; illustrated by Edmund Dulac

Brothers Grimm - Germany

Little Brother and Little Sister retold and illus by Barbara Cooney

The Bremen town musicians - the Brothers Grimm ; [illustrated by] Josef Palecek ; [translated by Anthea Bell].

The Wishing Table by the Brothers Grimm ; illustrated by Eve Tharlet ; translated by Anthea Bell

Little Red-Cap by Grimm Brothers, illustrated Lisbeth Zwerger

The Donkey Prince adapted from Grimm by M. Jean Craig ; illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Hansel & Gretel retold and illustrated by Will Moses

Rumpelstiltskin told by Brothers Grimm, illus by Paul O. Zelinsky

Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs by Jacob Grimm (Author), Wilhelm Grimm (Author), Nancy Ekholm Burkert (Illustrator), Randall Jarrell (Translator)

The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale (Author), Winslow Pinney Pels (Illustrator)

The Queen Bee by The Brothers Grimm (Author), Iassen Ghiuselev (Illustrator)

The Elves and the Shoemaker by Jacob Grimm, illus by Jim Lamarche

The Sleeping Beauty: Silver Anniversary Edition by Trina Schart Hyman

The Lady and the Lion by Jacqueline K. Ogburn and Laurel Long, illus by Laurel Long

Little Red Riding Hood: The Classic Grimm's Fairy Tale by Andrew Flaxman (Afterword), Patricia DeLisa (Illustrator), Christopher Bamford (Narrator)

Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky (Illustrator), Brothers Grimm (Author)

Iron John by Marianna Mayer (Author), Winslow Pels (Illustrator)

The Frog Prince or, Iron Henry by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm ; illustrated by Binette Schroeder ; translated by Naomi Lewis

The Brave Little Tailor retold by by Andrej Dugin (Author), Olga Dugina (Author)

The 7 ravens / the Brothers Grimm ; illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger ; translated by Elizabeth D. Crawford.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Marianna Mayer (Author), Kinuko Y. Craft (Illustrator)

Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs ~ A Tale from the Brothers Grimm translated by Randall Jarrell ; pictures by Nancy Ekholm Burkert.

The Golden Goose by the Brothers Grimm ; retold and with pictures by Uri Shulevitz

The Adventures of Tom Thumb written by Marianna Mayer ; illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft.

How the moon began: A folk tale from Grimm; adapted by James Reeves; illustrated by Edward Ardizzone

Hans Christian Anderson

Fir Tree, The illus by B. Watts, H. Andersen (Author)

The Little Mermaid adapted and illus by Rachel Isadora

The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), illus by Igor Oleynikov

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), illus by Jerry Pinkney

Princess and the Pea, The, by Hans Christian Andersen, illus by Dorothee Duntz

The Wild Swans Hans Christian Andersen ; translated by Naomi Lewis ; illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert

Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Susan Jeffers (Illustrator)

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Rachel Isadora (Illustrator)

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Pavel Tatarnikov (Illustrator)

The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), P.J. Lynch (Illustrator)

The Tinderbox by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Stephen Mitchell (Author), Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)

Emperor's New Clothes, The (Works in Translation) by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), translated by Naomi Lewis, Angela Barrett (Illustrator)

The Swineherd by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Lisbeth Zwerger (Illustrator), Anthea Bell (Translator)

The Woman With the Eggs by Hans Christian Andersen ; adapted by Jan Wahl ; pictures by Ray Cruz.y

The Red Shoes illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki ; translated by Anthea Bell.

Charles Perrault - France

Hilary Knight's Cinderella

Additional Cinderella tales can be found at Cinderella Stories from Around the World

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault (Author), Fred Marcellino (Illustrator), Malcolm Arthur (Translator)

Americas

Pajaro Verde - The Green Bird as told by Joe Hayes, illus by Antonio Castro L

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, illus by Michael Hague

The Bee-Man of Orn by Frank R. Stockton (Author), P.J. Lynch (Illustrator)

The Legend of Leelanau by Kathy-Jo Wargin ; illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen

England

Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg (Illustrator)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illus by Alison Jay

Peter Pan (100th Anniversary Edition) by J.M. Barrie, illus by Michael Hague

Finland

The Princess Mouse : A Tale of Finland by Aaron Shepard (Author), Leonid Gore (Illustrator)

France

The White Cat: An Old French Fairy Tale by Robert D. San Souci (Author), Madame D. Aulnoy (Author), Gennadii Spirin (Illustrator)

The Mightiest Heart by Lynn Cullen (Author), Laurel Long (Illustrator)

Beauty and the Beast retold by Marianna Mayer (Author), Mercer Mayer (Illustrator)

Italy

Papa Gatto: An Italian Fairy Tale by Ruth Sanderson

Pinocchio adapted by Eric Metaxas ; from the novel by Carlo Collodi ; illustrated by Brian Ajhar.

Petrosinella: A Neopolitan Rapunzel retold and illus by Diane Stanley

Jewish

Elijah's Violin and Other Jewish Fairy Tales selected and retold and with an introduction by Howard Schwartz ; illustrations by Linda Heller ; calligraphy by Tsila Schwartz

The Wonder Child: & Other Jewish Fairy Tales selected and retold by Howard Schwartz and Barbara Rush ; illustrated by Stephen Fieser

The Diamond Tree: Jewish Tales from Around the World selected and retold by Howard Schwartz and Barbara Rush ; illustrated by Uri Shulevitz

Norway

East of the Sun and West of the Moon adapted and illustrated by Mercer Mayer

The Three Billy Goats Gruff adapted and illustrated Janet Stevens

Original

The Dog Prince by Lauren Mills, illus by Lauren and Dennis Mills

The Unicorn and the Lake by Marianna Mayer, illus by Michael Hague

The Forbidden Door by Marilee Heyer

Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey, illus by Heather Solomon

Russian

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by Marianna Mayer, Kinuko Y. Craft

The Frog Princess by J. Patrick Lewis, illus by Gennady Spirin

The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline K. Ogburn (Author), Laurel Long (Illustrator)

The Tale of The Firebird adapted and illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Clever Katya: A Fairy Tale From Old Russia retold by Mary Hoffman ; illustrated by Marie Cameron

The Snow Princess by Ruth Sanderson

Do you have a favorite fairy tale from your childhood or one that your children love? If so, please contact me and I will review the story for possible addition to the list. If you really love the story, feel free to contact me your review for possible addition to the monthly OneWomansMind.net Education Newsletter