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40 books
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4 voters
Folktale Books
Showing 1-50 of 3,615
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (Paperback)
by (shelved 45 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.04 — 26,324 ratings — published 1975
The Skull (Unknown Binding)
by (shelved 31 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.18 — 12,820 ratings — published 2023
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale (Hardcover)
by (shelved 29 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.32 — 2,685 ratings — published 2007
The Mitten (Hardcover)
by (shelved 25 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.28 — 94,127 ratings — published 1989
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti (Paperback)
by (shelved 24 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.12 — 7,301 ratings — published 1973
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale (Hardcover)
by (shelved 23 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.35 — 20,967 ratings — published 1987
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China (Paperback)
by (shelved 21 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.06 — 18,501 ratings — published 1989
The Empty Pot (Paperback)
by (shelved 21 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.44 — 5,870 ratings — published 1990
The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes (Hardcover)
by (shelved 19 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.18 — 1,694 ratings — published 2016
Tikki Tikki Tembo (Paperback)
by (shelved 18 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.20 — 65,033 ratings — published 1968
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Hardcover)
by (shelved 17 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.34 — 2,615 ratings — published 2022
Stone Soup (Hardcover)
by (shelved 17 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.17 — 15,000 ratings — published 2003
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (Paperback)
by (shelved 17 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.32 — 195,040 ratings — published 1989
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Hardcover)
by (shelved 16 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.32 — 53,555 ratings — published 2009
The Rough-Face Girl (Paperback)
by (shelved 16 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.38 — 12,645 ratings — published 1998
The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Paperback)
by (shelved 15 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.21 — 5,975 ratings — published 1983
The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)
by (shelved 13 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.09 — 226,958 ratings — published 2017
Stone Soup (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.25 — 46,570 ratings — published 1947
The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South (Hardcover)
by (shelved 13 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.29 — 5,539 ratings — published 1989
The Lion and the Mouse (Hardcover)
by (shelved 13 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.23 — 24,388 ratings — published 2009
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.20 — 4,955 ratings — published 1988
The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.23 — 219,965 ratings — published 1812
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: A Nandi Tale (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.21 — 2,656 ratings — published 1981
Strega Nona (Hardcover)
by (shelved 12 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.26 — 89,949 ratings — published 1975
When You Trap a Tiger (Hardcover)
by (shelved 11 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.14 — 19,867 ratings — published 2020
Starry River of the Sky (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 11 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.18 — 10,001 ratings — published 2012
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Hardcover)
by (shelved 11 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.14 — 17,997 ratings — published 1977
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato: An Irish Folktale (Hardcover)
by (shelved 11 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.88 — 1,463 ratings — published 1992
The Storyteller (Hardcover)
by (shelved 10 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.05 — 1,090 ratings — published 2016
A Story, a Story (Paperback)
by (shelved 10 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.99 — 3,383 ratings — published 1970
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (Hardcover)
by (shelved 10 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.05 — 12,342 ratings — published 1978
Golem (Hardcover)
by (shelved 10 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.75 — 4,031 ratings — published 1996
The Five Chinese Brothers (Paperstar)
by (shelved 10 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.17 — 23,915 ratings — published 1938
Aesop’s Fables (Paperback)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.05 — 129,007 ratings — published -560
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Hardcover)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.09 — 824 ratings — published
Norse Mythology (Paperback)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.10 — 340,158 ratings — published 2017
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Hardcover)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.08 — 11,266 ratings — published 1988
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (Hardcover)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.21 — 10,182 ratings — published 2012
Little Red Riding Hood (Hardcover)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.15 — 24,912 ratings — published 1983
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Paperback)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.06 — 1,855 ratings — published 1987
It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folk Tale (Paperback)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.18 — 2,068 ratings — published 1976
Arrow to the Sun (Library Binding)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.90 — 6,079 ratings — published 1974
The Legend of the Poinsettia (Paperback)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.21 — 3,313 ratings — published 1993
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Hardcover)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.20 — 95,847 ratings — published 1992
Swamp Angel (Paperback)
by (shelved 9 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.86 — 2,101 ratings — published 1994
A Big Mooncake for Little Star (Hardcover)
by (shelved 8 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.20 — 3,927 ratings — published 2018
The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America (Hardcover)
by (shelved 8 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.75 — 659 ratings — published 2018
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Paperback)
by (shelved 8 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.99 — 420 ratings — published 2001
Elephant in the Dark (Hardcover)
by (shelved 8 times as folktale)
avg rating 3.79 — 205 ratings — published 2015
Rapunzel (Hardcover)
by (shelved 8 times as folktale)
avg rating 4.18 — 17,349 ratings — published 1997
“I love the way folktale and fantasy tap into the roots of story telling. The paradox, for me, is that by moving a story into the fantastic we can actually bring it closer to the reader, not move it further away. It is more than an escape. When we read of the only daughter of a fisherman (or the third son of a woodcutter) in a fairy tale, we are all that character. That's the underlying pulse beat of such tales. Using the fantastic as a prism for the past, if done properly, removes the tale from distancing specificity. It can't just be read as unique to a time and place; it is universalized in interesting, powerful ways. When I wrote Tigana, about the way tyranny tries to erase identity in conquered peoples, the fantasy setting seems to have done exactly that: I'm asked in places ranging from Korea to Poland to Croatia to Quebec, "Were you writing about us?"
I was. All of them. That is the point. The fantastic is a tool in the writer's arsenal, as potentially powerful as any there is, and any tool we have works to the benefit of the reader.”
― Under Heaven
I was. All of them. That is the point. The fantastic is a tool in the writer's arsenal, as potentially powerful as any there is, and any tool we have works to the benefit of the reader.”
― Under Heaven
“What Can Be Learned From a Thief
The saintly Rabi Zusya was originally a disciple of the tsaddik Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezritsh. Once he asked his master to teach him the secret of worshipping the Creator. “There’s no need for me to teach you,” replied Rabbi Dov Baer, “because you can learn it from any child or thief.”
“Why, how can I learn it from a child?” asked the astounded disciple.
“In three ways,” replied his master. “First, a child needs no reason to be happy. Second, a child always keeps busy. And third, when a child wants something, it screams until it gets it.”
“And what,” asked Rabbi Zusya, “can I learn from a thief?”
“From a thief,” answered Rabbi Dov Baer, “you can learn seven things. First, to apply yourself by night and not just by day. Second, to try again if at first you don’t succeed. Third, to love your comrades. Fourth, to be ready to risk your life, even for a small thing. Fifth, to attach so little value to what you have that you will sell it for a pittance. Sixth, not to be put off by hardship and blows. And seventh, to be glad you are what you are instead of wanting to be something else.”
― Jewish Folktales
The saintly Rabi Zusya was originally a disciple of the tsaddik Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezritsh. Once he asked his master to teach him the secret of worshipping the Creator. “There’s no need for me to teach you,” replied Rabbi Dov Baer, “because you can learn it from any child or thief.”
“Why, how can I learn it from a child?” asked the astounded disciple.
“In three ways,” replied his master. “First, a child needs no reason to be happy. Second, a child always keeps busy. And third, when a child wants something, it screams until it gets it.”
“And what,” asked Rabbi Zusya, “can I learn from a thief?”
“From a thief,” answered Rabbi Dov Baer, “you can learn seven things. First, to apply yourself by night and not just by day. Second, to try again if at first you don’t succeed. Third, to love your comrades. Fourth, to be ready to risk your life, even for a small thing. Fifth, to attach so little value to what you have that you will sell it for a pittance. Sixth, not to be put off by hardship and blows. And seventh, to be glad you are what you are instead of wanting to be something else.”
― Jewish Folktales
