"Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do ..." .. and from that moment onward we drift with Alice into another world. When she sees a White Rabbit as it runs through the tall grass (looking worriedly at the watch it takes from its waist-coat pocket), she runs after it and drops into a strange dream. The world is full of chatty animals, from a rather stand-offish hookah-smoking caterpillar to the friendly Cheshire Cat which only sometimes goes to the bother of having a body. And everyone seems to be ordering her about ... or telling her to recite poetry! ... and all those verses that she once knew so well seem strangely distorted.In this book and in "Through the Looking Glass", Lewis Carroll affectionately brought together many of the wonderful stories he told to Alice and her sisters on long summer boating trips.
Alice’s adventures in Wonderland is probably one of the most well known and popular children's novels in the English language. Written in 1865 by Charles Lutwidge Dodgeson, better known by his pen name ‘Lewis Carrol’. Lewis, a mathematician, poet, photographer and inventor, tells a surreal fantasy tale, of Alice, who visits a world of unnatural logic after following a very smart White Rabbit, down a rabbit hole. The world she discovers is inhabited by the strangest and most endearing characters; The ‘Mad Hatter’, the sleepy ‘Dormouse’, the ‘Queen of Hearts’ and many more.
Every child should insist that this story is read to them! And they will remember it for ever, just like Alice.
Grimms' Fairy Tales, originally known as the Children's and Household Tales, is a German collection of fairy tales or folk lore by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812.
Children's and Household Tales (German: Kinder- und Hausmärchen) is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales.
Do today's children still learn what a "marionette" is? The beloved story of Pinocchio may represent a last lingering picture of a world not dominated by plastic or electronic toys.
Pinocchio is a puppet made from a piece of wood that curiously could talk even before being carved. A wooden-head he starts and a wooden-head he stays - until after years of misadventures caused by his laziness and failure to keep promises he finally learns to care about his family - and then he becomes a real boy.
Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book (1889) was a beautifully produced and illustrated edition of fairy tales that has become a classic. This was followed by many other collections of fairy tales, collectively known as Andrew Lang's Fairy Books.
This version of the classic tale of the three pigs, their houses and a wolf, published in 1904, has a new twist in its second half. This recording can be enjoyed by itself.
Master storyteller Padraic Colum's rich, musical voice captures all the magic and majesty of the Norse sagas in his retellings of the adventures of the gods and goddesses who lived in the Northern paradise of Asgard before the dawn of history. Here are the matchless tales of All-Father Odin, who crosses the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in Midgard and sacrifices his right eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom; of Thor, whose mighty hammer defends Asgard; of Loki, whose mischievous cunning leads him to treachery against the gods; of giants, dragons, dwarfs and Valkyries; and of the terrible last battle that destroyed their world.
The Princess and the Goblin is an enthralling fantasy tale written by George MacDonald. Her nurse Lootie raises the princess Irene in a house on a mountain, it is here that she meets her mysterious great-great-grandmother, and her friend the minor boy Curdie. Things are peaceful for Irene until the hideous race of goblins that live beneath the mountain start planning something big…
Through his writing George MacDonald has influenced such writers as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.
A dragon who flies out of a magical book; one whose purr quiets a fussy baby; another who eats an entire pack of tame hunting-hippopotomuses: These eight dragon tales are filled with the imaginative wit of children's author Edith Nesbit.
"This book originated in a series of little reading lessons prepared for the first grade pupils in the Santa Rosa public schools. The object of the lessons was three-fold: to provide reading matter for the little ones who had only a small vocabulary of sight-words; to acquaint them early with the heroes who have come down to us in song and story; and to create a desire for literature...Various stories were given to the pupils; discussions followed. After a time the story was produced orally by the children. Notes were made on expressions used and points of interest dwelt upon. Later the story was either written on the blackboard or mimeographed and put into the pupils' hands to read...Hoping these stories will interest other children as they have interested those who helped build them, I send them forth."
The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for my Children by Charles Kingsley is a collection of three Greek mythology stories: Perseus, The Argonauts, and Theseus. The author had a great fondness for Greek fairy tales and believed the adventures of the characters would inspire children to achieve higher goals with integrity.
Flower Fables is Louisa May Alcott's first book, penned at 16 for Ralph Waldo Emerson's daughter, Ellen.
Asgard Stories - Tales from Norse Mythology. To all our Children who have loved the hearing of these Asgard Stories. This little volume is the outcome of several years experience in telling to classes of children the classic myths, both southern and northern.
"A broad simplicity, so very different from the light gracefulness of the old Greek paganism, distinguishes this Norse system. It is thought, the genuine thought of deep, rude, earnest minds, fairly opened to the things about them, - a face-to-face and heart-to-heart inspection of things, - the first characteristic of all good thought in all times." wrote Carlyle.
Anderson, the author of “Norse Mythology,” wrote: “In the Norse mythology the centralizing idea is its peculiar feature; in it lies its strength and beauty. The one myth and the one divinity is inextricably in communion with the other; and thus also the idea of unity, centralization, is a prominent feature and one of the chief characteristics of the Teutonic nations."
This story of Santa Claus veers away slightly from the traditional stories of his beginnings. L. Frank Baum creates a world of fantasy that surrounds Santa Claus's life. Orphaned at an infant he is found by the nymph Necile, who convinces the great Ak to allow her to raise Claus for her own. As he grows older he meets his fellow humans, and sees the neglect of children. This sets him on the path to making toys and becoming the beloved Saint Nicholas we are familiar with today.
This wonderful children’s short story tells all about the youth, manhood and old age of Santa Claus and how he became immortal.
This is a collection of well known fairy tales by various authors, including the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and many others.
Carl Sandburg is beloved by generations of children for his Rootabaga Stories and Rootabaga Pigeons (which is not in the public domain), a series of whimsical, sometimes melancholy stories he originally created for his own daughters. The Rootabaga Stories were born of Sandburg's desire for "American fairy tales" to match American childhood. He felt that the European stories involving royalty and knights were inappropriate, and so populated his stories with animals, skyscrapers, trains, corn fairies, and other colorful characters.
Here are three charming fairy tales with happy endings. They feature an enchanted frog; a princess, her brothers, and a dastardly plot against them; and a magical lamp with a Genius inside. (by Laurie Anne Walden)
The Princess and Curdie is the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. It's been a year since the Princess Irene and Curdie first met, and a year since the goblin incident and all appears to be going well in the Kingdom. Or is it? After a visit from Irene's great-great-grandmother, Curdie finds himself on a mission to save the kingdom, with a rather strange companion in tow.
The King of Ireland's Son is a children's novel published in Ireland in 1916 written by Padraic Colum, and illustrated by Willy Pogany. It is the story of the eldest of the King of Ireland's sons, and his adventures winning and then finding Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter, who after being won is kidnapped from him by the King of the Land of Mist. It is solidly based in Irish folklore, itself being originally a folktale.
When three brothers mortally offend Mr. Southwest Wind, Esquire, their farm is laid waste and their riches lost. Desperate for money, the brothers become goldsmiths and melt down their remaining treasures . . . only to find that the spirit of the King of the Golden River resides with a molded tankard, and knows the secret of the riches of the Golden River.
Talking cats, birds, fish and bells, wicked fairies, uglified princesses - adventure, magic, and more magic. A delightful collection of stories for children of all ages.
The Magic World is an influential collection of twelve short stories by E. Nesbit. It was first published in book form in 1912 by Macmillan and Co. Ltd., with illustrations by H. R. Millar and Gerald Spencer Pryse. The stories, previously printed in magazines (like Blackie's Children's Annual), are typical of Nesbit's arch, ironic, clever fantasies for children.
Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Fairy Books are a twelve-book series of fairy tale collections. Although Andrew Lang did not collect the stories himself from the oral tradition, the extent of his sources (who had collected them originally), made them an immensely influential collection, especially as he used foreign-language sources, giving many of these tales their first appearance in English. As acknowledged in the prefaces, although Lang himself made most of the selections, his wife and other translators did a large portion of the translating and telling of the actual stories. Many of them were illustrated by Henry J. Ford. Lancelot Speed also did some illustrations.
A collection of Arthurian tales retold for children.
A collection of three short stories about fairies, complete with good moral lessons (as every fairy tale should be).
There is no richer theme for children’s stories than the miracle of Spring. The selections in “The Emerald Story Book” aim to serve the young reader’s interest in three ways. Some of the myths and legends are interesting or amusing because flowers, insects, or birds are presented as personalities and emphasise human qualities or feelings. Some of the stories and poems contribute to the child’s store of knowledge by attracting his attention to some fact, beauty, or blessing in nature which may have escaped his notice. Still others make an appeal by suggesting or affirming the abiding hope symbolised in the thought, “See the land her Easter keeping.”
The child’s heart is filled with the joy of spring,—with the rapture expressed in the thrush’s song which Mrs. Ewing describes. “Fresh water and green woods, ambrosial sunshine and sun-flecked shade, chattering brooks and rustling leaves, glade and sward and dell. Lichens and cool mosses, feathered ferns and flowers. Green leaves! Green leaves! Joy! Joy!” (From the Introduction)
A little boy, recuperating from a lengthy illness, is entertained by visits from the Counterpane Fairy, who treats him to stories associated with each of the squares in the counterpane (quilt) on his sickbed. She has him concentrate on one of the squares until it turns into something like a doorway into the story. Once inside the story, he becomes its lead character until it fades out as if he's awakening from a dream.
A book of short fables with morals.
An unlucky Munchkin boy named Ojo must travel around Oz gathering the ingredients for an antidote to the Liquid of Petrifaction which has turned his beloved uncle Unc Nunkie and the wife of the Liquid's creator into marble statues. Ojo is joined by the patchwork girl Scraps, Dorothy, Dr. Pipt's Glass Cat, the Woozy, the Shaggy Man, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. They eventually visit the Emerald City to ask for help from the Wizard of Oz.
The Magical Monarch of Mo is a set of stories about the titular king, his queen, and his royal children. The stories are uproariously funny, dealing with topics as absurd as a man losing his temper who then tries to find it, an evil midget who steals a princess's big toe, and an entire city filled with highly civilized monkeys! Join the Monarch and all his friends for a rollicking adventure, filled with fun for the whole family!
"And now, mamma, until your tea is ready, we know what you must do," said the children, in a breath. "Tell us a story—a 'real, truly' fairy tale, about a giant and a dwarf, lots and lots of fairies, a prince and a beautiful princess with hair to her very feet, a champion with a magic sword, a dragon-chariot, a witch dressed in snake-skin—and, if you can, an ogre. Don't punish anybody but the witch and the ogre; and please don't have any moral, only let everybody 'live in peace and die in a pot of grease,' at the end of it." "To be sure, we know most of mamma's stories by heart," said the sage elder of nine. "If she could only make up some new ones that aren't in any of our books! Or else, mamma, tell us something you heard a little bit of, long, long ago, from your nurse, and then make up the rest. But whatever one you tell, we'll be sure to like it anyhow." The stories told, the mother fell to musing, and the result is the little book here presented to the judgment of children other than her own—a few new fairy tales, on the old, old pattern!
Winnie the Pooh, the loveable little bear with a great big heart (and only a slightly less large appetite for honey), has fun and adventures in this book. All of the other residents of the 100 acre wood join in to help this happen. Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo and of course the every depressed Eeyore who manages to lose his tail somehow. But what more needs to be said except that it Christopher Robin and Pooh are here? Listen and enjoy.
Sequel to Alice in Wonderland, this volume sees Alice travel through a mirror to a dream-world where she meets chess pieces and other curious characters.
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written solely to pleasure children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out
A collection of Aesop's fables for children from the classic American book illustrated by Milo Winter.
A small collection of some of H.C. Andersen's fairy tales -- including The Emperor's New Clothes, The Red Shoes, The Naughty Boy and fifteen others.
This is a recording of seven immortal and delightful fairy tales written by Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Match Girl is of course the first, followed by The Swineherd, The Real Princess, The Leap Frog, The Elderbush, The Bell and finally, The Old House. They cover a wide range of topics but all demonstrate the storytelling genius of the prolific Danish author who gave us so many memorable and cherished tales.
This is a collection of a few of my personal favorite stories by Hans Christian Andersen that I most loved as a child and still enjoy as an adult. The Emperor's New Clothes was funny from my earliest years because even then I could see that it poked fun at adults and their silly pretensions; The Ugly Duckling I think, was enjoyable because the bullied little one turned out so well and it had a happy ending although I thought even as a child that the protagonist should have gone back and brought those mean barnyard fowl down a peg or two. Little Tiny or Thumbellina is just a sweet story with adventure thrown in and The Brave Little Tin Soldier was and is a tribute to bravery and steadfastness. The last story, There Is No Doubt About It ! was so obviously silly and fun even to a young child and frankly, I just love the way the animals talk in this story.
This is a collection of the fairy tales that children love best, told in simple language and lavishly illustrated. They are written by various authors, a selection of the best and most popular fairy stories, culled from many sources and here collected and presented in most attractive form, printed in large clear type, with many pictures, some of them colored.
A collection of traditional English fairy tales. (description by Joy Chan)
"Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Fairy Books are a twelve-book series of fairy tale collections. Although Andrew Lang did not collect the stories himself from the oral tradition, the extent of his sources (who had collected them originally), made them an immensely influential collection, especially as he used foreign-language sources, giving many of these tales their first appearance in English. As acknowledged in the prefaces, although Lang himself made most of the selections, his wife and other translators did a large portion of the translating and telling of the actual stories."
This book is an early collection of ten well-known fairy tales. It is thought to have begun the genre of fairy tales.
A dramatization of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for the stage. In this version, Alice goes through the looking glass and encounters a variety of strange and wonderful creatures from favorite scenes of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland the Through the Looking Glass. Including a conversation with the Red and White Queens, encounters with Humpty Dumpty, the Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar, and of course everyone's favorite Mad Tea Party.
A short story about a boy who befriends a cat and then sets off on an adventure to rescue a dragon.
The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and poems, both ancient and modern, suitable for boys and girls of from six to sixteen years of age.
The Red Fairy Book is the second in a series of twelve books known as Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Books. The series was immensely popular and proved of great influence in children's literature, increasing the popularity of fairy tales over tales of real life.
Russian Fairy Tales is an anthology of stories by a noted Russian scholar and translator. The 51 stories are thematically organized with introductory material to put them both in the context of Russian folklore and in their relation to the myths of other cultures. This text has something for the intellectual reader as well as for someone who just likes a good fairy tale.
The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and poems, both ancient and modern, suitable for boys and girls of from six to sixteen years of age.
Finding a Psammead (sand-fairy) to grant any wish your heart desires seems like the beginning of endless delights, but as Cyril, Anthea, Robert and Jane soon discover, being beautiful, wealthy and popular can have surprising pitfalls! When it comes to wishing they had wings, lived in a besieged castle or to fight Red Indians in the English countryside, the results of their wishes lead to hilarious narrow escapes and (usually) being sent to bed.
"Five Children and It" is the first of the three "Psammead" books by Edith Nesbit, introducing the irascible sand fairy who uses the children's wishes to teach them lessons about life. This dramatised reading brings the four children and their friend vividly to life!
This book tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures.