folklore

The world is full of mystery and magic, and people have tried to explain the unexplainable since time began through stories -- legends, mythologies, fables, folklore and fairytales. Here, we present books that explore those realms, whether delving deep into mystery or just spinning a good yarn. Enjoy!

Celtic
& British
King Arthur
Robin Hood
Scandinavian
Classical
(Greek & Roman)
Western &
Central European
Asian &
Eastern European
African &
Middle Eastern
Tales from
the Sea
North & South
American
Native
American
Islands of the
Atlantic & Pacific
Collections from
Around the World
Old Tales Retold
(Fractured or Modernized)
Celestial (Moon,
Sun & Stars)
UFOS & Alien
Encounters
Mythical
Creatures
Ghost Stories &
the Supernatural
Storytelling
Analysis, Criticism
& History
Reference
Legends & Heroes at the Movies
.
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music
books
movies
folkways


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Scandinavian

P.C. Asbjornsen & Jorgen Moe
A Time for Trolls

Bob Barton
The Bear Says North

Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Norse Gods & Giants

H.R. Ellis Davidson
Gods & Myths of Northern Europe

Jodie Forrest
The Rhymer & the Ravens

Neil Gaiman
Norse Mythology

Thorarinn Gunnarsson
Song of the Dwarves
Revenge of the Valkyrie

Seamus Heaney
Beowulf: A New Translation

Charlotte Huck
The Black Bull of Norroway, illustrated by Anita Lobel

Galina Krasskova
Runes: Theory & Practice

Margaret Read MacDonald
Fat Cat: a Danish Folktale
Fat Cat & Friends, with Richard Scholtz

Naomi Mitchison
Travel Light

Henry Treece
The Green Man

Mike Vasich
Loki: Nine Naughty Tales of the Trickster

Jane Yolen
The Wild Hunt


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Classical (Greek & Roman)

Lynne Reid Banks
The Adventures of King Midas

Katerina & Aegea Barclay
The Hand of Zeus

Robert E. Bell
Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary

Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Firebrand

Paul Chrystal
War in Greek Mythology

Robyn & Tony DiTocco
Atlas' Revenge
The Hero Perseus

Robert Garland
Greek Mythology: Gods & Heroes Brought to Life

Patrice Kindl
Lost in the Labyrinth

Sheldon Oberman
Island of the Minotaur: Greek Myths of Ancient Crete

Elizabeth Spires
I Am Arachne: Fifteen Greek & Roman Myths

Jane Yolen
Wings


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Western & Central European

Marius Barbeau
The Golden Phoenix (a.k.a., The Magic Tree & Other Tales)

Lorna MacDonald Czarnota
Medieval Tales That Kids Can Read & Tell

Shannon Hale
The Goose Girl

Heinrich Hoffman, adapted by Bob Staake
Struwwelpeter

Stephen Mitchell
The Frog Prince: A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults

Mary Pope Osborne
Favorite Medieval Tales

Charles Perrault
Puss in Boots

Doug Wheeler
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm

Jane Yolen
Dove Isabeau, illustrated by Dennis Nolan
Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys


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Asian & Eastern European

Bob Barton
The Bear Says North

Eileen Colwell, editor
Folk Tales from Asia for Children Everywhere, Book 1
Folk Tales from Asia for Children Everywhere, Book 2

Mike Dixon-Kennedy
The Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth & Legend

Karen Gernant
Imagining Women: Fujian Folk Tales

Brian Griffith
A Galaxy of Immortal Women, The Yin Side of Chinese Civilization

Harish Johari & Vatsala Sperling
How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head

Kij Johnson
The Fox Woman
Fudoki

Sophie Masson
The Firebird

Donna Jo Napoli
Bound

Devdutt Pattanaik
Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols & Rituals from the Heart of the Subcontinent

James Riordan
Russian Gypsy Tales
The Sun Maiden & the Crescent Moon: Siberian Folk Tales

Marcus Sedgwick
My Swordhand is Singing

Josepha Sherman
The Horse of Flame

Philemon Sturges & Anna Vojtech
Marushka & the Month Brothers

Jane Yolen
Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys


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African & Middle Eastern

Baba Wague Diakite
The Hatseller & the Monkeys

Anita Diamant
The Red Tent

Will Eisner
Sundiata: A Legend of Africa

Jilali el Koudia
Moroccan Folk Tales

Innocent Emechete
Animal Stories Daddy Told Us

Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys

Brian Gleeson
Anansi

Jamal Sleem Nuweihed
Abu Jmeel's Daughter & Other Stories: Arab Folk Tales from Palestine & Lebanon

N.K. Sandars
The Epic of Gilgamesh


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North & South American

Marius Barbeau
The Golden Phoenix (a.k.a., The Magic Tree & Other Tales)

Jeff Belanger
Weird Massachusetts: Your Travel Guide to Massachusetts' Local Legends & Best Kept Secrets

Kate Bernheimer
Horse, Flower, Bird

John Bierhorst, editor
Latin American Folktales

Roy Campbell
Song of the Jackalope

Margo Carruthers
Speech from the Crone: Scarytales

Joseph A. Citro
Cursed in New England: Stories of Damned Yankees
Passing Strange: True Tales of New England Hauntings & Horror
Weird New England

Thomas D'Agostino & Arlene Nicholson
Legends, Lore & Secrets of New England

Hubert J. Davis
American Witch Stories

Charles de Lint
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest
A Circle of Cats

Pleasant DeSpain
Sweet Land of Story: Thirty-Six American Tales to Tell

Wayne Erbsen
Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs & Sayings

Neil Gaiman
The Wolves in the Walls

Bruce Gellerman & Eric Sherman
Massachusetts Curiosities, 2nd: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff

Nelson Lauver
The American Story-Teller

J.W. Ocker
The New England Grimpendium

Catherine Peek, editor
A Treasury of North American Folktales

Pamela Petro
Sitting Up with the Dead: A Storied Journey through the American South

J.J. Reneaux
Wake, Snake!

Josepha Sherman
Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts, with T.K.F Weisskopf

Roy Edwin Thomas
Come Go With Me: Old-Timer Stories from the Southern Mountains

Barry Vann
Rediscovering the South's Celtic Heritage

David Weatherly
Monsters of the Green Mountain State: Cryptids & Legends of Vermont

Paul Yee
Dead Man's Gold & Other Stories


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Islands of the Atlantic & Pacific

Timothy Befus
Hawaiian Folklore: Encounters with the Supernatural

Brian Gleeson
Anansi

Nalo Hopkinson
Skin Folk


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Tales from the Sea

Mark Adams
Meet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City

Robert Ellis Cahill
Haunted Ships of the North Atlantic

David Cordingly
Under the Black Flag

Bill Jessome
Maritime Mysteries & the Ghosts Who Surround Us
More Maritime Mysteries: Everyone Has a Story

Robin McKinley
Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits, with Peter Dickinson

Vernon Oickle
Ghost Stories of the Maritimes

David J. Seibold & Charles J. Adams III
Shipwrecks & Legends 'Round Cape May

Jane Yolen
The Fish Prince & Other Stories: Mermen Folk Tales, with Shulamith Oppenheim


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Collections from Around the World

Bob Barton
The Bear Says North

Carlyn Beccia
I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures

William J. Bennett
Children's Book of Virtues

Katharine Briggs
An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies & Other Supernatural Creatures

Korwin Briggs
 Gods & Heroes: Mythology Around the World

Thomas Bulfinch
Mythology

Allan B. Chinen
Beyond the Hero: Classic Stories of Men in Search of Soul

Anna Claybourne
History's Mysteries: Legends & Lore

Frank de Caro, editor
The Folktale Cat

Rupert Furneaux
Ancient Mysteries

Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weis
Noodlehead Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell

Virginia Hamilton
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World

David Holt & Bill Mooney, editors
More Ready-to-Tell Tales From Around the World

Norma J. Livo
Troubadour's Storybag

Margaret Read MacDonald
Fat Cat & Friends, with Richard Scholtz
Shake-It-Up Tales! Stories to Sing, Dance, Drum & Act Out

Sherry Norfolk
Haunted Hearts: Tales of Love & Tragedy

Kathleen Ragan
Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters:
  Heroines in Folktales from Around the World

Patrick Ryan
Shakespeare's Storybook

Josepha Sherman
Merlin's Kin

Jane Yolen
The Fairies' Ring, with Stephen Mackey
Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys
Once Upon a Bedtime Story


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Old Tales Retold (Fractured or Modernized)

Charles Addams
The Charles Addams Mother Goose

Dennis Lee Anderson
Arthur, King

E.D. Baker
The Frog Princess

Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
Magical Mechanications

Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
Red Riding Hood

Francesca Lia Block
The Rose & the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold

P.J. Brackston
Gretel & the Case of the Missing Frog Prints

Steven Brust
The Sun, the Moon, & the Stars

Michael Buckley
The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives, Book 1

Kara Dalkey
The Nightingale

Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, editors
Black Heart, Ivory Bones
Black Swan, White Raven
Black Thorn, White Rose
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
Silver Birch, Blood Moon
Snow White, Blood Red
A Wolf at the Door: & Other Retold Fairy Tales

Peter David
Knight Life
One Knight Only

Pamela Dean
Juniper, Gentian & Rosemary
Tam Lin

Charles de Lint
Jack the Giant-Killer

Donald B. Dewar
Jack's Dad & the Beanstalk

Robyn & Tony DiTocco
The Hero Perseus

Cameron Dokey
Golden

Julia Donaldson
The Giants & the Joneses

Jasper Fforde
Jack Spratt Investigates: The Big Over Easy
Jack Spratt Investigates: The Fourth Bear

Gregory Frost
Fitcher's Brides

Jessica Day George
Princess of the Midnight Ball

Adele Geras
Egerton Hall, Book 1: The Tower Room

Margaret Gray
The Ugly Princess & the Wise Fool

Margaret Peterson Haddix
Just Ella

Merrie Haskell
The Princess Curse

Jim C. Hines
Princess Novels #1: The Stepsister Scheme

Nancy Holder
Spirited

Mary Howitt
The Spider & the Fly, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi

Melanie Jackson
The Selkie

Mercedes Lackey
The Fairy Godmother
The Firebird
Phoenix & Ashes

Gail Carson Levine
Ella Enchanted

Rebecca Lickiss
Never After

Denise Little, editor
Rotten Relations
Twice Upon a Time

Wendy Loggia
Ever After: A Cinderella Story

Janet Lorimer
Master of Shadows

Gregory Maguire
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Rafe Martin
Birdwing

Robin McKinley
Beauty
Deerskin
Rose Daughter
Spindle's End

Stephen Mitchell
The Frog Prince: A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults

Donna Jo Napoli
Beast
Crazy Jack
The Magic Circle
Spinners, with Richard Tchen
Zel

Terry Pratchett
The Amazing Maurice & His Educated Rodents

Jon Scieszka
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Art Speigelman & Francoise Mouly, editors
Little Lit: Folklore & Fairy Tale Funnies

Mitzi Szereto
Erotic Fairy Tales: A Romp Through the Classics

Carolyn Turgeon
Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale

Anne Ursu
Breadcrumbs

Catherynne M. Valente
Six-Gun Snow White
Speak Easy

Vivian Vande Velde
The Rumpelstiltskin Problem
Tales from the Brothers Grimm & the Sisters Weird

Patricia C. Wrede
Snow White & Rose Red

Jane Yolen
Briar Rose

Roger Zelazny & Robert Sheckley
Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming


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Celestial (Moon, Sun & Stars)

Diane Ahlquist
Moon Spells: How to Use the Phases of the Moon to Get What You Want

Chrissie Blaze
Mercury Retrograde: Your Survival Guide to Astrology's Most Precarious Time of Year

Diana Brueton
The Moon: Myth, Magic & Fact

Sasha Fenton & Jonathan Dee
Moon Signs: Reveal Your Inner Feelings & Discover Your Future

Janet Ruth Heller
How The Moon Regained Her Shape

Nancy Red Star
Legends of the Star Ancestors:
  Stories of Extraterrestrial Contact from Wisdomkeepers Around the World

Lori Reid
Moon Blessings: Drawing Inspiration & Power from the Moon

Andrea Stenn Stryer
The Celestial River: Creation Tales of the Milky Way

Shelly Wu
The Definitive Book of Chinese Astrology


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UFOs & Alien Encounters

Stanton T. Friedman
Flying Saucers & Science

John G. Fuller
The Interrupted Journey

Nancy Red Star
Legends of the Star Ancestors:
  Stories of Extraterrestrial Contact from Wisdomkeepers Around the World

Karla Turner
Into the Fringe


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Mythical Creatures

J. Robert Alley
Raincoast Sasquatch: The Bigfoot/Sasquatch Records of Southeast Alaska,
  Coastal British Columbia & Northwest Washington from Puget Sound to Yakutat

Elizabeth Barrial & D.H. Altair
Vampires Don't Sleep Alone: Your Guide to Meeting, Dating & Seducing a Vampire

Scott Bowen
The Vampire Survival Guide

Katharine Briggs
An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies & Other Supernatural Creatures

Max Brooks
The Zombie Survival Guide

Raymond Buckland
The Weiser Field Guide to Ghosts: Apparitions, Spirits, Spectral Lights & Other Hauntings of History & Legend

Deena West Budd
The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology

Lorna Byrne
Angels in My Hair

Anna Claybourne
History's Mysteries: Legends & Lore

Sheila A. Dane
Fairy Hunters, Ink.

Peter Dickinson
The Flight of Dragons

Cassandra Eason
A Complete Guide to Faeries & Magical Beings

Richard Ellis
Monsters of the Sea

Brian Froud & Ari Berk
Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Letters

Brian Froud & Terry Jones
The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins
Strange Stains & Mysterious Smells

Brian Froud & Alan Lee
Faeries (25th Anniversary Edition)

Arlene Gaal
In Search of Ogopogo: Sacred Creature of the Okanagan Waters

Christopher Hart
Drawing Dragons & Those Who Hunt Them

Katherine Howe, editor,
The Penguin Book of Witches

Del Howison
When Werewolves Attack: A Field Guide to Dispatching Ravenous Flesh-Ripping Beasts

Barry Kane
Fairy Houses ... Everywhere

Grover S. Krantz
Bigfoot Sasquatch: Evidence

Claude Lecouteux
Witches, Werewolves & Fairies: Shapeshifters & Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages

Raymond T. McNally & Radu Florescu
In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula & Vampires

Ryan Mecum
Zombie Haiku

J. Gordon Melton
The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead

Christopher L. Murphy
Meet the Sasquatch, with John Green & Thomas Steenburg

Thom Powell
The Locals: A Contemporary Investigation of the Bigfoot/Sasquatch Phenomenon

Suza Scalora
The Fairies

Brad Steiger
The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings

Steven P. Unger
In the Footsteps of Dracula: A Personal Journey & Travel Guide

Gary R. Varner
Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men & Spirit Beings Around the World

E.R. Vernor
Zombie Nation: From Folklore to Modern Frenzy

David Weatherly
Monsters of the Green Mountain State: Cryptids & Legends of Vermont


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Ghost Stories & the Supernatural

This section has moved! You can find all your favorite haunts right here.


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Storytelling

Bill Adler Jr.
Tell Me a Fairy Tale

Sarvananda Bluestone
The World Dream Book

Lorna MacDonald Czarnota
Medieval Tales That Kids Can Read & Tell

Donald Davis
A Room of My Own

Pleasant DeSpain
Sweet Land of Story: Thirty-Six American Tales to Tell

Amy Friedman, Jillian Gilliland & Laura Hall
Tell Me a Story
Tell Me a Story 2: Animal Magic

Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weis
Noodlehead Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell

David Holt & Bill Mooney, editors
More Ready-to-Tell Tales From Around the World

Norma J. Livo
Troubadour's Storybag

Margaret Read MacDonald
Shake-It-Up Tales! Stories to Sing, Dance, Drum & Act Out

Robert Mouland
Fireside Tales: Stories & Music from the Irish Tradition

Bobby Norfolk
Norfolk Tales

Barbara Ann Porte
Beauty & the Serpent: Thirteen Tales of Unnatural Animals

Leo Sawicki
Anytime Stories
Anywhere Stories

Joseph Daniel Sobol
The Storytellers' Journey: An American Revival


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Analysis, Criticism & History

Kate Bernheimer, editor
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

J.F. Bierlein
Parallel Myths

Bettina Bildhauer & Robert Mills, editors
The Monstrous Middle Ages

Joseph Campbell
The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension
The Hero With a Thousand Faces

Shanna Caughey, editor
Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth & Religion in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles

David Colbert
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter:
  A Treasury of Myths, Legends & Fascinating Facts

The Magical Worlds of the Lord of the Rings:
  The Amazing Myths, Legends & Facts Behind the Masterpiece

Jennifer Crusie, editor
Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters & the Power of Three

Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Women Who Run With the Wolves:
  Myths & Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Liz Greene & Juliet Sharman-Burke
The Mythic Journey: The Meaning of Myth as a Guide for Life

Douglas Gresham
Jack's Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis

Marvin D. Hinten
The Keys to the Chronicles: Unlocking the Symbols of C.S. Lewis's Narnia

Thomas King
The Truth About Stories

Allan Zola Kronzek & Elizabeth Kronzek
The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter

John Matthews
The Green Man: Spirit of Nature

Mark Oxbrow
Halloween: Pagan Festival to Trick or Treat

Phyllis J. Perry
Keeping the Traditions: A Multicultural Resource

Lawrence Rodgers & Jerrold Hirsch, editors
America's Folklorist: B.A. Botkin & American Culture

Gary R. Varner
Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men & Spirit Beings Around the World

Jane Yolen
Touch Magic
Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folktales for Mothers & Daughters to Share, with Heidi E.Y. Stemple


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Reference

Anne S. Baumgartner
Ye Gods!

Robert E. Bell
Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary

Katharine Briggs
An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies & Other Supernatural Creatures

Korwin Briggs
 Gods & Heroes: Mythology Around the World

Mike Dixon-Kennedy
The Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth & Legend

Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Spirits
Encyclopedia of the Strange, Mystical & Unexplained
Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft

Michael Jordan
Encyclopedia of Gods: Over 2,500 Deities of the World

Carol K. Mack & Dinah Mack
A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels & Other Subversive Spirits

Edain McCoy
A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk

J. Gordon Melton
The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead

Daithi O'Hogain
Irish Superstitions

Iona Opie & Moira Tatem, editors
A Dictionary of Superstitions

Carole Potter
Knock on Wood

Edwin & Mona A. Radford
Encyclopedia of Superstitions

Carol Ann Rinzler
Dictionary of Medical Folklore

Sacred Symbols:
Ancient Egypt
The Celts

Jack Tresidder
Symbols & Their Meanings:
  The Illustrated Guide To More Than 1,000 Symbols, Their Traditional & Contemporary Significance

Jack Zipes, editor
The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales


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