fifteen fresh and first-rate fairy tales, folk tales, myths, and more

I’ve been wanting to put together a list of recent (published in the last couple of years) picture books that fall into the fairy tale, folk tale, fable, or myth categories and are also first-rate. And here it is!

 

FAIRY TALES

The Night Gardener by The Fan Brothers. Grimloch Lane is forever changed by the gardener who shapes trees into whimsical animals overnight. And so is young William.

 

Bloom by Doreen Cronin and David Small. An unusual fairy, a girl, a kingdom in disrepair, and mud. This tale tells us: “…there is no such thing as an ordinary girl” and that magic can be found in the most commonplace materials and in the willingness to be open and work hard.

 

The Only Child by Guojing. Wordless with expressive drawings and lots of wonder, this reminds me of the kind of story a child might invent for herself or dream about.

 

 

Little Red by Bethan Woollvin. I’ve talked about this retelling’s A+ qualities before.

 

The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakashi. A contemporary fairy tale complete with a girl’s trek through the woods to her grandmother’s house. But the animal characters aren’t scary in this one—on the contrary, they’re magical, welcoming, and have plenty of pie to share.

 

 

The Song of Delphnie by Kenneth Kraegel. A bit of a Cinderella in the savannah story, Delphine the palace servant’s singing attracts giraffes to her window each night. It also brings her freedom.

 

Fairy Tales For Little Folks illustrated by folk artist, Will Moses. Five familiar tales with fun to pore over illustrations.

 

The Ugly Dumpling by Stephanie Campisi, illustrated by Shahar Kober. A dim sum restaurant take on “The Ugly Duckling” that’s substantial and sweet! (See Bonnie from Thirsty for Tea‘s recipe from my original post on the book here.)

 

TALL TALES

Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bidner, illustrated by Jake Parra. The inspiring story of a large-spirited person who cleaned the city with purpose and pizazz before the storm and helped piece it together after.

 

Abukacha’s Shoes by Tamar Tessler. The quirky collage illustrations really shine in this passed down folktale about a man whose discarded giant shoes always return to him. It’s special in part because the historical photos included are of the author/illustrator’s family members who perished in the holocaust as a way to honor their memories.

 

FABLES

The Tiger Who Would be King by James Thurber, illustrated by Joohee Yoon. This fable features a tiger who’s thirsty for power at any cost. It’s boldly illustrated and doesn’t shy away from vivid and violent (though stylized) depictions to make its point about the futility of contests and war.

 

Louis I, King of the Sheep by Olivier Tallec. A lighter take on the lure of power. A paper crown blows onto Louis the sheep’s head while going directly to his head.

 

Tokyo Digs a Garden by Jon-Erik Lappano and Kellen Hatanaka. An environmental fable/fairy tale about cities and nature and how to balance both. Also, magic beans. (I interviewed both author and illustrator here.)

 

 

MYTHS

Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josée Masse. This series of poem-pairs is quite a feat! The first tells the story from one character’s perspective and the next reverses the lines to tell the story from the other’s.

 

From Wolf to Woof: The Story of Dogs by Hudson Talbott. A “myth of origin” (based on research) about how wolves were tamed, developed a symbiotic relationship with humans, and became the dogs we know and love today.

 

 

Your turn! Any recently published fairy tales, folk tales, myths, or legends to add to this list?