50 Favorite Read-Aloud Folktales

A collection of the best around-the-world folktales, chosen and retold by children's author Judy Sierra and storyteller and puppeteer Robert Kaminski. These brief, lively tales are especially for children from three to seven. Exciting, funny, silly, sometimes a tad scary—these are stories that adult readers truly enjoy performing. They are also perfect for making into plays, animating, illustrating, and retelling in creative writing projects. 

These fifty tales were all originally published as picture books or in anthologies, and received awards from the American Library Association (Notable Children's Books), American Folklore Society (Aesop Prize for the best children's folklore book of the year), and Bank Street College of Education (Irma S. Black Award). 

"Young listeners and readers will find just the right mix of scariness, excitement, and happy ending." 
—New York Times review of Tasty Baby Belly Buttons 

"This collection will elicit plenty of giggles, whether shared at bedtime, in a story hour, or in a classroom setting." 
—School Library Journal review of Silly and Sillier, the source of a dozen of these tales 

Contents: 

The Elephant's Wrestling Match (Cameroon) 
Magical Mice (Japan) 
The Beautiful Butterfly (Spain) 
Johnny Cake (United States) 
Drakestail (France) 
Roly-Poly Bug (Italy) 
Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat (Russia) 
The Rooster and the Sun (Mexico) 
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean (Germany) 
The Rat's Daughter (Japan) 
The Toontoony Bird (Pakistan) 
The Wonderful Pancake (Ireland) 
One Good Turn (Mexico) 
The Three Little Piggies (Scotland) 
Henny Penny (England) 
The Gunniwolf (United States) 
The Three Billy Goats (Norway) 
Uwungelema (South Africa) 
The Three Bears (England) 
Peace and Quiet (Yiddish) 
The Singing Pumpkin (Iraq) 
Juan Bobo (Argentina) 
Tengu's Magic Nose Fan (Japan) 
The Deer, the Fox and the Tiger (China) 
The Monkey and the Crocodile (India) 
The Coyote and the Lizard (Native American, Pueblo) 
Soup from a Nail (Sweden) 
The Three Wishes (England) 
How Ijapa Tricked the Hippopotamus (Nigeria) 
The Bremen Town Musicians (Germany) 
A Bridge of Crocodiles (Indonesia) 
Silly and Sillier (England) 
Jabuti Tricks Mr. Jaguar (Brazil) 
The Fearsome Beast (Kenya) 
The Tortoise and the Iroko Man (Nigeria) 
Too Many Fish (Borneo) 
Taily-po (United States) 
The Black Velvet Ribbon (United States) 
The Sprightly Tailor (Scotland) 
The Hairy Toe (United States) 
The Nung Gwa Ma (China) 
Tasty Baby Belly Buttons (Japan) 
Clever Mandy (Bahamas) 
Jean and Jeannette (France) 
The Cake Tree (Sri Lanka) 
Buttercup (Norway) 
Master Thumb (Myanmar) 
Wiley and the Hairy Man (African American) 
The Zim (South Africa) 
Jack and the Beanstalk (England)