The Flying Trunk – A Hans Christian Andersen Tale
This week we have the perfect tale for reading on Fireworks Night – The Flying Trunk is a famous story that might just teach you not to play or show-off with fireworks. The story was written by […]
Bluebeard – A French Tale by Charles Perrault
The Blue Beard tale is a dark story of deceit, death, murder, blood and forbidden chambers. Its origins are thought to be traced back to real events and people such as the legend of Gilles de […]
The Story of the Three Bears – An English Fairy Tale from Andrew Lang
The Story of the Three Bears is one of the world’s best-known fairy tales. It was originally written by English poet Robert Southey in 1837. This English folktale has been adapted many times over the years but […]
Summer’s Passing
Summer’s Passing Beautiful autumnal illustration, and one our personal favourites by Jessie Willcox Smith. Taken from Dream Blocks, a wonderful book of children’s verse by A. C. Higgins full of Willcox’s gorgeous watercolours. Summer’s Passing My […]
Petrosinella – An Italian Rapunzel Tale
Petrosinella (translating as ‘Little Parsley’) is known as the Italian Rapunzel. It was written by Giambattista Basile (1566-1632), a Neapolitan poet and courtier. It was first published in his collection of Neapolitan fairy tales titled Lo Cunto […]
Arthur Rackham’s Aesop’s Fables
Arthur Rackham’s Aesop’s Fables Aesop was a slave and storyteller living in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. His book of fables, known as Aesop’s Fables is a wonderful collection of moral tales for children. These […]
The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea – An Aesop Fable
The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea A shipwrecked man cast up on the beach fell asleep after his struggle with the waves. When he woke up, he bitterly reproached the Sea for its treachery in enticing […]
Catskin – An English Cinderella Tale
Catskin is an English Cinderella tale collected by Joesph Jacobs from his book More English Fairy Tales. It is identified as a Cinderella tale as it shares the ‘persecuted heroine’ theme. It tells the tale of a young […]
Mr and Mrs Vinegar – An English Fairy Tale
Mr and Mrs Vinegar is an old English fairy tale taken from Flora Annie Steel’s English Fairy Tales. This wonderful book, originally published in 1922, is illustrated by Arthur Rackham. This story tells a tale of married […]
Rumpelstiltskin – A Tale by the Brothers Grimm
The legend of Rumpelstiltskin has a long history and sees many variations across different cultures. There’s Tom-Tit-Tot in English folklore, Whuppity Stoorie in Scotland, Gilitrutt in Iceland, and Joaidane in Arabic. The most famous, however, is […]
Little Briar-Rose – A Sleeping Beauty Story from the Brothers Grimm
Little Briar-Rose (Dornrönschen) is a Sleeping Beauty story by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. There are many variations of Sleeping Beauty type tales, many of which feature some dark harrowing themes. However the Grimm version, […]
The Fisherman and the Genie – An Arabian Nights Tale
The Fisherman and the Genie is a tale from The Arabian Nights. This tale tells of a humble fisherman meeting a vengeful and bitter genie, a different type of genie than the one we are used […]
