Recommended Fairy Tales and Traditional Stories for Children

This hand-picked list is a treasury of timeless stories passed down through generations, alongside more modern tales inspired by traditional stories and twisted fairy tales designed to entertain and amuse.

Many old favourites feature on this list, and young readers will love plotting their escape with Rapunzel, building a house with The Three Little Pigs or going to the ball with Cinderella. We’ve also picked some traditional tales from around the world, including BooksForTopics favourite Pattan’s Pumpkin, which is also one of our Recommended Reads for EYFS.

Alongside the traditional, this booklist features a number of fractured fairy tales that turn traditional stories on their head! There are hilarious twists on familiar stories, like Goldilocks and the Three Crocodiles and Cindergorilla, as well as tales told from new perspectives, like The Troll, The Pea and the Princess, and The Wolf’s Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood.

For timeless tales and riotous retellings, look no further than our list of the best fairy tales and traditional stories for children!