For me Halloween and fairy tales and myths go hand in hand. True, they’re not all spooky, but they incite the imagination. They lead to wonderful ideas for costumes, hours of playing pretend, and then you can also find ways for kids to enjoy them too. So I thought I’d do a post introducing my readers to some various fairy tale and myth books they can get for free.
Public Domain: the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection – from dictionary.com
Did you know that there are many books that are now considered public domain? And that more become available every year? Public domain books are ones that you can access and download copies of freely, without having to pay anything for them. Knowing where to find them can be a great advantage, especially if you’ve got a voracious reader on your hands, and no time to hit the library stacks!
Free Fairy Tale and Myth Books
American Fairy Tales by Frank L. Baum – In Chicago, an ordinary key unlocks a magical trunk packed with robbers and a pie. In Boston, five magical bon-bons make an ordinary senator, an ordinary professor, an ordinary girl and her ordinary parents do the most extraordinary things! A young cowboy lassoes Father Time; the dummy in Mr. Floman’s department store window comes to life; and a tiny beetle gives a New England farmer and his wife a pump which pumps not water, but gold!
Author of the much-loved Oz books, L. Frank Baum transforms the familiar with his magical mix of humor and enchantment. Most of the twelve stories in this delightful collection are set in America where, so it seems, modern fairies, knooks, and ryls are always causing the most astonishing things to happen! These tales will enchant both young and old.
Click here to be taken to the Project Gutenberg download site. This book is available in all basic electronic formats including PDF, Mobi, and Epub.
Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens
1 Cuan Mac Cairill recounts his part settling Eire to priest who wants to convert him
2 Boyhood of Fionn
3 The Birth of Bran
4 Oisi’n’s Mother
5 The Wooing of Becfolla
6 The Brawl at Allen
7 The Carl of the Drab Coat
8 The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran
9 Becuma of the White Skin
10 Mongan’s Frenzy
Click here to be taken to the Project Gutenberg download site. This book is available in all basic electronic formats including PDF, Mobi, and Epub.
The Children of Odin by Padraic Colum – Before time as we know it began, gods and goddesses lived in the city of Asgard. Odin All Father crossed the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in Midgard. Thor defended Asgard with his mighty hammer. Mischievous Loki was constantly getting into trouble with the other gods, and dragons and giants walked free. This collection of Norse sagas retold by author Padraic Colum gives us a sense of that magical time when the world was filled with powers and wonders we can hardly imagine. – Goodreads
Click here to be taken to the Project Gutenberg download site. This book is available in all basic electronic formats including PDF, Mobi, and Epub.
The Cat and the Mouse: A Book of Persian Fairy Tales by James Hartwell – Persia is rich in folk lore. For hundreds and hundreds of years the stories in this book, and many others as well, have been told to the wondering boys and girls of that country…The belief in the “Ghool,” or “Old Man of the Desert,” is still prevalent in Persia, which probably accounts for the popularity of the story of “The Son of the Soap Seller.” The other stories selected for this volume are great favorites, but the story of “The Cat and the Mouse” is perhaps the most popular of all.
Click here to be taken to the Project Gutenberg download site. This book is available in all basic electronic formats including PDF, Mobi, and Epub.
The Heroes, or, Greek Fairy Tales for My Children by Charles Kingsley – Stories of the heroes of ancient Greece, told in fine poetic prose. Includes accounts of Perseus who slew Medusa the Gorgon, Jason who sought the Golden Fleece, and Theseus who slew the Minotaur. By preserving the Greek spirit in the retelling of these myths, Kingsley gives us plain strength and seriousness, courage, steadfastness, and beauty. Dozens of attractive illustrations by T. H. Robinson enliven the text. Suitable for ages 9 and up. – Goodreads
Click here to be taken to the Project Gutenberg download site. This book is available in all basic electronic formats including PDF, Mobi, and Epub.
Welsh Fairy Tales by William Elliot Griffis – A simple collection of Welsh Fairy Tales written down/ translated by William Elliot Griffis.
Click here to be taken to the Project Gutenberg download site. This book is available in all basic electronic formats including PDF, Mobi, and Epub.
This is not a comprehensive list of all the fairy tale and myth books available for free on Project Gutenberg and else where, but it’s a good start. I looked at a few other sites that offer public domain works, but Project Gutenberg looks to be the most well done and expansive.
Now, not all these fairy tales and myths are going to be suitable for little ones, folks. Pre-read them, make your decision on which ones are appropriate for your kids. Or, do as I do, and alter stuff on the fly as necessary.
