 The
Mitten
by Jim Aylesworth, Barbara McClintock
Ages 3–8
In this retelling of a folk tale, a
young boy loses his red mitten while sledding. The mitten is
found by a delighted squirrel who enjoys its cosiness until
a first a rabbit, then a fox, and finally a bear beg to join
in the warmth. McClintock’s pen-and-ink illustrations illustrate
the silliness in a wonderfully naturalistic way. |
|
 The
Steel Pan Man of Harlem
by Colin Bootman
Ages 5–9
In this retelling of the Pied
Piper of Hamelin folk tale, a steel pan playing man
appears and offers to rid Harlem of a plague of rats.
Set during the Harlem Renaissance and featuring a mysterious
magician from the Caribbean, this spell-binding tale
is illustrated with beautifully detailed oil paintings. |
|
 Cinderella,
or the Little Glass Slipper
by Marcia Brown
Caldecott Medal
1955
Ages 4–8
This retelling of the classic tale by
Charles Perrault is a skillful version that is both simple and
romantic. The pen and watercolor illustrations complement the
story beautifully. |
|
 Once
a Mouse…
by Marcia Brown
Caldecott Medal
1962
Ages 4–8
The mighty tiger challenges anyone to
say he was once a mouse, but the hermit knows it to be true,
since he himself used magic to transform the mouse into a cat
and then a dog and finally a tiger. And unfortunately for the
too proud tiger, those changes can be reversed. Beautiful woodcuts
illustrate this Indian fable. |
|
 Chanticleer
and the Fox
by Barbara Cooney
Caldecott Medal 1959
Ages 4–8
Chanticleer the rooster falls for the
flattery of the fox and is caught. Luckily Chanticleer is clever
enough to think himself out of danger in this retelling of the
“Nun’s Priest’s Tale” from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury
Tales. Beautiful pen and ink drawings illustrate the fable. |
|
 Yummy:
Eight Favorite Fairy Tales
by Lucy Cousins
Ages 4–10
In the retelling of these fairy
tales, the villains are scary and eager to eat their
tasty prey. Bold and vibrant illustrations complement
the slyly humorous text. |
|
 The
Girl Who Wanted to Dance
by Amy Ehrlich
Ages 6–10
Clara, who longs to dance,
lives with her sad father and loving grandmother who
tells her that her absent mother also loved music and
dance. When a traveling dance troupe visits the village,
Clara’s father recognizes Clara’s mother, and forgives
her for leaving the family. This haunting fairy tale
compassionately addresses the irresistible artistic
urge and the pain of those left behind.
|
|
 The
Grasshopper’s Song
An
Aesop’s Fable Revisited
by Nikki Giovanni
Ages 4–up
The grasshoppers sing while the
ants work in rhythm. When the ants refuse to share the
harvest, the grasshoppers take them to court. This amusing
retelling will appeal to all ages. |
|
 The
Dinosaur Tamer
by Carol Greathouse, John Shroades
Ages 4–8
This humorous tall tale is
set in the old West, when cowboys like young Rocky
tamed dinosaurs of all kinds. Narrated in classic tall
tale prose, the dinosaur names and characteristics
are authentic. Rocky’s battle to tame T. Rex is a classic
humorous epic that creates several American landmarks
along the way. |
|
 Rapunzel’s
Revenge
by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, Nathan
Hale
Ages 9–up
In this graphic novel version
of the fairy tale, Rapunzel lives in a fabulous walled
garden Wild West. Defying orders, Rapunzel scales the
walls to see the rest of the world and is shocked to
find a wasteland of mines and factories. Banished to
a forest tree house, Rapunzel uses her long braids
to escape and fight against the villains. |
|
 A
Story, A Story
by Gail E. Haley
Caldecott Medal 1971
Ages 4–8
In the beginning there were no stories
for children to hear, so Ananse the Spider went to bargain with
Nyame, the Sky God, to bring the stories down to Earth. Wonderful
woodcut illustrations support the clever text in this retelling
of an African folktale. |
|
 Twenty
Heartbeats
by Dennis Haseley, Ed Young
Ages 5–9
Set in the Far East long ago,
a rich man hires an artist to paint his beloved horse.
After years of waiting, the artists paints the horse
in little more than 20 heartbeats. The rich man is furious
until he sees thousands of drawings of his horse in the
artist’s studio. Ed Young’s incredible illustrations
bring the story to life. |
|
 One
Fine Day
by Nonny Hogrogian
Caldecott Medal
1972
Ages 4–8
In this humorous retelling of an Armenian
folktale, a fox steals some milk from an old farm woman. She
cuts off his tail, and the fox spends the rest of the day bargaining
to get it back. The vividly beautiful illustrations bring this
tale to life. |
|
 Stagecoach
Sal
by Deborah Hopkinson, Carson Ellis
Ages 4–8
Sal can catch a fish with her
bare hands, ride a bronco, and drive a stagecoach.
When her Pa falls sick, it’s up to young Sal to drive
the stagecoach alone to deliver the mail. When Poetic
Pete, the most polite bandit in all of California,
boards the coach, Sal sings him to sleep. She continues
her all-night singing marathon until they arrive in
town where Sal delivers the bandit to jail. Delicate
watercolor illustrations provide the perfect counterpoint
for the rambunctious text. |
|
 The
Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah
by Leslie Kimmelman, Paul Meisel
Ages 4–8
This Jewish Little Red Hen
asks her friends for help making the traditional Passover
matzah. Unfortunately her friends aren’t too eager
to help. Couldn’t they at least help schlep the wheat
to the mill? In this hilarious version of the traditional
tale, a hard-working hen finds the true meaning of
Passover. |
|
 Where
the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin
Ages 8–12
Minli and her parents live on the Jade
River in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain, growing barely enough
rice to feed themselves. Her father tells stories every night
to brighten their impoverished existence. One day Minli spends
her only two coins on a talking goldfish, sure that it can bring
her family good fortune. With help from her fish, Minli sets
out to find the Old Man of the Moon, who she hopes will provide
the secret to good fortune. Along the way she befriends the unfortunate
and uses her wits to escape traps in this beautifully illustrated
adventure that draws upon the rich history of Chinese folktales.
(2010 Newbery Honor Book) |
|
 Fables
by Arnold Lobel
Caldecott Medal 1981
Ages 6–10
These short original fables have unexpected
morals. The humorous illustrations add to the fun. |
|
|
 The
Hinky-Pink
by Megan McDonald, Brian Floca
Ages 4–8
In this retelling of a story from 1940,
the humble seamstress Anabel is about to realize her dream
of sewing a ball gown for a princess when a Hinky-Pink appears
to rob her of sleep so that she is too tired to sew. Floca’s
active and detailed watercolors bring long-ago Florence to
life. |
|
 The
Funny Little Woman
text by Arlene Mosel, illustrations
by Blair Lent
Caldecott Medal 1973
Ages 3–8
Long ago in old Japan a funny little
woman with a silly little laugh chases a runaway dumpling and
soon finds herself cooking dumplings for a band of demons. Her
infectious laugh helps her charm the demons into releasing her. |
|
 Mama
Miti
by Donna Jo Napoli, Kadir Nelson
Ages 4–8
This story of Wangari Maathai’s
mission to plant trees in Kenya is told more as a folk
tale than a biography. Wangari Wangari becomes known
as Mama Miti (Mother of Trees) because she knows her
trees, and recommends the perfect one to plant to meet
the needs of those she meets. Some trees produce edible
berries, some make good firewood, some have roots that
purify the water. Beautiful and colorful illustrations
bring Mama Miti and her community to life. |
|
 The
Wager
by Donna Jo Napoli
Ages 12–up
Set in 1169, this novel tells
the story of Don Giovanni, a wealthy 19-year-old orphan
who suddenly loses his riches and his castle in a tidal
wave and is reduced to begging for food to survive.
The devil appears to offer a wager—if Don Giovanni
agrees not to bathe or change his clothes for three
years, three months, and three days, he will receive
a purse that magically refills. Giovanni’s descent
into foul decay and eventual redemption is colorfully
portrayed in this retelling of a traditional Italian
fairy tale. |
|
 The
Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
text by Arthur Ransome, illustrations
by Uri Shulevitz
Caldecott Medal
1969
Ages 4–8
In this retelling of a Russian folktale,
the simple third son is helped by those with magical powers to
perform the impossible tasks set by the Czar and wins the princess.
The colorful illustrations have a wonderful Russian folk-art
look. |
|
 The
Lion & the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney
Caldecott Medal
2002
Ages 3–6
This adaptation of Aesop’s
fable is nearly wordless, but Pinkney’s gorgeous illustrations
tell the tale in stunning detail. |
|
 The
Goat-Faced Girl
by Leah Marinsky Sharpe, Jane
Marinsky
Ages 6–up
A lizard who is really a witch
trips over an abandoned baby and adopts her. Raised
by her lizard-mother, Isabella grows up beautiful but
lazy. When she becomes engaged to Prince Rupert, her
mother gives her the head of a goat in order to spur
her into action. Rupert is repulsed by her goat head,
and gives her three impossible tasks to complete before
he will marry her. Beautifully detailed paintings illustrate
the retelling of this classic Italian folktale. |
|
 Mirror
Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse
by Marilyn Singer, Josee Massee
Ages 7–up
This clever book of poems that
can be read forward and backwards, shows that there
can be more than one point of view in a fairy tale. “Mirror
Mirror” is narrated by Snow White in one direction,
and by the wicked queen in the other. “In the
Hood” features the wolf anticipating his next
meal one way, and Little Red Riding Hood reminding
herself not to dawdle on the way to Grandma’s. The
rich illustrations reflect the dual images of the poems.
Singer explains how to create a “reverso” poem
in an afterward that encourages readers to try their
own. |
|
 Golem
by David Wisniewski
Caldecott Medal 1997
Ages 6–10
Elaborate cut-paper collage illustrations
provide dramatic visuals for this retelling of the Jewish legend
of Rabbi Loew who used his powers to create a gigantic Golem
from clay to protect his people from persecution in the ghettos
of 16th-century Prague. |
|
 Lon
Po Po:
A
Red-Riding Hood Story from China
by Ed Young
Caldecott Medal 1990
Ages 4–8
Three daughters left at home while their
mother goes to visit Grandmother are almost fooled by Lon Po
Po, the wolf pretending to be their Grandmother. Incredible illustrations
that are both realistic and abstract add to the power of this
retelling of the classic tale. |
|
 Rapunzel
by Paul O. Zelinsky
Caldecott Medal 1998
Ages 4–10
The beautiful Italian Renaissance-styled
illustrations with warm golden tones bring the classic Brothers
Grimm fairy tale to life. |
|
 Duffy
and the Devil
illustrated by Margot Zemach, text
by Harve Zemach
Caldecott Medal 1974
Ages 4–8
This comic version of the Rumpelstiltskin
story is based on a 19th century play from Cornwall, England.
The pen and wash illustrations are rich in detail and humorous
interpretation of the characters. |
|
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