3 h 12 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 12 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A story can travel from one voice to another, across generations and lands, and still invite you closer.
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore, edited by Laure Claire Foucher, gathers traditional tales from Japan, Ireland, Russia, Germany and beyond. These separate stories come from anonymous oral traditions. Families, travelers and village storytellers pass them along by memory, with each teller changing them a little.
The settings change from land to land, but familiar patterns draw the tales together: a humble person faces a test; kindness, greed, courage and wit shape a story. Short, clear tales with simple turns invite you to read aloud, remember what happens and make the next telling your own.
What you’ll discover
- Tales across borders Explore stories from Japan, Ireland, Russia and Germany, each shaped by its own culture.
- Stories for the voice Find clear, memorable tales that lend themselves to reading aloud and telling again.
- A humble person tested Follow a shared folk tale pattern as an ordinary person faces a test.
- Lessons without lectures Explore kindness, greed, courage and wit through stories that rarely state their lessons outright.
- A tale to share Choose a story for bedtime, a classroom, a table or a campfire gathering.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy reading aloud, telling stories at bedtime or in a classroom, or meeting wolves, giants and clever princesses in quick tales.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Wishing for more can leave you with less
- A prince's kindness meets a servant's greed
- Jack trades his cows for dancing animals
- Animal tales warn how fear and gossip spread
- Tall tales and a jump that wins a princess
- Kindness to others pays off on the road
- Clever women and impossible tasks for princes
- Common threads and how these tales are told
Who’s who
- The stone-cutterA careful worker on a mountainside who grows discontent after seeing a rich man's house, and keeps wishing to be something greater.
- Prince KindheartedA king's only son who travels to see the world and trusts the servant who goes with him.
- JackA cheerful, ragged boy who trades his mother's cows for dancing animals and tries to win a king's daughter.
- The Bodhisatta lionA young lion who stops a stampede of frightened animals by asking who really saw the earth break.
- Princess MaryDaughter of the immortal King Koshchey, who helps Prince Ivan through her father's impossible tasks.
- Prince IvanThe son of King Longbeard, who must pay a debt his father made at a well and visit Koshchey's underground kingdom.
- Yellow LilyThe wisest daughter of the Giant of Loch Lein, who helps a rash prince survive her father's tasks.
- The Prince of ErinA boy who loves games and bets, and wagers his head against a giant.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore
by Laure Claire Foucher (editor)
A stone-cutter wishes his way up to sun and cloud, and a girl called Yellow Lily outwits a giant.
Easy read2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
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In short
Would you wish for more if a voice answered every wish? In the first tale of this book, a stone-cutter gets exactly that.
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 50 min1 h 25 min fast, 2 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 25,700 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Wishing for more can leave you with less
The editor's preface is simple. Children need stories before they need facts, and tell me a story comes before the ability to read.
The first tale carries a large idea in a small space. A stone-cutter cuts slabs from a great rock on a mountainside. He is careful, he has plenty of customers, and he asks for nothing more. Then he delivers a gravestone to a rich man's house. The fine things there make his own work feel heavy. He sighs a wish, and a voice answers that it is heard. His hut becomes a palace.
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You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 5 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore.
Stories to read or tell from fairy tales and folklore. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore.
@book{anonymous2026stories,
title = {Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore}
}
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What is Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore about?
It is a collection of short tales from Japan, Ireland, Russia, Germany and beyond. They include fairy tales, animal fables and tall tales, chosen so they can be read aloud or told by heart.
Who is the book written for?
It is for children who enjoy listening to stories, and for parents, teachers and storytellers who want tales not quite so well known as those in many other collections.
Which stories are in the collection?
They include The Stone-Cutter, Prince Kindhearted, Jack and his animals, The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, King Longbeard, The Enchanted Princess, Yellow Lily, The Toy Goose, and several tall tales told by a baron.
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