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Favorite Folktales from Around the World
Here between two covers you will find an inexhaustible source of delight for children and adults alike: the world's best folktales, chosen by the internationally known storyteller Jane Yolen. Over 150 tales are compiled from Iceland to Syria, Cuba to Papua.
This title is part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library, which has been called a "splendid folklore series" by The Washington Post.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
514 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1986
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3364 people want to read
About the author
Jane Yolen
971 books3,230 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 30, 2025
Folktales are old. Folktales arise from an oral tradition. Folktales are good because they are old and because they arise from an oral tradition. No one retells a story that is not good. Stories get better as they are told more and more.
This is a wonderful collection of folktales from around the world. The stories are about love and old age and trickery and work and families---all the important things---and they are testaments to both the unfailing wickedness and the unfailing redemption available in the world.
This is a wonderful collection of folktales from around the world. The stories are about love and old age and trickery and work and families---all the important things---and they are testaments to both the unfailing wickedness and the unfailing redemption available in the world.
August 28, 2017
I like how this was organized by type of story instead of where the stories are from.
June 27, 2020
Published in 1986.
Sorted by type of story in index with "title (where)", which is fun and easy to look and skip around. Would rather have the individual tribes and ethnic group listed first rather than just "Native Indian" and "African" than have those in parentheses on the story page. Also got confused from "Siberia Yakut", "Siberia", and "Russia." Yay for google.
Sorted by type of story in index with "title (where)", which is fun and easy to look and skip around. Would rather have the individual tribes and ethnic group listed first rather than just "Native Indian" and "African" than have those in parentheses on the story page. Also got confused from "Siberia Yakut", "Siberia", and "Russia." Yay for google.
March 5, 2020
I read a few stories before bed every night (some are only a page, some are a bit longer), and I enjoyed many of them. They encompassed a relatively wide range of countries (from Europe to the Middle East to East Asia, a few from the African continent, a few from the Caribbean), though it seems an oversight that there was only one (ONE!) from the entire continent of South America. You can't tell me they don't have folktales in South America!
Thanks in part to spending a lot of 2019 reading authors of color and books from non-US perspectives, I also discovered I have a new pet peeve: the stories from Africa are simply labeled as "Africa," and occasionally had the tribe from which it originated in parenthesis. But like, Africa is made up of 50-some-odd countries (I don't want to be specific because this was originally compiled/edited in the '80s and I don't know how many countries there were at the time). We were able to get specific stories from like, Haiti and Vietnam and Scotland and other smallish countries, so I don't believe you when you say something is simply "African." Africa is HUGE. WHERE in Africa? What country did it originate in? Because although I know some of the indigenous tribes in the United States, I don't know the tribes in Africa, and I have no frame of reference because you DIDN'T INCLUDE THE AFRICAN COUNTRY SO I COULD EVEN HAVE A SENSE OF THE GEOGRAPHY!
Anyway. Because of the way the stories were grouped by theme, I did find it interesting that people in many countries are told similar versions of some of these folktales despite being quite far apart geographically. Change a few of the details, but there are stories from all over about the devil being tricked by farmers; by men following their magical lovers only to discover that in only three days, 300 years have passed; about kings using their daughter's hand in marriage to get men to do dangerous things.
I'm glad this book exists, overall, and I bet this would be fun for parents to read to older kids.
Thanks in part to spending a lot of 2019 reading authors of color and books from non-US perspectives, I also discovered I have a new pet peeve: the stories from Africa are simply labeled as "Africa," and occasionally had the tribe from which it originated in parenthesis. But like, Africa is made up of 50-some-odd countries (I don't want to be specific because this was originally compiled/edited in the '80s and I don't know how many countries there were at the time). We were able to get specific stories from like, Haiti and Vietnam and Scotland and other smallish countries, so I don't believe you when you say something is simply "African." Africa is HUGE. WHERE in Africa? What country did it originate in? Because although I know some of the indigenous tribes in the United States, I don't know the tribes in Africa, and I have no frame of reference because you DIDN'T INCLUDE THE AFRICAN COUNTRY SO I COULD EVEN HAVE A SENSE OF THE GEOGRAPHY!
Anyway. Because of the way the stories were grouped by theme, I did find it interesting that people in many countries are told similar versions of some of these folktales despite being quite far apart geographically. Change a few of the details, but there are stories from all over about the devil being tricked by farmers; by men following their magical lovers only to discover that in only three days, 300 years have passed; about kings using their daughter's hand in marriage to get men to do dangerous things.
I'm glad this book exists, overall, and I bet this would be fun for parents to read to older kids.
March 25, 2014
This is a great collection, with stories from all over the world. Although it's heavy on tales of European origin, there are also Asian, African, Pacific Island and native American stories here and there.
The organization, sorting stories by theme, makes it easy to see similarities of devices and tropes; it's interesting to see two nearly identical stories from widely disparate cultures.
Jane Yolen provides framing information with a general introduction, plus an intro to each thematic section. There were times when I wanted more info, but this is primarily a story collection rather than a scholarly analysis.
Interesting, diverse, enjoyable -- highly recommended.
The organization, sorting stories by theme, makes it easy to see similarities of devices and tropes; it's interesting to see two nearly identical stories from widely disparate cultures.
Jane Yolen provides framing information with a general introduction, plus an intro to each thematic section. There were times when I wanted more info, but this is primarily a story collection rather than a scholarly analysis.
Interesting, diverse, enjoyable -- highly recommended.
February 1, 2015
Gosh, I've never encountered a book with more spelling and punctuation errors. Awful editing.
Besides, quite entertaining with a super interesting introduction. While I get that the main focus lies on stories told via oral hand-down, most of the stories are written down that way which makes reading a bit tedious at times.
Besides, quite entertaining with a super interesting introduction. While I get that the main focus lies on stories told via oral hand-down, most of the stories are written down that way which makes reading a bit tedious at times.
April 2, 2023
A great addition to the Pantheon library.
In any collection this big, some stories will be better than others, and that's very true here. However, this collection is fun to read and contains folktales from all around the world, including places that aren't as well represented in other collections.
If you like folktales and fairy tales, this should be in your library.
In any collection this big, some stories will be better than others, and that's very true here. However, this collection is fun to read and contains folktales from all around the world, including places that aren't as well represented in other collections.
If you like folktales and fairy tales, this should be in your library.
April 6, 2025
Read this book for school - only selected stories were read. Pretty good and so fascinating to see the different short stories throughout the world.
March 4, 2014
Yolen, Jane. Favorite Folktales from Around the World (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library) (1986).
Hero
The Iroquois story of "The Flying Head" tells the folktale of a giant head with wings that came out of its cheeks and a mouth full of fangs. This giant head would fly at night looking for its next meal. Until one night an unlikely hero outsmarts the Flying Head. Yolen's use of adjectives makes this story lively. Moreover, the description of the Flying Head makes it easy for the reader to create a mental picture. This folktale is perfect for ages 9 and up.
Trickster
The tale "The Men Who Wouldn't Stay Dead" tells about a wealthy hunchback that sets his mind on marrying a beautiful young woman. When he reaches his goal and marries a poor girl his life was consumed by 24/7 jealousy. No one was allowed in his castle, but one day three hunchback men approached his gate in search for a drink. "What the devil!" is heard as a body has disappeared into a river. This trickster tale which results in death teaches us that nothing good can come from jealousy.
(Ages 9+)
Taboo: Connected with Supernatural Beings
"The Bad Wife" is a Russian tale that tells about a faithful husband and a disobedient wife. Her disobedience leads to her fate and her husband's pact with an imp. The man becomes wealthy because of the deal he has made with the imp. However, all good things must come to an end, or do they? This Russian tale teaches the reader to be careful who you trust.
(Ages 9+)
Hero
The Iroquois story of "The Flying Head" tells the folktale of a giant head with wings that came out of its cheeks and a mouth full of fangs. This giant head would fly at night looking for its next meal. Until one night an unlikely hero outsmarts the Flying Head. Yolen's use of adjectives makes this story lively. Moreover, the description of the Flying Head makes it easy for the reader to create a mental picture. This folktale is perfect for ages 9 and up.
Trickster
The tale "The Men Who Wouldn't Stay Dead" tells about a wealthy hunchback that sets his mind on marrying a beautiful young woman. When he reaches his goal and marries a poor girl his life was consumed by 24/7 jealousy. No one was allowed in his castle, but one day three hunchback men approached his gate in search for a drink. "What the devil!" is heard as a body has disappeared into a river. This trickster tale which results in death teaches us that nothing good can come from jealousy.
(Ages 9+)
Taboo: Connected with Supernatural Beings
"The Bad Wife" is a Russian tale that tells about a faithful husband and a disobedient wife. Her disobedience leads to her fate and her husband's pact with an imp. The man becomes wealthy because of the deal he has made with the imp. However, all good things must come to an end, or do they? This Russian tale teaches the reader to be careful who you trust.
(Ages 9+)
September 2, 2015
Very fun! I used this book in speech and love it!
February 4, 2019
So far as the book itself goes, I would rate this as five stars, the collection is expansive and includes an incredible variety of folktales and stories. However the story that I chose from this was a bit strange. The story that I read from this collection was "The Birth of Finn MacCumhail" which I would classify as a trickster tale. The reason for this classification is because this story is about a prince who is an heir to the throne and whose grandfather, and the current king, wishes him dead. Through luck, wit, help from his grandmother and a whelp named bran, and a bit of magic (Finn chews on his thumb in order to gain wisdom of the world), Finn escapes multiple perils on his journey to become king. Finn uses multiple resources and his own cleverness to get out of otherwise impossible situations.
Although this story fits well for an example of a folktale, and in particular an example of a trickster tale, I would not elect to use this in a classroom setting or for a lesson plan for elementary school children. This tale includes more violence than what I would wish to include in my classroom. However, at a higher level (potentially to be used for upper middle school or high school) the reflection on this violence is interesting. In classic folktale style, the people who move against the protagonist, Finn, meet violent consequences either by his hand or otherwise. In addition to this, though, this tale also portrays the idea of "sacrifice" in the sense that the main character cannot gain something to move forward in his progress without sacrificing something as well. We see this in displays such as his grandmother sacrificing her life for him, or him having to chew his thumb and sacrifice pain in order to gain wisdom.
All in all this is a classic example of a trickster folktale and portrays all of the major aspects that folktales generally have. Finn is portrayed as a flat, one dimensional character and the story is written in almost a rushed manner, so it is understood that its not meant to be taken factually. It has a clear "good guy" who faces and overcomes different difficulties and antagonists in the story, and it is short and to the point so it is easily spread by word of mouth. This story would not be one I would use in a classroom setting, but was an interesting read nonetheless, and I look forward to reading other folktales in this collection.
Although this story fits well for an example of a folktale, and in particular an example of a trickster tale, I would not elect to use this in a classroom setting or for a lesson plan for elementary school children. This tale includes more violence than what I would wish to include in my classroom. However, at a higher level (potentially to be used for upper middle school or high school) the reflection on this violence is interesting. In classic folktale style, the people who move against the protagonist, Finn, meet violent consequences either by his hand or otherwise. In addition to this, though, this tale also portrays the idea of "sacrifice" in the sense that the main character cannot gain something to move forward in his progress without sacrificing something as well. We see this in displays such as his grandmother sacrificing her life for him, or him having to chew his thumb and sacrifice pain in order to gain wisdom.
All in all this is a classic example of a trickster folktale and portrays all of the major aspects that folktales generally have. Finn is portrayed as a flat, one dimensional character and the story is written in almost a rushed manner, so it is understood that its not meant to be taken factually. It has a clear "good guy" who faces and overcomes different difficulties and antagonists in the story, and it is short and to the point so it is easily spread by word of mouth. This story would not be one I would use in a classroom setting, but was an interesting read nonetheless, and I look forward to reading other folktales in this collection.
May 9, 2024
The National Book Award-winning book "Favorite Folktales from Around the World" by Jane Yolen is a fantastic collection of folktales appropriate for readers of all ages, from adults to middle schoolers. Readers will discover the rich texts of human storytelling traditions as they travel across countries and continents through the fascinating trip found inside the pages of this collection. Yolen skillfully selects a wide range of folktales that represent the common themes and values shared by people all across the world, ranging from traditional myths and legends to timeless fairy tales and fables. Yolen's anthology honors the ability of narrative to engage, uplift, and instruct readers of all ages. Every story provides a window into the values, traditions, and knowledge of many cultures, providing insightful perspectives on the universal human experience that crosses time and space. The book's capacity to promote empathy, compassion, and respect for different cultures is what draws readers in. Readers have a deeper understanding of the diversity and depth of human heritage through exposure to a wide range of folktales from many nations. They also find the common threads that bind us all together. "Favorite Folktales from Around the World" is an invaluable collection of human creativity and knowledge that is valued for its outstanding writing, cultural significance, and capacity to bring readers from all backgrounds together through the form of storytelling.
November 28, 2017
The monkey and the Crocodile:
A crocodile is told that his mother wants a monkey heart to eat so he leaves to kill one for her. He finds a monkey and tries to drown him, but then once the monkey knows that he is just after his heart he has an idea. He tells the croc that his heart is back up in the trees and that killing him would mean nothing if he didn’t have the heart. So the croc lets him loose to get his heart and as the monkey runs away to the top of a tree he says that if the croc wants his heart he’s going to have to go up to get it in the trees to get it.
This story taught a really good lesson about being so blinded by something that you want that you forget all other forms of logic. Being able to talk your way out of situations by fooling someone into thinking you’re helping them when really you are just helping yourself. This story does a great job at telling a quick little tale to explain the dangers of keeping your mind in tunnel vision and not focusing on only what you want but how you get it. Also about tricking your way out of things by playing into the instincts of someone like that.
A crocodile is told that his mother wants a monkey heart to eat so he leaves to kill one for her. He finds a monkey and tries to drown him, but then once the monkey knows that he is just after his heart he has an idea. He tells the croc that his heart is back up in the trees and that killing him would mean nothing if he didn’t have the heart. So the croc lets him loose to get his heart and as the monkey runs away to the top of a tree he says that if the croc wants his heart he’s going to have to go up to get it in the trees to get it.
This story taught a really good lesson about being so blinded by something that you want that you forget all other forms of logic. Being able to talk your way out of situations by fooling someone into thinking you’re helping them when really you are just helping yourself. This story does a great job at telling a quick little tale to explain the dangers of keeping your mind in tunnel vision and not focusing on only what you want but how you get it. Also about tricking your way out of things by playing into the instincts of someone like that.
April 6, 2025
Finally finished it! 8.5 months later. This was another book I read at night going to bed. I put it down for like 6 months cause I was getting tired of reading at bed. I think this book contributed to it.
I don’t remember most of the tales from the first half since that was 7 months ago. But from the second half I can’t pick a favorite there were a few. Least favorite was The Snake’s Lover from Peru. That one was traumatizing. I am unsure where she even found this story from because the cite is from another folktale compilation book from the same publisher. I can’t find it on the internet. My favorite chapter was the Death chapter involving tales around Death (the figure), dying, and the afterlife.
She had them categorized by type of story and it was so interesting to see stories from two separate countries, often not even close to each other, that were sometimes virtually identical.
I appreciated the research that went into this. And the attempt to stay faithful to each country’s story style and manner of speaking.
Not as racist as I thought it would be but just as sexist as I thought. But that’s par for the course in folktales and mythology.
I don’t remember most of the tales from the first half since that was 7 months ago. But from the second half I can’t pick a favorite there were a few. Least favorite was The Snake’s Lover from Peru. That one was traumatizing. I am unsure where she even found this story from because the cite is from another folktale compilation book from the same publisher. I can’t find it on the internet. My favorite chapter was the Death chapter involving tales around Death (the figure), dying, and the afterlife.
She had them categorized by type of story and it was so interesting to see stories from two separate countries, often not even close to each other, that were sometimes virtually identical.
I appreciated the research that went into this. And the attempt to stay faithful to each country’s story style and manner of speaking.
Not as racist as I thought it would be but just as sexist as I thought. But that’s par for the course in folktales and mythology.
September 29, 2021
3 ⭐
I think due to the modernised cover I expected the tales to be slightly updated but they're the original stories written in 1986. This wouldn't be an issue for me usually but the writing hasn't aged well - the stories are dense and sluggish to read. There are FAR better folktale collections out there so I wouldn't recommend this.
Note: In the spirit of full transparency I didn't read every single story in this collection. I jumped to stories that sounded interesting and landed up reading around 60%.
I think due to the modernised cover I expected the tales to be slightly updated but they're the original stories written in 1986. This wouldn't be an issue for me usually but the writing hasn't aged well - the stories are dense and sluggish to read. There are FAR better folktale collections out there so I wouldn't recommend this.
Note: In the spirit of full transparency I didn't read every single story in this collection. I jumped to stories that sounded interesting and landed up reading around 60%.
November 16, 2019
A fun collection of Folktales. It is always interesting to see similarities (common ideas, common messages, common characters) in folk tales that come from all over the world. The myths are broken down into 13 types of tales so you can read straight through (like I did) or skip to your favorite type.
July 30, 2020
What an amazing book about stories! It's broken into categories (the young, the old, tricksters, love, etc) and it gives an awesome range of stories from all over the world. I appreciate that it includes stories that don't fit within the Western culture as well, sometimes they just don't seem to make sense, but it's so fascinating to get an idea of what else stories could look like.
July 17, 2024
This is an anthology from the Pantheon collection of Folktale books, and it is a very good selection of tales from different countries and cultures. They are arranged thematically, which makes comparing similar tales from different traditions easy. I enjoyed the large variety of stories, and the bibliography gives me leads for further study.
March 1, 2025
A wonderful almanac of all sorts of cultural stories and folktales from around the world! If you have ever wanted an educated data base of unique tales, perhaps to connect you to a culture, or understand a culture better this book is wonderful! Not only is it from a scholarly source, it is wonderfully put together!
October 10, 2025
Quite the range of stories from different parts of the world. I'm not sure that the categorization of the stories worked, and occasionally, there were "repeats" in the sense that the one story following the next was very similar. One very obvious thing was that the number three is very important regardless of where the story came from. Well worth the time if you are interested in folktales.
June 3, 2023
3 1/2 stars
I question the accuracy of this book, from its numerous typos, to its differences from the widely-repeated version of Urashimataro, to its usage of Roman names of gods in the supposedly Greek tale. Its choice of using “colloquial narration” is also odd and distracting.
I question the accuracy of this book, from its numerous typos, to its differences from the widely-repeated version of Urashimataro, to its usage of Roman names of gods in the supposedly Greek tale. Its choice of using “colloquial narration” is also odd and distracting.
December 8, 2023
I understand it was published in the 80s, but this needs to be updated. The majority of the collection holds stories from Europe… not one story from South America… Africa is listed as a homogenous cultural whole. Really disappointing.
August 26, 2025
I enjoyed a lot of these folktales. My favorites were usually the ones from Native American nations or China. Probably two thirds were from Europe. I wish there were more from other parts of the world.
July 29, 2017
Excellent collection of folktales.
December 7, 2017
Solo cero que le falto un poco de variedad, me hubiera gustado que se enfocara mas en el folklore de todos esos países. ya que algunas historias eran un tanto repetitivas sobre todo las de Europa.
October 15, 2018
There are quite a few typos and grammar errors, but the book does provide a large collection of folktales, and the writing style isn't horrible. It's an alright book.
July 9, 2018
Loads of stories from all over the world. Super fun!
July 10, 2018
The last story always gets me for some reason, I just love it.
February 9, 2022
A large collection of short stories from around the world.
Read for our 1st-grade Blossom&Root Language Arts curriculum.
Read for our 1st-grade Blossom&Root Language Arts curriculum.
March 26, 2022
Väga esinduslik valik maailma rahvaste muinasjutte.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews