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A Children's Guide to Folklore and Wonder Tales
In The Children's Guide to Folklore and Wonder Tales, Dr. Hannah Blevins Harvey unpacks more than 60 of our most beloved stories, fables, fairy tales, and songs from around the world - providing you with a fascinating, in-depth view into the history, context, and deeper meaning of the tales we know and love. As you travel through the catalogs of Grimm, Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, Oscar Wilde, and so many more, you'll gain profound insights into how and why these stories came to be. Supplementing the stories and insights provided by Dr. Harvey, child psychiatrist Dr. Zheala Qayyum, from Yale University's Medical School and Department of Psychiatry, weighs in on the importance of stories, folktales, and imagination-building exercise in the healthy development of children, no matter where they live.
Throughout this unique course, Dr. Harvey presents not only the exploration of themes, questions, and evolutions but, as a nationally-known professional storyteller and an internationally-commended performer, she also treats you to dynamic, theatrical, and engaging tellings of cherished tales from around the world, both beloved classics and lesser-known treasures.
Join us to discover a collection of stories that will lift your heart, haunt your dreams, and challenge your expectations.
Throughout this unique course, Dr. Harvey presents not only the exploration of themes, questions, and evolutions but, as a nationally-known professional storyteller and an internationally-commended performer, she also treats you to dynamic, theatrical, and engaging tellings of cherished tales from around the world, both beloved classics and lesser-known treasures.
Join us to discover a collection of stories that will lift your heart, haunt your dreams, and challenge your expectations.
Audiobook
Published July 21, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 23, 2018
A delight to listen to for the whole family. Her storytelling is wonderful and my children loved hearing her voice changes and silly sounds. I liked hearing about the history of the story and the place it holds in understanding ourselves and our culture.
September 11, 2018
The first Great Course that was truly awful and DNF worthy.
June 22, 2020
*3.5ish stars*
November 27, 2020
I like a lot of this, but the voices in the storytelling became painful in places.
The repetitive "ha ha" had my teeth grating faster than I would have liked.
I really wanted to love this.
The repetitive "ha ha" had my teeth grating faster than I would have liked.
I really wanted to love this.
December 1, 2022
As a course of video lectures about motifs and story themes, interspersed with storytelling of classic tales, this was informative and entertaining. It's not clear what age group(s) it was intended for, however, so I really am unsure as to when I would utilize it with my kid(s).
The storytelling was definitely geared toward younger children, with oral sound effects and lots of actions to do along with the teacher. As an adult, I enjoyed the stories but found some of the effects a little obnoxious (though I'm not sure kids would feel that way at all). It seemed too juvenile for older kids and teens, though the lecture parts I felt were more appropriate for those older ages (probably a bit over the heads of the youngers who would enjoy the stories). There were occasional interviews which seemed geared toward the parents, so I wondered if kids would totally lose interest at that point.
Perhaps intended to provide pleasing components for the whole family, it still baffles me how to actually use these in a family setting. Maybe preteens would be the ideal audience, with younger siblings drifting in and out of hearing as the stories draw their interest. *Note: some of the stories do have some grisly components, though the teacher doesn't dwell on them and softens many of them.
The Literary Life podcast got me interested in learning more about story motifs and in reading the old tales I had missed, so when this course turned up as a hoopla bonus borrow this November, it was a no-brainer to check it out. Twenty-four half-hour episodes later, I've neglected my actual book reading but am still interested in the subject and will continue reading classic wonder tales and folklore for a long time to come, I'm sure.
One of the most fascinating things I learned was that the Paul Bunyan stories began as a sales pitch for the logging industry, not as true folktales. 😯
Out of the tales told that were new to me, Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince" was hands down my favorite. I've had a beautiful hardback that includes this story sitting on my bookshelf for half a year, begging to be read, and I just haven't gotten to it. So when Hannah Harvey began telling it, I realized what I had been missing. Poignantly beautiful and devastating, it had me bawling by the end. 😭 Now I really need to pick up that book of Wilde's fairy tales and read the rest!
The storytelling was definitely geared toward younger children, with oral sound effects and lots of actions to do along with the teacher. As an adult, I enjoyed the stories but found some of the effects a little obnoxious (though I'm not sure kids would feel that way at all). It seemed too juvenile for older kids and teens, though the lecture parts I felt were more appropriate for those older ages (probably a bit over the heads of the youngers who would enjoy the stories). There were occasional interviews which seemed geared toward the parents, so I wondered if kids would totally lose interest at that point.
Perhaps intended to provide pleasing components for the whole family, it still baffles me how to actually use these in a family setting. Maybe preteens would be the ideal audience, with younger siblings drifting in and out of hearing as the stories draw their interest. *Note: some of the stories do have some grisly components, though the teacher doesn't dwell on them and softens many of them.
The Literary Life podcast got me interested in learning more about story motifs and in reading the old tales I had missed, so when this course turned up as a hoopla bonus borrow this November, it was a no-brainer to check it out. Twenty-four half-hour episodes later, I've neglected my actual book reading but am still interested in the subject and will continue reading classic wonder tales and folklore for a long time to come, I'm sure.
One of the most fascinating things I learned was that the Paul Bunyan stories began as a sales pitch for the logging industry, not as true folktales. 😯
Out of the tales told that were new to me, Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince" was hands down my favorite. I've had a beautiful hardback that includes this story sitting on my bookshelf for half a year, begging to be read, and I just haven't gotten to it. So when Hannah Harvey began telling it, I realized what I had been missing. Poignantly beautiful and devastating, it had me bawling by the end. 😭 Now I really need to pick up that book of Wilde's fairy tales and read the rest!
March 18, 2022
What a fantastic book! I highly recommend the audiobook because Hannah B. Harvey is a great storyteller (it should be noted that I listen to my books fast, this one on 2× the speed). I really enjoyed learning about different folklore and wonder tales and the added meaning behind them.
I LOVED the French version of Sleeping Beauty, no non-consent happening there!
I also found this tidbit about why beauty (and the author notes that beauty ideals are different across the globe) is often a common trait needed for the princesses very fascinating. This discussion point came up when Hannah was discussing Snow White's step-mother so the following is talking specifically about her at first but then shifts to the importance of all princesses needing to have beauty. The king weilds his sword on the battlefield, that's his weapon. The queen uses her beauty, it's a tool, a weapon. When she loses ber status as most beautiful it's as if she's disarmed, she's lost her sword, her weapon, her tool for maintaining power and agency. Except when a king loses his sword and laments it, we call that tragedy. When a woman loses her beauty and laments it, we call that vanity.
I LOVED the French version of Sleeping Beauty, no non-consent happening there!
I also found this tidbit about why beauty (and the author notes that beauty ideals are different across the globe) is often a common trait needed for the princesses very fascinating. This discussion point came up when Hannah was discussing Snow White's step-mother so the following is talking specifically about her at first but then shifts to the importance of all princesses needing to have beauty. The king weilds his sword on the battlefield, that's his weapon. The queen uses her beauty, it's a tool, a weapon. When she loses ber status as most beautiful it's as if she's disarmed, she's lost her sword, her weapon, her tool for maintaining power and agency. Except when a king loses his sword and laments it, we call that tragedy. When a woman loses her beauty and laments it, we call that vanity.
November 19, 2025
Score: 2/5 (parts worth listening once)
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Themes: mythology, folk tales
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My library loan ended at at about 70% completion. I can't see checking this out again. The folk tales themselves are interesting enough. Some are variants I haven't heard before. So why the low score?
Because I don't think any sound engineering was done on this recording. That matters, because the storyteller uses a lot of sound effects, and they are all *at least* as loud as the spoken parts, and when speaking quietly you have an option between being unable to hear the story or blowing out your speakers every few seconds.
Every sleeper snores, every villain cackles, every meal is eaten noisily, every drink is slurped, and everyone sniffs/scoffs loudly (and often). Loud and unpleasant noises might be good for storytelling, but it is awful to listen to, at least in this format.
************
Themes: mythology, folk tales
************
My library loan ended at at about 70% completion. I can't see checking this out again. The folk tales themselves are interesting enough. Some are variants I haven't heard before. So why the low score?
Because I don't think any sound engineering was done on this recording. That matters, because the storyteller uses a lot of sound effects, and they are all *at least* as loud as the spoken parts, and when speaking quietly you have an option between being unable to hear the story or blowing out your speakers every few seconds.
Every sleeper snores, every villain cackles, every meal is eaten noisily, every drink is slurped, and everyone sniffs/scoffs loudly (and often). Loud and unpleasant noises might be good for storytelling, but it is awful to listen to, at least in this format.
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July 27, 2024DNF at 2 lectures, not their fault.
As a Great Courses series, I expected a lot more analyzing, but most of the lesson is Harvey performing a fairy tale to children with a brief lesson after. This is very good if you want to learn how to make stories interesting for children or if you want to pop it on for a little one to listen to, but just not what I was looking for.
As a Great Courses series, I expected a lot more analyzing, but most of the lesson is Harvey performing a fairy tale to children with a brief lesson after. This is very good if you want to learn how to make stories interesting for children or if you want to pop it on for a little one to listen to, but just not what I was looking for.
October 14, 2022
A fun and insightful audiobook about how folklore effects us and stories commonly mistaken for folklore. Unfortunately, I found that a lot of the sound effects and noises that the storyteller made to be more bothersome than fun.
November 20, 2023
This was a great listen! Really informative and so many tales were covered. I did a unit covering folklore and fairy tales and it was one of the best units I studied at university. This audiobook was a great gateway into learning about fairy tales and folklore.
June 18, 2021
Very entertaining! It was interesting to hear what the themes and lessons were to the Fairy Tales.
March 17, 2022
Very well done lectures featuring fairy tales.
October 21, 2022
Deeply interesting take on Fairy Tails and how they are engrained in our story.
July 1, 2023
4.5
Great rendition of the stories as well as insight into the key elements.
Great rendition of the stories as well as insight into the key elements.
May 30, 2024
This book is excellent as it includes many stories as well as lectures about storytelling and traditional tales from all over the world. It is a learning experience.
July 18, 2025
This was barely tolerable
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews