Best traditional tales books for kids

Illustrated Traditional Stories

(£12.99, Usborne)

We all have our favourite traditional tales, and every culture has its own classics. This collection of 17 beautifully illustrated stories from around the world includes stories you'll be very familiar with (The Boy who Cried Wolf, The Gingerbread Man and The Little Red Hen) as well as ones that aren't so well known (Tam Lin, Baba Yaga and The Fisherman and the Genie). The short format and colour pictures make these tales of giants and genies, witches and fairies an excellent bedtime reading choice.

The Jolly Postman by Allan Ahlberg & Janet Ahlberg

(£12.99, Puffin)

Once upon a bicycle, so they say
The Jolly Postman came one day...

A charming, clever read that's as much fun for grown-ups as it is for kids! The Jolly Postman delivers letters to fairy-tale characters, and you can open envelopes and check in cards to see them for yourself. There's a letter of apology from naughty Goldilocks, a postcard for the giant from Jack, an invitation, a birthday card and a solicitor's letter (to the granny-devouring wolf, from Little Red Riding-Hood!). A classic you'll look through again and again.

Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl

(£7.99, Puffin)

Irreverent, gruesome and very, very funny, Revolting Rhymes is a Roald Dahl classic (Be warned: It's no ordinary Once upon a time). You'll never read a fairy tale the same way after you'll hear about Cindy whose heart was torn to shreds, Goldilocks (a nasty thieving little louse) and Miss Riding Hood, proud owner of a "lovely furry wolfskin coat"... In this edition all Quentin Blake's iconic illustrations are reproduced in full colour.

The Once Upon a Time Map Book by B G Hennessy and Peter Joyce

(£5.99, Candlewick Press)

A vital book for navigating in the land of traditional tales: explore Aladdin's kingdom, the Giant's lair at the top of Jack's beanstalk, Neverland and Oz, Snow White's Enchanted Forest and more. On each fold-out map there's a compass, quadrants with letters and numbers and a key with local routes so you'll be able to find your way through the story.

The Fairytale Hairdresser and Cinderella by Abie Longstaff

(£6.99, Picture Corgi)

There's no better hairdresser than Kittie Lacey in all of Fairyland – no tangle is too troublesome for her, and no frizz too fearsome! The "further adventures" of favourite traditional characters in the Fairytale Hairdresser picture book series will be loved by young readers who appreciate the play on the original stories, as well as the charming, glittery illustrations (to be examined carefully to find all the references and details!). 

Hansel and Gretel: An Interactive Fairy Tale Adventure by Matt Doeden

(£5.46, Capstone Press)

How would you like to see Hansel and Gretel's story end? Here's your chance to decide with an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure-style version of the classic tale! If you enjoy being the storyteller there's a whole series of Interactive Fairy Tales, so you can choose how Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Jack (of Beanstalk fame), among other well-known chracters, live their story.

#Goldilocks: A Hashtag Cautionary Tale by Jeanne Willis

(Free, Vodafone)

"There was a girl with golden hair who used her mobile phone to share her photos and her videos; no harm in that, you might suppose."

So begins the story of 21st-century Goldilocks – laugh-out-loud funny, beautifully illustrated and incredibly relevant to today's children. Produced by Vodafone Digital Parenting, #Goldilocks: A Hashtag Cautionary Tale is available to download for free. A brilliant way to communicate an important e-safety message with age-appropriate humour, this will resonate with parents and children alike. 

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

(£6.99, Usborne Publishing)

The House with Chicken Legs is a magical modern reimagining of the Eastern European folk tale of Baba Yaga. Twelve-year-old Marinka faces a lonely destiny as a guardian of The Gate between the living and the land of the stars. The only people she meets are dead and they disappear when her grandmother Baba Yaga guides them, with warmth and kindness, in a nightly ceremony, acting as a kind of midwife of death. She dreams of a normal life and making friends, but her house has chicken legs and is always on the move...

Future Fairy Tales: Reading Beauty by Deborah Underwood

(£12.99, Abrams & Chronicle)

Fantastic, futuristic fairy tale retellings (Interstellar Cinderella is also available) will charm young readers with brave heroines, star-studded settings and heart-warming happy endings. When a fairy's curse – a death-like sleep via paper cut! – threatens to banish stories from her kingdom, it's up to space princess Lex to break the spell and bring books and reading back to her people.