Folk tales for children
30 hand-picked books from the Bookbear catalogue tagged “folk tale”, with Indian authors first. Each one has an age range, a short description, a heads-up on any sensitive topics and a link to buy in India.
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A Bucket of Blessings
by Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal
Ages 3–6Indian author
A little monkey sets out to bring rain to his thirsty village in this gentle retelling of an Indian folk tale about kindness and gratitude.
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Eecha Poocha
by Kala Sashikumar (retold)
Ages 4–7Indian author
A retelling of a Malayalam folk tale about a greedy cat and a fly. Poocha drinks up all the soup and swells like a balloon. What happens next?
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Gobble You Up
by Retold by Gita Wolf
Ages 5–8Indian author
A Rajasthani trickster tale about a wily jackal who tricks and eats his friend the crane — and then just keeps eating. Illustrated in Gond style.
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Monkeys on a Fast
by Adapted from Buddhist tale
Ages 4–7Indian author
Mischievous monkeys decide to observe a fast — but with hilarious, chaotic results. Adapted from a classic Buddhist tale with lively illustrations.
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The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond)
by Sayantani DasGupta
Ages 10–12Indian author
On her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala learns she is an Indian princess from another dimension and must battle demons and rakkhosh. Rooted in Bengali folk tales and Hindu mythology.
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Grandma's Bag of Stories
by Sudha Murty
Ages 8–12Indian author
A grandmother enchants her grandchildren with ten irresistible tales of kings, wisemen, princesses, and rogues drawn from India's folk tradition. Sudha Murty at her most delightful.
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Tales of Birbal (Amar Chitra Katha)
Ages 5–9Indian author
Birbal's legendary wit against all challengers — in Amar Chitra Katha's iconic comic format, one of India's most beloved children's comics for over 60 years.
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Tuntuni's Tales
by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury
Ages 5–9Indian author
Classic Bengali fables starring the clever tailorbird Tuntuni, first published in 1911 and beloved across generations.
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The Armenian Champa Tree
by Mahasweta Devi
Ages 5–8Indian author
A tribal boy flees with his beloved pet goat to escape a ritual sacrifice, finding sanctuary by an old Armenian church tree, in a tender tale from a celebrated Indian author.
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How Hanu Became Hanuman
by K. G. Subramanyan
Ages 6–10Indian author
A witty, subversive retelling of how the monkey Hanu became the mighty Hanuman, written and illustrated by one of India's foremost modern artists.
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Kalo and the Koel
by Meera Mukherjee
Ages 6–10Indian author
Whimsical, spiritually tinged short stories from a celebrated Bengali sculptor-storyteller, blending the everyday with the symbolic.
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The Talking Handkerchief
by Anjana Vaswani
Ages 6–10Indian author
A collection of lively folktales retold for young readers. Winner of the Sharjah International Children's Book Award (2016).
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Stories I Like to Tell
by Jeeva Raghunath
Ages 6–10Indian author
Well-known storyteller Jeeva Raghunath shares the stories she grew up with and loves to tell, peppered with the storyteller's tongue-in-cheek asides. A lovely read-aloud and storytelling resource for families and teachers. Illustrated by Niveditha Subramaniam.
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The Rabbit in the Moon
by Indrani Krishnaier
Ages 3–7Indian author
When a herd of elephants tramples through the jungle, do the little rabbits run away? No — they come up with a clever plan involving the moon. A retelling of a classic Jataka-style tale, published in bilingual editions. Illustrated by Harsha Nagaraju.
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The Clever Tailor
Ages 4–8Indian author
Rupa Ram, a famous but poor tailor, dreams of stitching something for his own family — and when he is gifted a new saafa, he uses his imagination again and again. A warm Rajasthani tale.
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The Cobra's Song
Ages 8–12Indian author
Ten-year-old Gauri, afraid of almost everything, must face her fears and find her voice in an adventure steeped in Indian folklore.
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Earth Tales: Folklore about India's Nature, Wildlife and Environment
by The Centre for Contemporary Folklore
Ages 8–14Indian author
A big illustrated collection of folk tales from every Indian state and union territory, many from tribal communities, where mountains, forests and animals are characters too. Each tale comes with its regional story and folk-art illustrations.
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Crow vs Vada
by Aruna Shekar
Ages 3–6Indian author
The tea stall opens, hot masala vadas pile up, and Crow just wants one. But the tea-seller is watching, and there are other competitors too. Who wins? A cheeky new spin on a classic tale.
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I Am Archa: The Legend of Unniarcha, India's Warrior Girl
Ages 10–14Indian author
Unniarcha is the fiery daughter of a Kalaripayattu master, in a world where only boys can be warriors. When a bitter cousin challenges her sick father to a duel, she must step up. A verse-novel retelling of Kerala's warrior-girl legend.
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Juan Bobo Busca Trabajo
Ages 4–7
The hilarious adventures of Juan Bobo, the beloved Puerto Rican folk hero who goes out looking for work with wonderfully chaotic results.
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Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
by Ed Young
Ages 5–8
Three sisters left alone outwit the wolf who pretends to be their grandmother. A Caldecott Medal-winning retelling of a Chinese folk tale, atmospheric and beautiful.
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The Korean Cinderella
by Shirley Climo
Ages 5–8
Pear Blossom is mistreated by her stepmother until magical creatures help her win the favour of the magistrate. A beautifully illustrated Korean folk tale retelling.
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The Crane Wife
by Odds Bodkin (retelling)
Ages 6–9
A wounded crane repays a fisherman's kindness by weaving magnificent cloth — but only if he never watches. A haunting Japanese folk tale about love, trust, and sacrifice.
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La lechera / The Milkmaid
Ages 4–7
The Aesop fable reimagined in a Latin American setting — a milkmaid dreams of riches on her way to market and loses everything by counting her chickens too soon.
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The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales
by Dawn Casey (illus. Anne Wilson)
Ages 5–9
Seven folk tales from seven continents — Japan, the Amazon, West Africa, India, and more — each honouring the relationship between people and the natural world. Luminous and vital.
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Around the World in 80 Tales
by Saviour Pirotta (ed.)
Ages 6–10
Eighty folk tales drawn from every corner of the globe — one per country — bringing children an extraordinary world of tricksters, giants, wise women, and magic. A treasure of world literature.
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin
Ages 8–12
Young Minli leaves her poor village to find the Old Man of the Moon and change her family's fortune. A magical quest woven from Chinese folk tales — full of dragons, legends, and wonder. Newbery Honor.
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The Runaway Wok
by Ying Chang Compestine
Ages 4–7
A magical wok runs away from a rich miser's kitchen — collecting food and treasures to give a poor family on Chinese New Year's Eve. A rollicking, funny retelling of a classic folk tale.
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
by Alvin Schwartz
Ages 8–12
A classic collection of spine-chilling short scary stories and urban legends, drawn from American folklore — quick, punchy tales perfect for reading aloud at sleepovers.
Heads-up: Scary / horror
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Stone Soup
by Jon J Muth
Ages 4–8✈️ Import only (pricey)
Three monks show a wary village how much they can make when everyone shares a little — a Chinese-set retelling of the classic folk tale.
