Skip to Main Content

Children's Literature: Traditional Fantasy Books

This guide is for Children's Literature resources.

Traditional Fantasy Picture Books

The document below contains a list of traditional fantasy picture books that are located in King Curriculum Lab and Kinlaw Library. 

Beside the call numbers, you will see the location of the books in parentheses.  "KCL" stands for King Curriculum Lab and "KL" represents Kinlaw Library.  In the King Curriculum Lab, all traditional fantasy books are located in the 398.2 area of the Children's Nonfiction section.  The Children's Literature section of Kinlaw Library is on the third floor.  Traditional fantasy books are located in the 398.2 area of Kinlaw Library's Children's Nonfiction section as well.   

Books are listed alphabetically by the author's last name. 

Types of Traditional Fantasy

Traditional Fantasy:  "The literature originated orally and has no author.  Therefore, we often associate these tales with a collector or reteller.  Tales from the oral tradition are part of the fabric of every culture.  Traditional tales were almost always fantastic in nature, involving magic or talking animals."

Characters:  "Characters in traditional stories generally are archtypes; they are meant to be symbolic of certain basic human traits, such as good or evil.  Consequently, in traditional tales we find single-faceted characters who typically do not change during the course of the story.  Traditional tales, then, are stories of the human experience told in primary colors, the nuances of life stripped away to reveal the basic component parts:  love, fear, greed, jealousy, mercy, and so on.  Therefore, traditional stories from around the world are basically alike because fundamental human characteristics and motivation are universal."

Plots:  "Plots are simple and direct in traditional fantasy.  And because the tales generally were told by and among the common folk, they are often success stories that show the underdog making good.  And success is often obtained against overwhelming odds."

Themes:  "These story lines are accompanied by typical themes, such as the rewards of mercy, kindness, and perserverence; justice, particularly the punishment of evil; and the power of love."

Elements of Traditional Fantasy:  "Another hallmark of traditional stories is repeated patterns of elements."

Types of Traditional Fantasy:  There are several types of traditional fantasy.  The types of traditional fantasy discussed on this page include the following:

  • Cumulative Tales
  • Fables
  • Fairy Tales
  • Folk Tales
  • Hero Tales/Epics/Legends
  • Pourquoi Stories
  • Myths
  • Religious Stories
  • Tall Tales
  • Trickster Tales

Under the "Examples" for each type of traditional fantasy, you can click on the titles and find the locations of these books in King Curriculum Lab and Kinlaw Library.  For each type, the first two titles under "Examples" are picture books and the third title is a chapter book.

Source of Information:  The above information about traditional fantasy is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Cumulative Tales

Cumulative Tales:  "These stories are 'added upon' as the telling unfolds.  Typically, the story is told up to a certain point, then begun again from near the beginning and told until a new segment is added.  Then the teller starts again and again, each time adding a new wrinkle to the story, expanding a chain of events or a list of participants."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Fables

Fables:  "Brief stories meant to teach a lesson, and they usually conclude with a moral, such as 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' or 'Haste makes waste.'"

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales:  "Out of all folktales, the fairy tale is the most magical.  We see enchantments that go beyond talking animals to fairy godmothers, wicked witches, magical objects, and the like."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Folktales

Folktales:  "Stories of the people."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Traditional Fantasy Chapter Books

The document below contains a list of traditional fantasy chapter books that are located in King Curriculum Lab and Kinlaw Library. 

Beside the call numbers, you will see the location of the books in parentheses.  "KCL" stands for King Curriculum Lab and "KL" represents Kinlaw Library.  In the King Curriculum Lab, all traditional fantasy books are located in the 398.2 area of the Children's Nonfiction section.  The Children's Literature section of Kinlaw Library is on the third floor.  Traditional fantasy books are located in the 398.2 area of Kinlaw Library's Children's Nonfiction section as well.   

Books are listed alphabetically by the author's last name.

Myths

Myths:  "Grew out of early people’s need to understand and explain the world around them and their own existence; they therefore recount the creation of the world and tell of the gods and goddesses who control the fate of humans."

Source of Information:  The definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Pourquoi Stories

Pourquoi Tales:  "Folktales that answer questions or give explanations for the way things are, particularly in nature."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Religious Stories

Religious Stories:  "Stories about the human quest to discover and share truth concerning the spiritual aspects of existence.  Stories derived from the sacred writings of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and other religions of the world contribute to this arena of traditional literature."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Tall Tales

Tall Tales:  "Exaggeration is the major stylistic element in tall tales.  Many tall tales grew out of the push to open the North American continent to settlement.  Tall-tale characters were based either on actual people or on a composite of rough-and-tumble lumberjacks, sailors, or cowboys."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Trickster Tales

Trickster Tales:  "Features a character, often an animal, who outsmarts everyone else in the story."

Source of Information:  This definition is from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples:

Hero Tales/Epics/Legends

Epics:  "Lengthy hero tales or even a series of tales focusing on a hero."

Legends:  "Heroes in legends are rooted a bit more firmly in history."

Source of Information:  These definitions are from Children's Literature, Briefly (2008) by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs.

Examples: