Folklore and Fairy Tales

A Pot o’ Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, and (of Course) Blarney

A collection of stories, folklore, poetry, and songs from Ireland.

One Potato, Two Potato

Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady are so poor they have just one of everything to share – one potato a day, one chair, one blanket full of holes, and one gold coin for a rainy day. After digging up the last potato in their patch, Mr. O’Grady comes upon a big black object. It’s a pot – no ordinary pot, for what they soon discover is that whatever goes into it comes out doubled! Suddenly the O’Gradys aren’t destitute anymore. But what they really long for is one friend apiece. Can the magic pot give them that?

The Gunniwolf

Wilhelmina Harper’s The Gunniwolf is a classic-beloved by readers, storytellers, and teachers. Unavailable for years, it is back with fabulous new illustrations by Barbara Upton, perfect for our time. Its vibrant, rhythmic read-aloud text-sprinkled with dialect-tells the story of Little Girl, who is forbidden to enter the jungle for fear of meeting the Gunniwolf. But when she does, this version’s Gunniwolf seems almost playful-if just a little scary. But Little Girl learns her lesson, and a new generation of listeners will be rapt with delight at this “guten sweeten” book. Illustrated by Barbara Upton.

The Tiger and the Wise Man

Tricked by a mischievous and hungry tiger, a wise man appeals to other animals and tree to intervene and save his life. However, he finds that the natural world does not hold humanity in as high a regard as he had though. And even being rescued from the tiger has its dangers.

Grandfather’s Rock

It’s a sad day when father decides the family can no longer care for Grandfather and he has to be taken to the home for old people on the other side of the hill. His four grandchildren are determined to keep their grandfather out of the home for old people, and it is up to the oldest, Prima, to convince Father, in a story based on a traditional Italian folktale.

Once Upon A Time, Though It Wasn’t in Your Time, and It Wasn’t in My Time, and It Wasn’t In Anybody Else’s Time…

Three folktales–“The Fox, the Hare, and the Cock,” “The Girl and the Geese,” and “Battibeth”–are retold by an expert in fairytales and folklore in a new edition designed to be read aloud.