Folklore, Fairy Tales & Stories

Please use this guide to help you in finding folklore, fairy tales, and stories.  The tabs to the left of the page will lead you to lists of books the library owns.  Not seeing the book you want?  Let us know and we can see if we can add it to the collection, or ask us to borrow it from another library for you using interlibrary loan.

Interested in going straight to the shelves to browse?  Go to the call number PZ8 on the second floor of the library.

What's the difference between a folk tale and a fairy tale?

Here are some key elements to look for:

Folk Tales:

• Origins in Oral Tradition
• Instructive/Cautionary
• Stereotypes
• Repetitive structure

Fairy Tales:

• Magical elements
• A main character who suffers for failing to do things the 'right' way
• Instructive/Cautionary

Some subjects and keywords that you might try while searching:

• Fairy Tales
• Fairy tales—History and Criticism
• Women in literature