The best fairy tale retellings for children

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

“I am a troll. I live to eat.I love the sound of hooves and feet and paws and claws on cobblestones. For that’s the sound of meat and bones!”

What lives under the bridge? A terrifying troll who is always hungry! And this troll loves to gobble up anyone who dares to cross the bridge, but his favourite of all is billy goat: goat rump in a honey glaze, curried goat and goat smeared on toast – you name it, this troll LOVES it! So, when the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip clop clip clop across the bridge, the troll is already imagining all the scrumptious ways to fill his belly. But what if the troll is about to underestimate those seemingly sweet goats… And bite off more than he can chew!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Axel Scheffler

The classic, much-loved story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, masterfully brought to life by Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo and Zog.

When Goldilocks stumbles across a little house in the woods, she finds an array of treats await her inside… the perfect little chair to sit on, the perfect bowl of porridge, not to mention the perfect place for a nap – Baby Bear’s bed. And when the three bears arrive home, who will be more surprised at what they find… Goldilocks or the bears?!

Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson

Colin Stimpson sets his version of Jack and the Beanstalk in a futuristic 1950s America, with skyscrapers surrounding the flyover under which Jack and his mother run a cafe, and a vintage framing to the illustrations.

When the flyover threatens their cafe, Jack’s mother sends him to buy the best coffee beans to attract new customers, but he buys baked beans instead. His mother throws them out, yet after climbing the resulting beanstalk, he finds a giant whose cooking skills save the business. A delightful, comic twist on a traditional tale.

South Asian Folktales, Myths and Legends by Sarah Shaffi

A beautiful new edition of retellings – including tales from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Enjoy a rich collection of folktales, myths and legends from all over South Asia, re-told for young readers. This book includes traditional favourites such as the story of Rama and Sita and classic folktales and mythology.

Zombierella: Fairy Tales Gone Bad by Joseph Coelho and Freya Hartas

The first in a funny, deliciously dark, three-part series of twisted classics, written in verse by award-winning poet Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Freya Hartas.

A yellow moon hangs in a satin sky the night Cinderella, barefoot and in hand-me-downs, slips at the top of the stairs … and dies. But not for long. The Shadow of Death arrives to breathe life back into her bones and, for three nights only, Cinderella goes forth as ZOMBIERELLA. With her skin as cold as ice and her faithful horse Lumpkin back by her side, can she seek revenge on her three cruel, fake sisters, once and for all?

Rumaysa: A Fairytale by Radiya Hafiza, Rhaida El Touny and Areeba Siddique

Step into a Once Upon a Time where anything is possible . . . Radiya Hafiza’s enchanting and funny debut weaves together three stories, spinning the classic fairytale to show that anyone can be a hero.

‘Rumaysa, Rumaysa, let down your hijab!’

For as long as she can remember Rumaysa has been locked away in her tower, forced to spin straw into gold for the evil Witch, unable to leave. Until one day, after dropping a hijab out of her small tower-window, Rumaysa realizes how she might be able to escape . . .

Join Rumaysa as she adventures through enchanted forests and into dragon’s lairs, discovers her own incredible magical powers and teams up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara!

Rapunzella, Or, Don’t Touch My Hair by Ella McLeod

A genre-bending YA that weaves together inner-city life and a wildly dangerous fairytale universe.

Rapunzella is imprisoned in an enchanted forest made of her own Afro and the might of the evil King Charming seems unstoppable. But is it? Can Rapunzella use her power to change the future?

You’re fifteen, you spend your time at school and at Val’s hair salon with Baker, Val’s son, who has eyes that are like falling off a cliff into space. The salon is a space of safety, but also of possibility and dreams… Dreams of hair so rich and alive that it grow upwards and outwards into a wild landscape, becomes trees and leaves, and houses birds and butterflies and all the secret creatures that belong in such a forest. Is there a future where such possibility and power is more than just a dream?

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

This is the story of a great love – a love that will threaten worlds and anger Gods. This is a story that will change history.

Simidele is one of the Mami Wata, mermaids duty-bound to collect the souls of those who die at sea and bless their journeys back home to the Supreme Creator. But when a living boy is thrown overboard a slave ship, Simi saves his life, going against an ancient decree and bringing terrible danger to the mami wata. Now Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends – a journey of vengeful gods, treacherous lands and legendary creatures. If she fails, she risks not just the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.