31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Religious Tales

One of my favorite lists I produce. Before we begin, I’d like to state that I name this list “folk” AND “fairy” AND “religious” because from what I can tell, one person’s folktale is another person’s religion. It is important to remember that when discussing the traditional tales that dot this list today. At the same time, I’m no stickler. If an original tale strikes me as fantastic, it makes the list too. I have my standards, but I can also recognize quality. The end result is a list that combines the best parts of traditional storytelling and modern mores.

If you’d like a PDF of this year’s list, you can find it here.

And are you interested in seeing past lists of these titles? Then check these out!

• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016

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2024 Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Religious Tales

Asgardians: Odin by George O’Connor

You, a fallen warrior, have a front row seat to the tale of Odin and how the Norse gods first came to be. Strap in for fighting, wisdom, and dwarves galore. I’ve always been a HUGE fan of the Olympians series that George O’Connor created, and loved how he integrated all those different Greek Myths into concrete overarching stories. So when I heard he’d decided to do the same with the Norse myths it just sounded like a match made in heaven. I guess I just never realized how downright baffling and bizarre Norse myths are. Nor did I realize (until I read O’Connor’s backmatter here) that all the Norse myths that we do know come from just two sources. The man does what he can with these Odin tales, and they’re really neat, but BOY. The Norse could have taught the Greeks a thing or two about bloodshed in storytelling. There is a LOT of death in this. It’s good, but if you’re going to start a kid on this series then maybe you should go with . . .

Asgardians: Thor by George O’Connor

Thor!! Okay, so like I say, maybe start a kid with this book and not Odin. Odin’s great, don’t get me wrong! It’s just incredibly incredibly weird. So weird that I worry it’s going to turn some kids off right at the start. Why not ease them into the series with some humor instead? Where the first book in this new Asgardians series is relatively serious (there are jokes but it ain’t a yukfest) Thor is just naturally funny. That’s partly how George O’Connor renders him, and partly the nature of his stories. There’s also the fact that though Loki has a cameo in Odin, in Thor he really and truly comes into his own. Now an interesting direction that O’Connor took with this particular book, and much more so than anything he did in his Olympians series (except possibly in Hermes), is Looney Tunes-esque visual gags. There are a couple here and I was HERE for them! Sight gags, bulging eyes, etc. My personal favorite joke in the whole book is when Loki has stolen the hair of Thor’s wife and you get this shot of him, eyes wide, holding the scissors with a pile of blonde hair in front of him. I can’t stress enough how much I love this image of him caught in the act. As with his Olympians series, there’s a load of amusing backmatter to pore through.

Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer, ill. Steve McCarthy

Every little banshee (or bansheenie) connects itself to a human so that it can warn it when it’ll die. But when Beanie fails to connect to her girl, she finds herself in the role of protector. A sweet, strange Irish tale. It can get a little squidgey when we try to figure out what precisely constitutes “early chapter” or “easy” titles. This is a book that could probably be best described as a “bedtime book” as it is just a little too long to be a picture book and a little too short to be early chapter. Even so, I’m so charmed by it that I felt I had to at least give it a shot. The whole premise is bizarre but oddly sweet. A banshee accidentally becomes a loving creature with a family, and seeks to protect her charge rather than predict her death. It’s got a nice jot of Irish faerie lore in there (making it more of a folktale/fairytale type of story) and just comes off as so exciting and loving all at once. Gotta love that shot of the banshee at her person’s wedding (100 points to artist Steve McCarthy for the depiction of the priest too). I think you’re going to want to see this.

Godfather Death by Sally Nicholls, ill. Júlia Sardà

 In this adaptation of a lesser-known Grimm fairy tale, a poor fisherman sets out to find an honest godfather for his new baby and ends up recruiting Death in the role. But what happens when you try to cheat death out of a deal? It doesn’t exactly shout out that it’s a Grimm Brothers fairy tale adapted to a picture book form, but that’s what this is. So I went out and located the original tale to see how closely it adheres. Pretty darn close, is the answer! Nicholls, however, makes some fairly fascinating changes, ultimately turning this into a story of how the old take advantage of the young in an effort to prolong their own lives. Or at least that’s how I read it. The ending is bleak but it does end with a heckuva bang. Plus you have Sardà doing her best Walter Crane imitation with the art. I think there are only three colors ever used, but boy howdy does she use them! A pretty darn good companion to Klassen’s The Skull, now that I think about it (but darker). 

The Good Game by Arihonni David

When two of the smallest animals in the forest want to play lacrosse, or Twewa’á:raton, with the other animals, they are told they are too small. Fortunately, a bit of ingenuity makes them worthy opponents in this traditional Akwasasne tale. You may have seen a previous Arihhonni David book in the past on this list (Who Will Win?) and I am happy to report that this one’s also pretty darn good. Mr. David (A Member of the Haudenosaunee Kaniekehaka (Mohawk) people) has a talent for synthesizing stories down to their most essential parts, then turning their texts into infinitely easy reading. It doesn’t hurt that the art is really fun as well. And as a co-worker of mine pointed out, this pairs amazingly with with Cynthia Leitich Smith’s middle grade novel, also out this year, On a Wing and a Tear. The two have a lot in common.

Kadooboo! A Silly South Indian Folktale by Shruthi Rao, ill. Darshika Varma

Leaving his friend Anya’s house with a delicious bag of kadooboo, Kabir just can’t remember its name. Is it book-oo-doo or dub-oo-koo or duck-oo-boo? A fun and silly readaloud with a surprise ending. Aw. This is super fun. Rao explains in the back of the book how she adapted the original tale into this fun, silly kid-friendly version. Personally, I think it works really well. I was expecting, with the whole taking-sweets aspect, for the book to veer into a Little Red Riding Hood kind of story, but it’s not that at all. Plus the ending actually made me snort quite loudly in my work lunchroom, which I consider the highest of praises (wasn’t expecting to actually laugh with this book). I warn you, though, that you’ll be quite hungry for kadooboo before the tale is through. Previously seen on the Readaloud List.

Kamau & Zuzu Find a Way by Aracelis Girmay, ill. Diana Ejaita

I like the term “modern folktale”. I particularly like the term “modern folktale about African diaspora, resourcefulness, and intergenerational love.” Most of all, I like a picture book where the emotions are not entirely resolved and the solution is not entirely there. If you are going to talk about people displaced from their homes and loved ones, with no recourse of return, how do you do that in a folktale setting? In the case of this book, baby Kamau and his grandmother Mama ZuZu wake up one day to find themselves on the moon. Naturally, since Kamau can’t remember his home from before, and he doesn’t miss it the way his grandmother does. For him, the moon has always been home. Now, about this point, reading the book you are assuming that it’s going to end with the happy resolution of everyone reuniting back on Earth at some point. Nope. And the writing? So incredible. At one point Mama ZuZu says, “But we will have to find a way to live, as people do,” and the next line is, “Something about the way she said ‘live’ always filled Kamau’s blood up with sun.” Is it any wonder the author is on the editorial board of the African Poetry Book Fund? Add in the truly beautiful art of Diana Ejaita (no word about her medium on the publication page, which is a crying shame) but this book is a jaw-dropper. Previously seen on the Caldenott List.

Kevin and the Blackbirds by David Almond, ill. P.J. Lynch

Raised by monks, Kevin is told he’s grown too big to gambol about in nature all the time. This is quite the blow to him, since Kevin loves spending time outdoors. But when a pair of blackbirds start to construct a nest in his palms, even the monks realize there’s something special going on. You will note that in his little message at the beginning, David Almond essentially says that Kevin is a saint for our times. Like a more blackbird-adjacent St. Francis of Assisi, Kevin’s entire story is about not simply appreciating nature, but the importance of getting out there and experiencing it firsthand. With Almond’s great retelling, it almost feels unfair to bring on Lynch as the artist. That man could illustrate Apple copyright law and make it tantalizing. The shot of the nest just as the birds are hatching works not simply because it’s thrust out towards the reader, but because the only part of Kevin’s face that we can see are his clearly overjoyed eyes. I love how you can get so much emotion from him with so little. We rarely get environmental folktales quite like this, so this is a treat. 

The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke, ill. Sophie Bass

The tale of Rapunzel is reimagined as the tale of Lou, a girl with extraordinary hair, and the magical callaloo plant that gets her into trouble. I love a retelling of a fairy tale when the author puts as much thought and care into the telling as Cooke has done here. She’s deftly weaving in elements of hair as both pride and guide, forced relocation and enslavement, and at the same time working it into the format of any classic fairytale or folktale with this type of telling. The art is fun, but the writing was what blew me away. This is one case where you’re gonna be very grateful for that Author’s Note in the front. Smart, but also fun enough that you could see a kid asking for this again and again.

The Midnight Mitzvah by Ruth Horowitz, ill. Jenny Meilihove

A glance at this book and you wouldn’t immediately notice that this book belongs in this category today. However, in the back of the book, Ruth Horowitz has a section entitled, “Where Does Hanina’s Story Come From?” As she explains, “This story is based on a tale from the Talmud.” In the original, a rabbi named Hanina was stopped by an evil spirit one night. When he was asked why the rabbi was out, he explained that it was in order to give a gift in secret, and he was spared. In this version it’s a chipmunk (not a rabbit, which I personally think would have been inspired) named Hanina who wants to help a squirrel. The trouble is the squirrel is older and she has her pride. She can’t gather food like she used to, but she doesn’t want charity. For Hanina to help her against her will, that would shame her. Now this is a pretty complex idea to be conveying to kids, but I thought it was particularly important. Because the squirrel can no longer gather her own food, Hanina makes it look as if additional food has fallen from the squirrel’s tree, within easy reach. At the back of the book is an explanation of many terms (tsedakah, talmud, mitzvah, etc.) including “sadaqah”. This is explained as an Arabic word and that “Islam teaches that secret sadaquah preserves the receiver’s dignity, and prevents the giver from boasting.” Ye gods. Could we get a TON more books on this topic please? Pair this book alongside One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story by Ruth Spiro (which you’ll see later on this list). I think they’d complement one another very well. 

The Midnight Panther by Poonam Mistry

Compared to lion, tiger, and leopard, panther feels left out and dull. It takes the very sky above to teach panther to appreciate what makes him not only special, but dazzling as well. Poonam Mistry always makes me stretch what I consider to be a folktale to its very limits. The copy of this book calls it “a captivating fable” and it is every bit of that. I suspect that it’s an original fable, however. Even so, I have such a hard time resisting Mistry’s style. With its black panther discovering what makes it special, it’s not quite as sophisticated as, say, Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryant, but the telling is smooth, straightforward, and expertly done. And, of course, there’s the gorgeous art to contend with as well.

Mythical Monsters of Greenland: A Survival Guide by Maria Bach Kreutzmann, ill. Maria Bach Kreutzmann and Coco Apunnguaq Lynge

What do you do if a tupilak is sent to attack you? What if your sled dog is an inorruit? How do you escape an ikusik? Get the low down on a wide variety of creatures from the fascinating to the frightening. It’s an interesting take. I’d be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about the mythical creatures of Greenland, but I was wholly unprepared for how utterly unique they all are. Kreutzmann gives a great deal of context and since the publisher, Inhabit Media, specializes in Inuit children’s literature, I was grateful for the Glossary of Inuit Language Words at the end. Ditto the map. Each creature is separated into a quick definition, habitat, and what a typical encounter might entail. The Introduction does a particularly good job of discussing these creatures a little more in the present than in the past. As field guides go, I’d say that this one stands apart. 

Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu by Ying Chang Compestine, ill. Crystal Kung

Why learn dancing and embroidery when you can learn cooking instead? When Princess Ra Pu Zel locks herself in a tower rather than doing boring princess stuff, it takes some pungent tofu to lure her out once more. Boy, you can really tell when a new illustrator has a background in animation. Sometimes that’s a bad thing, and their art just looks like a series of storyboards they pinned up on a wall. Other times you get something like this book, with its fun twist on an old tale, and some fantastic facial expressions along the way. Ying Chang Compestine’s been in the game for decades now, so when I saw she’d penned this I was already interested. The obligatory Rapunzel-like qualities aren’t really the focus though. More, it’s the origin of stinky tofu that takes center stage. I think that between this book and the century egg in the graphic novel Alterations we are having a deliciously odiferous selection of books for kids out this year. I wouldn’t miss this one, though.

The Slug and the Snail by Oein DeBhairduin, ill. Olya Anima 

Once, when there were only slugs and no snails, two slug siblings met a crow who demanded to know where they made their home. A Mincéirí about assumptions and “home”. I’m curious whether or not other folks see this as a folktale or not. It never out-and-out says that it is, but it has all the trappings (and a good context for how the author heard it in the first place). We haven’t many tales from Mincéirí on our shelves, and indeed we don’t tend to have many of them in the States. Even so, I found this story intriguing. I think it leaves open to interpretation a lot of really big questions and what does and does not constitute a person’s home when it comes to moving. The crow is neither good nor bad, which is a rare character in a story like this. I keep turning this one over in my mind. There’s a lot to chew on here.

Tales of the Feathered Serpent: The Hero Twins and the Magic of Song by David Bowles, ill. Charlene Bowles

So back in 2020, Bowles & Bowles released the first graphic novel in this “Tales of the Feathered Serpent” series, Rise of the Halfling King. It was great, and I waited eagerly for the next book in the series. Four years later, it has finally come to us. This series is based on classic Mayan tales. As the author explains at the end of this book, these stories come from the Popol Vuh or Book of the People which contained stories collected by Dominican friar Francisco Ximenez and the leaders of the town of Santo Tomas Chichicastenango in Guatemala. They are the most important narratives and chronicles of the K’iche’ Maya people. Now as with George O’Connor’s adaptation of the Norse myths, true stories from the past can be difficult to adapt to a modern audience. That’s where graphic novels have a real leg up. I was particularly amused by this collection of stories about the hero twins, since it has all my favorite things. A girl in love with a skull. Jealous half-siblings. People being turned into monkeys for their sins. The works! Return to Rise of the Halfling King to remember how good it is, then follow that up with this book as well. There is NOTHING else out there like this series today. 

One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story by Ruth Spiro, ill. Victoria Tentler-Krylov

In the interests of complete and utter honesty, I read this book at a time when my own Little Free Library had gotten its glass punched in again (this isn’t a tragedy or anything since it happens on an annual basis, but it’s still kind of annoying). In this book you see a similarly abused Little Free Library, so right there my heart went out to the book. Then I noticed that the illustrator was Tentler-Krylov who is consistently good at what she does. On a regular basis I run across her books and find myself utterly charmed by them. The concept of Tikkun Olam is one that adapts so smoothly to a picture book format that it’s funny I’ve never really encountered it before. As Ruth Spiro explains in her Author’s Note, it roughly equates to, “the belief that we each have a responsibility to make the world a better place.” Spiro discusses how the term appears in the Talmud and also in Aleinu, “a prayer of hope for a better future”. The story in the book follows a busted up playground and the people who work to fix it up. Beautifully told and done. I figure it falls into the category of “Religous Tales” and is on this list for that reason.

Uno Más, One More by Silva López, ill. Olivia Sua

At the house of Don Manuel and Dona Lila there’s always room for uno más/one more… until there isn’t! A marvelous reinterpretation of an old Scottish ballad. This is pretty neat. López has taken that old ballad, then reapplied it through a Latinx lens. There’s a marvelous Author’s Note at the end where the author talks about finding a specific series of folktales in Spanish in libraries when she was a kid (thirty-three altogether) though I wish she’d mentioned what the name of that series was. As for the book itself, it’s lovely. It took a couple reads before I realized that the art was cut paper mixed with acrylic pants and gouache. It’s so seamless you hardly even notice. This is just a lot of fun.

Yours, Befana: A Letter from the Winter Witch by Barbara Cuoghi, ill. Elenia Beretta, translated by Genni Gunn

Spice up your holiday purchases around the Christmas season with something a little bit on the odd side of things. So what we have here is nice little Italian import focusing on Befana, a character from Italian folklore, who does her thing on the sixth of January. The book is written as a letter to kids from Befana herself explaining how she goes about doing things. She has a fun tone, explaining, for example, that she takes a potion of invisibility before she arrives. “You are not allowed to look at me; it’s the price of my extraordinary visit.” And, later, “And don’t be fooled by the drawings of me as an old witch. I am all-powerful and unstoppable.” There’s even backmatter (which I always adore) showing “A Few Secrets About Me”. Along the way she even has time to throw some shade on Santa, a fellow she will not name and just calls, “that clumsy oaf dressed in red.” It helps that the accompanying art is just so blooming gorgeous as well. You can’t help but respect this gal. If you didn’t believe in witches before this book, you certainly will now. Previously seen on the Holiday List.

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So with all that in mind, here are the other lists for 2024:

December 1 – Great Board Books

December 2 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 3 – Simple Picture Book Texts

December 4 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Funny Picture Books

December 7 – CaldeNotts

December 8 – Picture Book Reprints

December 9 – Bilingual Books for Kids

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Books with a Message / Social Emotional Learning

December 12 – Fabulous Photography

December 13 – Translated Picture Books

December 14 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 15 – Wordless Picture Books

December 16 – Poetry Books

December 17 – Unconventional Children’s Books

December 18 – Easy Books & Early Chapter Books

December 19 – Comics & Graphic Novels

December 20 – Older Funny Books

December 21 – Science Fiction Books

December 22 – Fantasy Books

December 23 – Informational Fiction

December 24 – Gross Books

December 25 – Science & Nature Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Blueberry Award Contenders (Celebrating the Environment)

December 28 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 29 – Nonfiction Books for Older Readers

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

Filed under: 31 Days 31 Lists, Best Books, Best Books of 2024