Fairy tales for a preschooler?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Any recommendations for a collection, or specific story books that are appropriate for a 3 year old? Nothing too scary, nice and gentle would be preferred. DS is really into "Once upon a time..." for some reason right now and likes to make up stories. I think he'd really enjoy some classic fairy tales.

[Daffodil]

We have the Helen Oxenbury Nursery Story Book, which has fairly mild versions of stories like Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Gingerbread Boy. None of them are too scary as fairy tales go, but they could be too scary for some kids. The gingerbread boy does get eaten by the fox, the wolf eats two little pigs and gets boiled and eaten by the third, and Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are eaten by the wolf (but step out unharmed after the woodcutter chops off the wolf's head.)

We also have Richard Scarry's Animal Nursery Tales, which has a lot of the same stories, with just a bit less violence. The gingerbread man still gets eaten up, and so do Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother and the first two little pigs, but Red Riding Hood herself runs away in time, and the wolf doesn't get eaten by the third little pig - he just falls into hot water and runs away.

[PGTlatte]

We have this one, and love it:

http://tinyurl.com/cxmtwe

Everything is gentle and not scary and our boys love the pictures.

(Treasury of Virtues by Publications International - not the same as the one by William J. Bennett.)

[katmann]

I'm on the fence about this one for a 3 year old, but I am currently enjoying The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke. She wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The Ladies is a collection of stories involving fairies in 18th-19th century England, and how they interact mischievously with regular folk. They aren't scary, but there is mild violence. Nothing Disney wouldn't dish out, though, possibly even milder than that. Her writing is beautiful though, and you can put on your best British accent while you read.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Thank you! I'll be checking the library for these.

[Mama Shifra]

Rahima Baldwin Dancy recommends in You Are Your Child's First Teacher the book Great Children's Stories by Frederick Richardson. My four year old son adores the stories.

[DaughterOfKali]

Traditional fairy tales are often violent/scary, unfortunately. What I tend to do is read the book myself first and figure out what parts to omit when reading to my son.

I do have some recommendations... but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to list them due to my business.

[Keeta]

You've got a lot of good recs here. I wondered, have you checked out StoryNory? There are some fairy tales that are podcasted there. Kind of fun for a change, especially in the car and such. Some of them are kind of scary so you may want to prescreen them to see if your kid can handle it. But since it's audio (no scary pictures) it might not be so bad? My 2.5 y/o really likes some of them. And DH and I crack up over the narrators crazy English accent (DS even corrects her sometimes, it's hilarious! "It's not Baaahs, it's BAIRS!" during Goldilocks and the Three Bears).

Oh and I'm pretty sure they all start "Once upon a time...."

[OGirlieMama]

L&K really love this version of The Princess and the Pea - it's by the author of the Charlie & Lola stuff. The art is beautiful, and the story is told with some nice modern touches. http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Pea-L.../dp/0786838868

Another favorite is this one, which isn't a traditional fairy tale but has those trappings, and is really cute, plus the protagonist is a little boy. http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-That-Miss...0632552&sr=1-1

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by OGirlieMama

L&K really love this version of The Princess and the Pea - it's by the author of the Charlie & Lola stuff. The art is beautiful, and the story is told with some nice modern touches. http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Pea-L.../dp/0786838868

Another favorite is this one, which isn't a traditional fairy tale but has those trappings, and is really cute, plus the protagonist is a little boy. http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-That-Miss...0632552&sr=1-1

I forgot that you are the one who introduced me to Charlie & Lola! N looooves them. He also loves knights, so that second book is going on our list for sure.