Traditional tales for boys

Fairy Tales Boys Love That Build Strong Character

Boy oh boy…. take a look at this list of fairy tales boys love. And why wouldn’t they? These stories are filled with adventure and mystery!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but quite a lot of fairy tales have wonderfully strong female characters. There’s not a thing in the world wrong with that! However, when I set out to write my Character Building Chapter Books for Boys post, I had a hard time finding wonderful fairy tales with strong male characters to include in that list.

So, I went on a quest to locate the best of the best fairy tales that will capture the interest of boys and include adventures that define good from evil. Where magic takes place and lessons are learned is a great place to get lost in a book.

Picture Book Fairy Tales Boys Love

The Squire and the Scroll

 by Jennie Bishop and Karen Rohode

A young squire goes on a quest for his king only to be met with temptation and a fire breathing dragon.

Jack and the Beanstalk

 by Steven Kellogg

This fairy tale is a true classic. It follows Jack as he spends the last of his family’s money on beans. When his mother discovers what he has wasted their money on she throws them. Later that night, large stalks begin to grow up into the sky where the giants live.

Hansel and Gretel

 by James Marshall

Out of curiosity, these kiddos head out into the forest for a bit of adventure only to discover the candy coated cottage they find is owned by an evil witch who wants to eat them for dinner.

Puss in Boots

 by Fred Marcellino

This hero lands in a fairy tale everyone should read. This courageous cat saves a gal from a raging, mean bull only to be chased out of town thanks to the poor choices of Humpty Dumpty.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

 by Robert Browning and Kate Greenaway

Follow the Pied Piper who is hired by the townspeople to draw the rats away from town. After his job is done and the townspeople refuse to pay him for a job well done, he takes revenge in only the most appropriate way.

The Brave Little Tailor

 by Eric Blair and David Shaw

The fate of a small town lays in the hands of a tailor who is given the challenge of getting rid of a giant! Who knew such a small person could do such big things.

The Elves and the Shoemaker

 by Jim Lamarche

Thanks to a few elves, a struggling shoemaker gets all the help he needs to get his job done.

King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte Craft

When King Midas is given one wish, he wishes that everything he touches turns to gold. What an amazing feature to hold…. until he touches his beloved daughter and she turns into a golden statue.

The Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale

 by Aaron Shepard

After refusing a true baker’s dozen of cookies to a customer, everything starts to go wrong in the kitchen. This leads to a meeting with Saint Nicholas in his dreams where he’s reminded of the importance of generosity.

The Emperor’s New Clothes

 by Demi

This fairy tales boys love tells a story of an emperor who believes that his magical clothing is not visible to fools. That is until one day a child speaks the truth.

Tom Thumb

 by Richard Jesse Watson

Even though Tom Thumb was born a healthy baby boy, with time he did not grow. He is then taken on tour around the country so people could see what an incredibly small yet adventurous person he grows into.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

 by Dr. Seuss

When a king gets bored with the weather, he is soon surprised with what falls from the sky once he becomes angry.

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

 by Arthur Ransome

When the Tsar announces that he will give his daughter’s hand in marriage to the person who gives him a flying ship, the fool of the world takes him up on his offer.

Chapter Books Fairy Tales Boys Love

The Princess and the Goblin

 by George MacDonald

Princess Irene goes on quite the adventure with a boy by the name of Curdie. After discovering a mysterious labyrinth she can only hope that a magical ring saves her from the goblins.

The Princess and Curdie

 by George MacDonald

In the sequel of The Princess of the Goblin, more magic and intrigue follow the princess and her friend Curdie when Princess Irene’s grandmother gifts Curdie a monster named Lina.

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

 by C.S. Lewis

While the Pevensie children are staying with a family member, the youngest stumbles upon a magical wardrobe that takes them into a whole new world, Narnia. Full of talking creatures, an ice cold queen, and a noble lion.

Prince Caspian

 by C. S. Lewis

In the second story of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy discover that Miraz has taken over Narnia. They return to help the fight between good and evil.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

 by C.S. Lewis

The Pevensie children bring along their annoying cousin on an adventure with Prince Caspian that will take them further into Narnia than they have ever traveled.

The Silver Chair

 by C.S. Lewis

Go on an adventure with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy to a land north of Narnia to save King Caspian’s kidnapped son, Rilian.

The Horse and His Boy

 by C.S. Lewis

Two runaways have no choice but to battle for the fate of Narnia. This is a great addition to the series of the Narnia books that can be read on its own or within the order of the series.

The Magician’s Nephew

by C.S. Lewis

Discover the mysteries behind Narnia including the lamp post and how Narnia was created in this must read fairy tale.

The Last Battle

 by C.S. Lewis

In the last book of the incredible Narnia series, a fight of evil rises from within. Who will win the last battle?

The Adventures of Pinocchio

 by Carlo Collodi

When Geppetto receives a talking piece of wood, he makes a puppet and names him Pinocchio. As soon as he is able to walk on his new legs, he leaves the safety of his home only to discover the evil that lurks in the world.

The Enchanted Castle

 by E. Nesbit

Gerald, James and Kathleen discover a castle and what they think to be a princess within the maze of the garden only to discover that it is all thanks to a magical ring.

Five Children and It

 by E. Nesbit

Upon digging in a gravel pit, three kids discover a Psammead, or an ancient sand-fairy. This fairy grants one wish a day to the children, but they soon discover that it isn’t all fun and games.

What fairy tales boys love would you add to this grand list of books?

Other posts you might enjoy:

10 Best Classic Fairy Tales For Your Kids

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein.

Fairy tales often take people to the sweet memory lane of their childhood. The memories of magic, dragons, and evilness getting defeated never fail to bring a smile to our faces. 

Reading or listening to classic tales can help parents bond better with their children and nurture their creativity.

So, if you are looking for the best bedtime stories for your children, this blog will surely help you. Let’s explore some of the fascinating and timeless fairy tales that can bring lots of colors and blooms to your kid’s childhood. 

1. Cinderella

Cinderella is one of the most popular fairy tales of all time. Its story remains an all-time classic and will remain the same for future generations as well.

Cinderella was a young woman who lived with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Thanks to her glass slipper, she found her Prince Charming and escaped her difficult life. 

Cinderella’s story has been adapted in many variations over history. Cinderella’s popular version “The Brother Grimm” was published in 1812. Recently, in 2021, Disney has released a new Cinderella movie with a modern outlook. 

Moral: This story tells kids how they should never stop dreaming despite all the hardships that life presents them with.

Related Reading: Top Reading Apps for Kids: How to Use Screens For Stories 

Beauty and the Beast is a fairy tale that celebrates real royalty. In the story, a spoiled prince turns into a beast and imprisons a beautiful young lady named Belle. It’s only when he learns to love Belle that he becomes the prince again. 

This fairy tale is assumed to be inspired by a real-life couple who lived in France in the 1500s. The man had a condition called hypertrichosis. This condition causes abnormal hair growth on the body. 

So, he was referred to as a wild man and was kept in a cage for a long time. In a surprising turn of events, he married a royal court servant’s daughter, and they had 7 children.

Moral: We should value internal characteristics such as kindness over other superficial or physical qualities. 

Rapunzel is a beautiful and motivational fairy tale. The story shows how a poor couple lost their daughter Rapunzel when they stole fruit from their neighbor’s garden. It also focuses on how the angelic voice of Rapunzel reunites her with her lover. 

Moral: This story gives two bold messages that one should never steal, and evilness never wins. 

4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

Related Reading: Best Children’s Books to Stimulate Kids’ Imagination & Creativity

Snow White is a young princess and is defined by her inherent kindness and pure beauty. In the story, an evil queen spends all her life envying Snow White’s beauty. 

But, in the end, Snow White finds her happiness by marrying the prince. In contrast, the evil queen loses her peace and leads an unhappy life while chasing meaningless physical beauty. 

Moral: This story has an insightful moral — if you lust over physical beauty, you lose your peace in the way. The story also encourages kids to be kind and pure like Snow White. 

A rebellious Red sets off alone to meet her grandmother with instructions to never step off the forest path. But she disobeys the instructions and attracts the attention of the bad wolf. 

Now, what happens next depends on the version you are reading. In the Charles Perrault version, Red gets gobbled up by the wolf. However, across Europe, North America, and many other tellings, she was saved by her hood or a guy with an ax. 

Moral: This fairy tale intends to teach children to follow directions and express their courage at the time of need. 

Jack is a rule-breaker and loves to prank. Once, he traded a family cow for a couple of magic beans in the hope of climbing the beanstalk and reaching the giant’s castle to steal his magic possessions. 

This story will help you teach your naughty little pranksters that no matter how daring you are, one should never cross certain boundaries in life. 

Moral: The story shows that undying greed for more will take away what you already have in your life. 

Related Reading: Learning Styles That Make Learning Easy-Peasy For Kids

Sleeping Beauty is slightly similar to Snow White. The story revolves around a Sleeping Beauty who was cursed by a wicked fairy. Beauty spends all her childhood sleeping, but on her 16th birthday, her prince charming finds her and wakes her up after years of slumber. 

Like other fairy tales, different interpretations of Sleeping Beauty are also available. However, Disney’s Maleficent in the year 2014 achieved the most success. 

Moral: The story shows that growing up has its own hurdles but in the end, love conquers all.

If you want to raise a little animal helper, this is the perfect story for you. Puss is a bold trickster who masquerades as the servant of a nobleman. His tactics bring him fame, fortune, and a wife at a young age. 

The boots in this fairy tale symbolize wealth and wisdom. The story is set back in the 16th century when people used to be barefoot. So, having boots at that time was a significant sign of wealth. 

Moral: The story’s moral is simple — your wisdom can help you win wealth.  

This tale talks about the hunger of the heart and stomach. Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their stepmother in the forest. Both children can’t resist eating a real gingerbread cottage out of hunger. But they get caught by a cannibal witch who lives there. 

In the end, they shove the witch into the fiery oven to escape. 

Moral: This story will teach your kids how fortunate they are to have food on their plates. It will help them be grateful in life and never have any egos! 

In this story, a frog helps a princess to find her golden ball in the pond and then invites her to live in the castle. It is then that the frog turns into a prince. The storyline of The Frog Prince is quite similar to Beauty and the Beast.

Moral: The story teaches that it’s important to value kindness and goodness over physical beauty. It also tries to convey the importance of keeping our promises.

Related Reading: Best Riddles for Kids of all Grades (With Answers)!

Are you wondering how centuries-old fairy tales can benefit your child in this digital age? Well, no matter how old fairy tales are, they can always make your kid’s childhood happy and memorable. 

Be it The Brothers Grimm or Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, all the classic magic stories can benefit your child in a number of ways:

Storytelling plays a significant role in a child’s development. That is because 95% of the human brain develops by the age of six. Therefore, reading or listening to fairy tales can build imagination and literacy for your child. 

Your child can engage in fantasy land and learn to distinguish the fantasy world from the real world. They can learn to express their thoughts and ideas better. 

Some studies even indicate that storytelling helps to improve vocabulary and confidence among children.  

Through stories, children and even adults can learn how to handle certain problems. Cinderella’s story fits perfectly in this context. It tells how a young woman escapes her difficult life despite her wicked stepmother and stepsisters’ cruelties. 

Stories allow people to step into the character’s shoes and learn how they can easily conquer problems and presents children with an interactive method of learning. This is one of the reasons why SplashLearn creates visually appealing and character-based animated games. 

Sign up & play learning games!

Children connect better with the characters in the stories. This helps them learn from their favorite characters’ life stories. The stories can show children how to believe in goodness amidst problems and anxieties. 

For example, Beauty and the Beast portray how selfishness can turn a prince into a beast. It also shows how beauty and kindness can turn a beast into a prince again. 

Fairy tales can bring cultural flavors into your child’s life. Different versions of stories are available today that can help your children interact with different cultures. 

Fairy tales show that life isn’t perfect. Children discover that bad things happen to everyone. But if you are emotionally resilient, you can overcome all challenges. 

This helps children stay strong during hard times and always believe in the richness of life despite hardships. 

Exposing your child to the world of fantasy can stimulate their imagination. It might amaze you to see how children can give a spin to traditional stories and interpret them into something completely different. 

For instance, the University of Hawai’i conducted a study to evaluate the positive impact of fairy tales on children. In the study, researchers exposed children to different classic stories to understand their impact. 

Interestingly, after listening to Little Red Riding Hood, a seven-year-old boy draws the wolf to the size of an ant. He used his imagination to create a funny interpretation of the bad wolf and show his courage. 

So, when you introduce a story to your child, you are providing them with an opportunity to think and imagine different scenarios. 

Every fairy tale is attached to a moral lesson. Fairy tales often leave us with a strong message, whether it is being good or believing in love or friendship. 

You might have a hard time making your toddler understand where the difference between good and bad lies. But stories like “The Emperor’s New Clothes” can better show to your kids, the consequences of convincing yourself that something was true when it wasn’t.

Through classic fairy tales, parents can bond with their children in a great capacity. They can relive their childhood memories with their kids and build some new memories.

You can forget anything in your life, but you can never forget all the classic fairy tales that you have heard in your childhood. Have you ever thought, why? 

That is mainly because stories capture our interest in a much better way. And once we learn something with an interest, we tend to not forget that information. 

SplashLearn creates learning games to spike and capture kids’ interest. The engaging characters and visuals motivate the little ones to learn. Different mediums like games, worksheets and courses on Math and English can help them remember and retain concepts their entire life. 

Today, you can try SplashLearn with your kids to see how they actually interact with interesting learning mediums. 

Parents, sign up for free!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which is the oldest fairy tale?

According to some researchers, The Smith And The Devil is the oldest fairy tale. It goes back by 6,000 years to the Bronze Age.

Do all fairy tales have morals?

Yes. Fairy tales are written with a motive to teach a lesson to children via interesting characters and a storyline

How do fairy tales affect child development? 

When children listen to fairy tales often, it affects their imagination and helps them to think about new things. The fairy tales affect the emotional, physical, and mental development of a child. 

Do fairy tales have the truth? 

Fairy tales have been passed down from many generations and cultures. However, today there’s no solid source from where these tales come from, but they have been inspired from somewhere. So, we can say that some fairy tales are adaptations of real-life events. 

Are fairy tales timeless?

Yes. The storyline might have changed in many tales with time, but the central idea has always been the same. 

What is the right time to read fairy tales to your child?

There’s no specific time to read stories to your kids. However, most parents prefer to read stories before bedtime. But you can read them to your child anytime as soon as they turn two.

Tales for boys - read fairy tales online

Boys love stories about heroes, warriors, sailors, travelers, distant countries. And also about extraterrestrial civilizations. They try on the role of father, husband, protector of the family. This is very important for the formation of personality. Sons can read bedtime stories about wizards, mysterious transformations. It is undesirable before going to bed to fix attention on the climaxes (for example, those where the Dragon's head is cut off), it is better to choose something more calm, pacifying. Recently, a lot of books have appeared explaining the structure of technology, fairy-tale characters also act in them: they make their way inside mechanisms, aircraft, microscopes, bathyscaphes, telescopes. Such tales are not only interesting, but also informative.

In the summer, Shurik and I lived with our grandfather. Shurik is my younger brother. He is not yet at school, and I have already entered the first grade. But he doesn't listen to me anyway... Well, don't! I found a glass jar…

Read more

Once upon a time there was a dog Barboska. He had a friend - the cat Vaska. Both of them lived with their grandfather. Grandfather went to work, Barboska guarded the house, and Vaska the cat caught mice. Once grandfather left for work, the cat Vaska ran away for a walk, but Barbos stayed at home. Having nothing to do, he climbed onto the windowsill and began to look out the window. He was …

Read more

One winter, Fedya Rybkin came from the skating rink. There was no one at home. Fedya's younger sister, Rina, has already done her homework and went to play with her friends. Mother also left somewhere. - That's good! Fedya said. At least no one will interfere with doing homework. He turned on the TV, took out a task book from his bag and became ...

Read more

It was wonderful for Mishka and me to live in the country! That's where the expanse was! Do what you want, go where you want. You can go to the forest for mushrooms or for berries or swim in the river, but if you don’t want to swim, then fish, and no one will say a word to you. When my mother's vacation was over and we had to get ready to go back to ...

Read more

table and coloring pictures. Suddenly, behind them, something plopped down - fell to the floor. They turned and saw a hat on the floor near the chest of drawers. Vovka went up to the chest of drawers, bent down, wanted to pick up his hat - and suddenly he screamed: - Ai-ai-ai! — …

Read more

There lived a scattered man On Basseinaya Street. He sat down on the bed in the morning, began to put on a shirt, put his hands into the sleeves - it turned out that these were trousers. That's how absent-minded From Basseinaya Street! He began to put on a coat - They tell him: it’s not that. Began to pull on leggings - They tell him: not yours. That's how absent-minded From Basseinaya Street! Instead of a hat on the go ...

Read more

So spring has come. A bright sun shone in the sky. It became warm outside, I didn’t even have to put on a coat - just like in summer. Green grass sprouted from the ground. Only yesterday the young sticky-trees on the street stood completely, completely naked, and today they are covered with small leaves, so soft and tender, in one day. It was a joy to look at them! …

Read more

The lady checked in a sofa, a suitcase, a bag, a picture, a basket, a cardboard box, and a small dog. Issued to a lady at the station Four green receipts About the fact that the luggage was received: Sofa, Suitcase, Carrying bag, Painting, Basket, Cardboard And a small dog. Things are being taken to the platform. They are thrown into an open car. Ready. The luggage is packed: Sofa, Suitcase, Sac, Painting, Basket, Cardboard And a small dog. But…

Read more

Anyone who has read the book "The Adventure of Dunno" knows that Dunno had many friends - little people like him. Among them were two mechanics - Vintik and Shpuntik, who were very fond of making different things. One day they decided to build a vacuum cleaner to clean the room. They made a round metal box from two halves. An electric motor was placed in one half ...

Read more

There lived a little girl named Ninochka. She was only five years old. She had a father, mother and an old grandmother, whom Ninochka called granny. Ninochka's mother went to work every day, and Ninochka's grandmother stayed with her. She taught Ninochka how to dress, and wash, and fasten buttons on her bra, and lace up shoes, and braid braids, and even . ..

Read more

Russian folk tales, fairy tales for children read online with pictures

Fairy tales

Page 1 || Page 2

To read Russian folk tales means to join the culture of the people, to one's roots, to begin to understand its past and foresee the future. The tradition of reading bedtime stories to children has not disappeared. It is fairy tales that teach children to distinguish good from bad, truth from lies, good from evil. Ivan Tsarevich, Baba Yaga, the Frog Princess, the cunning fox and the simpleton wolf remain with us for the rest of our lives.

Russian folk tales

Russian fairy tale - a gift to the whole world. A. N. Afanasiev

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin Russian fairy tales

Ivan Bilibin's fairy tale brush

Folk and literary tales

Tales of Hans-Christian Andersen. Danish Tales

— Andersen is the love of my life! - admits Lyudmila Braude, translator. — His fairy tales are for everyone — both for children and adults... Continued

King of fairy tales. A story about Andersen under the heading "The Life of Remarkable Children"

Tales of Charles Perrault. French fairy tales

Tales of the Brothers Grimm. German fairy tales

Real fairy tales should be a little scary and very alluring. Like a gingerbread house in which a terrible witch lives. In winter, it's time to re-read the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, in which Hansel and Gretel show miracles of resourcefulness, getting out of the gingerbread house! Sequel

Tales of Wilhelm Hauff. German fairy tales

German folk tales

English fairy tales

Swedish fairy tales

Tales of Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl. Russian fairy tales

Tales of Leo Tolstoy. Russian fairy tales

Tale of Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak.

Tales of Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky

Tale of P. P. Ershov. Russian fairy tale

Tales of Maxim Gorky. Russian fairy tales

Tale of A. Pogorelsky. Russian fairy tale

Tales of Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky. Russian fairy tales

Fairy tales by Astrid Lindgren. Swedish fairy tales

Tales of S. Topelius. Finnish fairy tales

Tales of Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin. Russian fairy tales

Tales of Gianni Rodari.

Learn more

• 
  Words that rhymes with moon
• 
  Letter a learning activities
• 
  Rhyming words with valentine
• 
  Story for little child
• 
  Feelings and emotions for kids
• 
  Good night stories for children
• 
  Bed time tales
• 
  Words kids should know
• 
  Words rhyming with say
• 
  Developing reading fluency
• 
  What begins with the letter n