Susan Price's favorite books about animals and folklore

Like most children, I met folklore through the Grimm brothers, even though the Grimms were serious scholars and didn’t publish their book for children.

Still, their complete collection of 248 stories includes Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and Aschenputtel, "Little Ashes," a Cinderella story. Many other Grimm stories are about animals.

The Bremen Town Musicians tells of a donkey, cat, rooster, and dog, all cruelly treated, who band together to make a life for themselves. Old Sultan is about a toothless old dog who’s outlived his usefulness. His owner means to kill him. But Sultan conspires with "his kinsman," a wolf. The wolf pretends to carry off the farmer’s child, so the ancient dog can stage a rescue, becoming a hero and earning a comfortable retirement.

Koshchei the Undying, Vassilia the Beautiful, the Firebird, and Father Frost whispering through the forest: "Are you cold, my children? Are you cold?" The fairy tales of Russia, like their folk art, are beautiful and jewel-coloured.

My own fairy tale book was partly inspired by the Russian tale of Sister Alenushka and Brother Ivanushka, where the little boy is told he must not drink water from the hoof-print of a goat—but he does, and turns into a goat!

There are Russian tales of ambitious cats, grumpy bears, and snakes who marry princesses. These vivid tales have inspired artists, playwrights, and composers. Every child should read them.

In this mighty two-volume work, Katherine M. Briggs set out to bring together every folk-tale, myth, and local legend written down in the British Isles, in the English language.

Tales from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England: stories of how places gained their names, tales of witches, ghosts, wizards, mermaids, elves, changelings…And also many tales of animals, including The Three Bears and Three Little Pigs.

But also ghostly black dogs, talking dogs, cats who spin, seals who turn into people, donkeys, giant worms or dragons, hens, and magpies. These books are treasure-houses of ideas and inspiration.

As a lover of folk-tale, legend, and myth—and having an especial love for Norse Myth—I soon sought out the folk-tales of Norway.

Asbjorsen and Moe are the Norwegian answer to the Brothers Grimm. Their collection is superb. There’s the Ash-Lad, who is rather like Jack of Beanstalk fame, and many trolls. There are twelve princes searching for twelve lost princesses, helpful griffins, abandoned babies, and ancient Norse gods pitching up in thin disguise.

And, of course, as the people who told these tales lived between mountains, sky, and sea, there are many tales of animals and birds.

I don’t know how old I was when I first read some version of Aesop’s Fables.

Probably very young, as many are retold for small children, and have become proverbial. For instance, the fox who, unable to reach the bunch of grapes he wants, sulks and says, "I don’t want them anyway, they’re sour." Thereby giving us the expression, "Sour grapes."

Almost all of the stories feature animals. There’s the tale of the tortoise and the hare, where the tortoise wins the race, and the tale of the strong, fierce lion whose life is saved by a tiny mouse. These ancient stories mix observation of animals and observation of human behaviour in many vivid, telling, and very short stories.