Fairy Tales & Folklore Audiobooks | Kids

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After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Wild Swans,' transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl's poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York. Following her brother's death and her mother's emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal. Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relative’s financial aid to save the family store. As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young woman’s heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood.

Gregory Maguire (Author), John Mcdonough (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Wild Sheep Chase

Brought to you by Penguin. A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation. It begins simply enough: A twenty-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend, and casually appropriates the image for an insurance company's advertisement. What he doesn't realise is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan, where he confronts not only the mythological sheep, but the confines of tradition and the demons deep within himself. Quirky and utterly captivating, A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami at his astounding best. 'A Wild Sheep Chase has the conventional hull of a thriller - a quest, a mystery, an extraordinary woman, and plenty of elegant duress - but its fantastic superstructure transforms it into something quite different...a science fiction fantasy, a romance, a metaphysical tease, or a dramatisation of philosophical ideas' Independent © Haruki Murakami 1982 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Haruki Murakami (Author), Dexter Galang (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Brought to you by Penguin. Toru Okada's cat has disappeared and this has unsettled his wife, who is herself growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has started receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell. © Haruki Murakami 1994 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Haruki Murakami (Author), Rupert Degas (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Princess and the Prick

The Princess and the Prick is a feminist humour and gift book for adults. May I kiss you, he said. She didn't answer. She was asleep. So he kissed her anyway. SLEEPING BEAUTY Revisit childhood classics, but not as you remember them. Familiar fables are turned on their heads as your beloved heroines finally have their say. Think Ladybird for Adults or Enid Blyton spoofs; The Princess and the Prick flips fairy tales, nursery rhymes and children’s books on their head. Retold through a feminist lens as one liners, verses and rhyming couplets, and highlighting the sexism endemic in stories we grew up with, these classic tales will never be the same again… ‘I hate this book. It makes me look like a right prick.’ Prince Charming ‘A real wake-up call.’ Sleeping Beauty

Walburga Appleseed (Author), Olivia Forrest (Narrator)

Audiobook

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. Dark and mysterious, the timeless Grimm’s Fairy Tales have enchanted and inspired generations across the world. The brothers Grimm collected and edited 210 fairy and folk tales, including such beloved classics as ‘Hansel and Gretel’, ‘Rapunzel’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, into an intoxicating and bewitching combination of morality, love, honour and tragedy – and much more besides. Sir Ben Kingsley and Sir Michael Hordern provide captivating, immersive readings.

The Brothers Grimm (Author), Ben Kingsley, Michael Hordern (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Grimms' Fairy Tales

Transport yourself to a world of fantasy and magic, villainy and heroism, and stories that will enchant children and adults alike with Grimms’ Fairy Tales. This classic collection contains the stories of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, German storytellers whose fairy tales have been the inspiration for film, television, and literature for nearly two centuries. This collection of includes popular classics like “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” “Twelve Dancing Princesses,” “The Frog-Prince,” “Rapunzel,” and “Little Red Riding Hood,” as well as many more timeless stories of fantasy and adventure. With this collection, you can enjoy hearing the stories you already know and love while finding new favorites among these classic tales.

The Brothers Grimm (Author), Cathi Colas (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Rain Heron

Ren lives alone on the remote frontier of a country devastated by a coup. High on the forested slopes, she survives by hunting and trading - and forgetting. But when a young soldier comes to the mountains in search of a legendary creature, Ren is inexorably drawn into an impossible mission. As their lives entwine, unravel and erupt - as myth merges with reality - both Ren and the soldier are forced to confront what they regret, what they love, and what they fear. A vibrant homage to the natural world, bursting with beautiful landscapes and memorable characters, The Rain Heron is a beautifully told eco-fable about our fragile and dysfunctional relationships with the planet and with each other, the havoc we wreak and the price we pay. "The Rain Heron is genuinely and completely magnificent - a magical thing." ROBERT LUKINS

Robbie Arnott (Author), Jessica Douglas-Henry, Zoe Carides (Narrator)

Audiobook

Black Sam

The War of Spanish Succession is over, many sailors are out of work, and the thriving American colonies are quickly becoming the place of opportunity. For Sam Bellamy it is the opportunity to become the captain of his own ship. When he falls in love with a rebellious New England debutante, he finds out very quickly that he needs more than a dream to win over her socialite parents. After a failed treasure salvaging expedition, Sam makes one last desperate attempt to change his economic standing and unwittingly becomes the captain of the pirate ship Mary Anne. As a self-proclaimed 'Free Prince', Sam wages war on greedy merchantmen, slave traders, and Mother Nature in a bid not only for the love of his life but for life itself. The full list of additional narrators includes: Susan Hanfield, Ian Hart, Dave Fennoy, George Del Hoyo, Chuma Gault, Mae Sally Rouge Pax, Douglas Urbansk, Cleandra Martin-Waldron, Freddy Douglas, Gerry O'Brian, Peter Woodward, Jim Meskimen, Tamra Meskimen, Taylor Meskimen, Zachary Webber, Suzanne Heathcote, JP Gaumont, John Ortiz, Jackson Hyde-White, Elizabeth Swain, John Taylor, Jackson Conor, Brian Monk, Nate Aldrich, Paul Barry, Kevin Haas, Mauro Ron Butler, Austin Ford, Marc Solomon, Nicole Faires, Shelly Bovert, Garrick William, James Wood, James Lewis, Kelly Huddleston, Whitney Webster, Raul Dourado, and Shelby Lewis.

James Lewis (Author), - Multi-Cast (Narrator)

Audiobook