Great Readings
This document consists of great books or articles on Folklore Studies. Some are here because there is a course covering the same material; some are just great books that you should read at some point in your career.
Once you have made it through most of the curriculum, knowing whether a book is worth your time will become easier. Or, if you are struggling in one of the courses, perhaps reading a book on the subject will help.
Introductory and General Folklore
| Name | Author(s) |
|---|---|
| Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions | Martha C. Sims and Martine Stephens |
| Folklore Rules: A Fun, Quick, and Useful Introduction to the Field | Lynne S. McNeill |
Narrative and Fairy Tales
| Name | Author(s) |
|---|---|
| Italian Folktales | Italo Calvino |
| The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales | Bruno Bettelheim |
Urban and Contemporary Legends
| Name | Author(s) |
|---|---|
| The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings | Jan Harold Brunvand |
| Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends | Jan Harold Brunvand |
Collections and Anthologies
| Name | Author(s) |
|---|---|
| A Dictionary of English Folklore | Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud |
| African Folktales (free on Archive.org) | Roger D. Abrahams |