Subject Guides: Reading Fairy Tales: Home

Reference works

The Book of Symbols
Trexler Library RESERVES. Archetypal meaning of many cultural icons. NOTE: Currently checked out.
A Companion to the Fairy Tale
Trexler Library RESERVES.
Dictionary of Symbolism
Archetypal meaning of various cultural icons. Available in Trexler Library RESERVES.
Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales
Synopses of many tales.

More books on reserve for FYS 139

Breaking the Magic Spell
By Jack Zipes. Nice introduction the purpose and meaning of fairy tales. Deals with politics, history, fantasy, religion, and morals. Rats, wizards, fairies, ogres.
Children into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination
Discusses various types of fairy tale motifs including dwarfs, giants, etc.
A Companion to the Fairy Tale
Location: Trexler Library Reserves. Discusses the characteristics of the traditional fairy tale in Europe and North America.
Don't Bet on the Prince
Trexler Library Reserves. Essays collected and edited by Jack Zipes. Feminist criticism.
From the Forest
Trexler Library Reserves. Connects fairy tales with the forest and nature.
Grimm Legacies
By Jack Zipes. Treats varied tales and themes.
Grimms' Bad Girls and Bold Boys
Trexler Library Reserves. Focus on gender.
The Hard Facts of Grimms' Fairy Tales
Shows the dark side of fairy tales. Many themes and tales are discussed. Sex, violence, victims, seekers, nags, witches, ogres, etc.
The Irresistible Fairy Tale
Jack Zipes. Varied tales and themes. Witches, women, death and regeneration, etc.
Once Upon a Time
Themes: animals, beasts, brothers, children, witches, crones, dreams, fathers, mothers, etc.
One Fairy Story Too Many
Location: Trexler Library Reserves. Origin and development of the Grimm tales.
The Uses of Enchantment
Location: Trexler Library Reserves. By Bruno Bettelheim. Classic study. Psychoanalytic. Treats several tales and themes.
Ventures into Childland
Location: Trexler Library Reserves. Theme of adults and children, and growing up.
When Dreams Came True
Location: Trexler Library Reserves. Jack Zipes. Cultural and historical development of the fairy tale generally.

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Encompass Search
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Google Books
Google Books is a rich source of full-text documents (books and other materials) published prior to 1923 that are now in the public domain.
Google Scholar
May be used in conjunction with interlibrary loan. Access to full text is maximized by searching from the Muhlenberg network.

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A substantive archive of about 3,000 full text scholarly journals plus scholarly books in the arts, humanities, social sciences and biological sciences. As an archive, there is typically a lag time of 3-5 years from publication until new issues appear in JSTOR. Journals include core titles from a variety of disciplines: history, economics, biology, and more.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Premier scholarly index, with numerous links to full text, to criticism in the areas of literature, language, linguistics, film studies, and folklore, published from 1920-present.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
A full-text database with journal articles and ebooks in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
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Citing sources

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Articles and books via interlibrary loan

Articles and books not found in Trexler Library can be ordered on interlibrary loan.