About Modern Fairy Tales
Every child needs fairy tales
Fairy tales entertain children, spark their imagination and help them understand the world. Through memorable characters and engaging adventures, a story can explore friendship, kindness, courage, responsibility and self-acceptance in a way that feels natural rather than instructive.
Some stories also give parents a gentle way to talk about things that may worry a child: fear of the dark, loneliness, a lack of confidence, difficulty making friends or changes within the family. Others simply bring joy, carry readers into a magical world and become part of a comforting bedtime ritual.
That is why we created Modern Fairy Tales, an international online library of contemporary stories for children and their families.
Stories for children growing up today
We love the classic tales that generations of readers have grown up with. But the world is changing, and children also need new heroes, new situations and stories that reflect modern life.
At Modern Fairy Tales, dragons, wizards, princesses, talking animals and fantastic creatures share the page with themes familiar to children today. Our characters use technology, communicate online, learn to understand their feelings, face their fears, build friendships and make their own choices.
Our library includes:
- original contemporary fairy tales;
- educational and therapeutic stories;
- tales about friendship, family, kindness and helping others;
- stories about emotions, fears and growing up;
- classic plots reimagined for a new generation;
- magical adventures to enjoy at bedtime or at any time of day.
We want children to grow up curious, confident and open to the world. We also want parents to have a thoughtful story close at hand whenever they need to begin an important conversation or simply spend a warm, quiet moment together.
More than translation: stories adapted for each culture
Modern Fairy Tales brings together readers from many parts of the world. Our stories are available in 31 language and regional editions:
- English (
en), British English (en-GB), Canadian English (en-CA) and Australian English (en-AU); - Spanish (
es) and Argentinian Spanish (es-AR); - European Portuguese (
pt-PT) and Brazilian Portuguese (pt-BR); - French (
fr) and Canadian French (fr-CA); - German (
de), Italian (it) and Dutch (nl); - Swedish (
sv), Norwegian Bokmål (nb-NO), Danish (da) and Finnish (fi); - Polish (
pl), Czech (cs), Romanian (ro) and Hungarian (hu); - Greek (
el), Turkish (tr) and Persian (fa); - Indonesian (
id), Thai (th) and Vietnamese (vi-VN); - Japanese (
ja) and Korean (ko); - Bengali for India (
bn-IN) and Bangladesh (bn-BD).
These editions are not produced through word-for-word translation alone. Each story is adapted with respect for the language, culture and familiar context of its readers.
Names, forms of address, everyday details, traditions, humour and certain situations may be carefully adjusted so that the story feels natural and meaningful to a child in that country or region. At the same time, the plot, the personalities of the characters and the central message of the original tale remain intact.
The result is not a mechanical translation, but a living story that sounds at home in the reader's language and cultural environment.
Made for bilingual and multilingual families
Modern Fairy Tales is especially useful for bilingual and multilingual families, children growing up abroad and young readers learning another language.
The same fairy tale can be read in different languages: first in the language a child knows best, and then in one they are learning. A familiar story makes new words and expressions easier to understand and turns language practice into a natural part of reading together.
Because every edition is culturally adapted, some details may differ between versions. These differences offer a wonderful opportunity to talk with children about life and traditions in other countries, and about the feelings and values people share across languages and borders.
Your favourite fairy tales, wherever you go
You do not need to carry a book to enjoy a story together. Modern Fairy Tales works on smartphones, tablets and computers, so the library is always close at hand whenever you have an internet connection.
Choose a story for bedtime in advance and add it to your Favourites by selecting the star beside its title. If your child falls asleep before the ending, the Continue Reading feature will help you return to the place where you stopped.
For more comfortable reading in low light, switch on night reading mode using the moon icon in the header or mobile menu.
You can also download a story in FB2 format and open it in your preferred reading app or on an e-reader.
Find the right story
Our library continues to grow with new fairy tales. Search suggestions make it easy to find stories by title, subject, character, keyword or phrase. You can also use the sitemap to browse the available stories in alphabetical order.
When you discover a story you love, add it to your Favourites, send it to someone close to you or share it on social media. A favourite tale can then stay with a child at home, while travelling or during a visit to their grandparents.
Help us grow an international story library
Our goal is to make thoughtful contemporary fairy tales available to children and parents, regardless of where they live or which language they speak.
If you cannot find the story you need, notice an error or would like to suggest an idea, please contact us through the feedback form. We appreciate your comments, suggestions and support. Every recommendation helps a new family discover the world of Modern Fairy Tales.
Read with your children, talk about the characters' choices, imagine what might happen next and create reading traditions of your own.
A good fairy tale should always be close at hand, in every language and wherever in the world you may be.
Editor-in-Chief — Pavel Saik
Editorial email —