A great collection of Celtic myths made consumable for kids. It did feel a bit more like fables, especially with the discussion of the "moral of the story" but it was fun to read through.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really great kids book! would totally buy for kids, loved reading it!

Celtic Mythology for Kids: Tales of Selkies, Giants, and the Sea by Chris Pinard features twenty famous and lesser-known myths from places like Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany, this is your introduction to a faraway world of wonder. Colorful illustrations begin every myth. There is a glossary of Celtic mythology terms to better understand words like banshee, brownie, and selkie.

Celtic Mythology for Kids is not an introduction to Celtic mythology, which is what I was hoping for from the title. It is a selection of stories from the region, with questions at the end of each story, basically asking about the moral of the story. I know that fairy tales and oral tradition often are morality tales, or at least started that way, but I was rather hoping for more information about the creatures unique to the Celtic mythos than stories and questions that seem pointed at making readers behave. I wanted to learn more about a mythology and was disappointed with what I found.

Celtic Mythology for Kids by Chris Pinard is a collection of twenty short tales from Celtic culture. These myths, from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany, are well told and will capture children's imagination. Each myth is only a couple of pages long, which is the perfect length for younger children. Overall an excellent additional resource to have when teaching about myths, as you can include some Celtic mythology to the usual Greek and Roman mythology curriculum..

I have to say this was a pretty fun book to read. A few of these tales had familiar tones that I have heard before, but most of them were new to me. Each section told a different set of stories, and no two were alike. Some had a happy ending, while others not so much. I am not sure if all kids will enjoy this book, but some will get a kick out of it.

Concisely told tales, which are pretty well done. The main drawback is the little morality-tale style questions at the end of each story. "Do you think so and so should have kept his promise? Was the punishment fair?" etc. It really brings you out of the magical story and into reality with a jerk, and interrupts the joy of reading fairy tales quite a bit.

Many people grow up learning about Greek and Roman mythology but, of course, many cultures have their stories of heroes/heroines and gods/goddesses.  This book compiles many of these stories that are Celtic in origin.


Children who read or have the stories read to them will spend time with giants, fairies, witches, selkies and more.  The stories are well told and each ends with a short section of things to think about.  The stories are divided into four topics including mischief makers and monstrous fakers, for love alone, landscapes in Celtic folklore and into the wide and wild world. Enjoy these exciting tales from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and  Brittany. 


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.