Folk and fairy tales exist in all cultures and are at the heart of civilization. This massive Encyclopedia gives students and general readers a broad, multicultural survey of folk and fairy tales from around the world. Included are hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries written by numerous expert contributors. Entries cover themes and motifs, individuals, characters and character types, national traditions, genres, and a range of other topics. Each entry cites works for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources. Literature students will welcome this book as an aid to understanding and analyzing folk and fairy tales as literary forms, while social studies students will appreciate it as an exploration of the essence of world cultures. Folk and fairy tales exist in all cultures and are at the heart of civilization. The most comprehensive work of its kind, this massive Encyclopedia gives students and general readers a broad, accessible, multicultural survey of folk and fairy tales from around the world. Edited by one of the foremost authorities on the subject, the Encyclopedia draws on the work of numerous expert contributors and covers a broad range of themes and motifs, characters and character types, genres, individuals, national traditions, and other topics. Entry topics were chosen in consultation with a nine-member Advisory Board that includes some of the most prominent scholars currently pursuing the study of folk and fairy tales, such as Professor Jack Zipes of the University of Minnesota, whose work has revolutionized research on fairy tales. Entries cite works for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources. Literature students will value this book as an aid to understanding and analyzing folk and fairy tales as literary forms, while social studies students will appreciate the book's examination of the foundations of world cultures. And because many of these tales continue to influence films, television, and popular culture, general readers will welcome the Encyclopedia as a means of understanding the modern world.