When I went to school in the late 1960s, one of my favourite things to read were the various volumes in the Oxford Myths and Legends series. Each of them had a different figure on the spine, dressed in some traditional manner - a bagpiper for Scotland, a kimono-clad woman for Japan. To me at the time the utmost felicity imaginable would have been to have a complete set of these books, and to learn about (as I fondly imagined) all the folk traditions in the world in this painless manner.
Everything about them pleased me! I liked Joan Kiddell-Monroe's bold black and white illustrations - I liked the large pages and the clever variations on the same basic story patterns in each volume. Over the years, I've bought any that have come my way, with the result that I now have copies of the following:
- Arnott, Kathleen. African Myths and Legends. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1962. London: Oxford University Press, 1967.
- Downing, Charles. Armenian Folk-tales and Fables. Illustrated by William Papas. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.
- Birch, Cyril. Chinese Myths and Fantasies. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1961. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.
- Reeves, James. English Fables and Fairy Stories. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1954. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.
- Picard, Barbara Leonie. French Legends, Tales and Fairy Stories. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1955. London: Oxford University Press, 1957.
- Picard, Barbara Leonie. German Hero-Sagas and Folk-tales. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1958. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
- Gray, J. E. B. Indian Tales and Legends. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1961. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.
- O’Faolain, Eileen. Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1954. London: Oxford University Press, 1957.
- McAlpine, Helen & William. Japanese Tales and Legends. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1958. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.
- Nahmad, H. M. The Peasant and the Donkey: Tales of the Near and Middle East. With Stories by Charles Downing, Nadia Abu-Zahra, Feyyaz Kayacan, & Mary Fergar. Illustrated by William Papas. Oxford Myths and Legends. London: Oxford University Press, 1967.
- Downing, Charles. Russian Tales and Legends. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1956. London: Oxford University Press, 1968.
- Jones, Gwyn. Scandinavian Legends and Folktales. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1956. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
- Wilson, Barbara Ker. Scottish Folk-Tales and Legends. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1954. London: Oxford University Press, 1955.
- Müller-Guggenbühl, Fritz. Swiss-Alpine Folk-Tales. Trans. Katharine Potts. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1958. London: Oxford University Press, 1964.
- Picard, Barbara Leonie. Tales of Ancient Persia: from the Shah-Nāma of Firdausi. Illustrated by Victor Ambrus. 1972. London: Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Picard, Barbara Leonie. Tales of the Norse Gods and Heroes. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. 1953. London: Oxford University Press, 1958.
- Jones, Gwyn. Welsh Legends and Folk-Tales. 1955. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. London: Oxford University Press, 1957.
- Sherlock, Philip. West Indian Folk-Tales. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
- Ćurčija-Prodanović, Nada. Yugoslav Folk-Tales. 1955. Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe. London: Oxford University Press, 1957.
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Of course, this list is nowhere near complete. There are a number I remember reading at school which are not there above: condensed versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, in particular.
Here's another listing from the LibraryThing website (I've marked in bold the ones I don't yet own):
- The Adventures of Young Krishna, The Blue God of India, by Diksha Dalal-Clayton
- African Myths and Legends, by Kathleen Arnott (1962)
- Armenian Folk-Tales and Fables, by Charles Downing (1972)
- Chinese Myths and Fantasies, by Cyril Birch (1961)
- The Curse of the Ring, by Michael Harrison
- Doom of the Gods, by Michael Harrison
- Egyptian and Sudanese Folk-Tales, by Helen Mitchnik
- El Cid, by Geraldine McCaughrean
- English Fables and Fairy Stories, by James Reeves (1954)
- French Legends, Tales, and Fairy Stories, by Barbara Leonie Picard (1955)
- German Hero-Sagas and Folk-Tales, by Barbara Leonie Picard (1958)
- Gilgamesh the Hero, by Geraldine McCaughrean
- Gods and Men: Myths and Legends from the World's Religions, by John Bailey
- Hungarian Folk-Tales, by Val Biro
- The Iliad of Homer, by Barbara Leonie Picard
- Indian Tales and Legends, by J. E. B. Gray (1961)
- Irish Myths and Legends, by Ita Daly
- Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales, by Eileen O'Faolain (1954)
- Island of the Mighty, by Haydn Middleton
- Ivan: Stories of Old Russia, by Marcus Crouch
- Japanese Tales and Legends, by Helen & William McAlpine (1958)
- Korean Folk-Tales, by James Riordan
- The Odyssey of Homer, by Barbara Leonie Picard
- The Peasant and the Donkey: Tales of the Near and Middle East, by H. M. Nahmad (1967)
- Renard the Fox, by Rachel Anderson
- Russian Tales and Legends, by Charles Downing (1956)
- Scandinavian Legends and Folk-Tales, by Gwyn Jones (1956)
- Scottish Folk-Tales and Legends, by Barbara Ker Wilson (1954)
- Selected Fairy Tales, by Barbara Leonie Picard
- Swiss-Alpine Folk-Tales, by Fritz Müller-Guggenbühl (1958)
- Tales of Ancient Persia, by Barbara Leonie Picard (1972)
- Tales of the Norse Gods and Heroes, by Barbara Leonie Picard (1953)
- A Treasury of Turkish Folk-Tales for Children, by Barbara K. Walker
- Ukrainian Folk-Tales, by Christina Oparenko
- Welsh Legends and Folk-Tales, by Gwyn Jones (1955)
- West African Trickster Tales, by Martin Bennett
- West Indian Folk-Tales, by Philip M. Sherlock (1966)
- When the World Began: Stories Collected in Ethiopia, by Elizabeth Laird
- Yugoslav Folk-Tales, by Nada Curcija-Prodanovic (1955)
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- category - Folklore and Fairy Tales: Classic Collections
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