Ages 9-12
Stories suggested for ages 9–12, with longer journeys, competing motives and difficult choices. Some contain frightening scenes or violence described in the page’s guidance. These age suggestions support selection and discussion; they do not make every traditional story equally suitable for every reader.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach
A boy born from a giant peach sets out with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant to conquer the devils who have been raiding Japan from their island castle.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Ogre of Rashomon
A knight rides out on a stormy night to prove an ogre story false, cuts off the monster’s arm, and must guard it when a strange old visitor comes calling.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The White Hare and the Crocodiles
A little hare tricks a line of crocodiles into bridging the sea, pays dearly for his mockery, and is healed by a kind stranger who wins a princess.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower
A kind old man’s faithful dog leads him to buried gold, and even after a jealous neighbor’s cruelty, the dog’s gifts make dead trees burst into bloom.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher
After losing his brother’s precious fish-hook, a prince travels to the Dragon King’s palace beneath the sea and comes home with jewels that rule the tides.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar
An old performing monkey about to be sold to the butcher asks a wise boar for help, and the two stage a baby-snatching so the monkey can be the hero.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Mirror of Matsuyama
A dying mother gives her daughter a mirror, and the girl’s faith that she sees her mother’s face in it leads a jealous stepmother to accuse her of witchcraft.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child
An old man finds a shining girl inside a bamboo stem; she sets five suitors impossible tasks, refuses an emperor, and is carried back to the moon.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy
A boy of amazing strength grows up wrestling with mountain animals until a disguised general sees him uproot a tree and takes him to become a samurai.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The “Shinansha,” or the South Pointing Carriage
In this legend, Emperor Kotei counters a fog-making enemy with a south-pointing chariot, and the storyteller also credits him with inventing a boat.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad
A kind fisherman rescues a tortoise, marries the Sea King’s daughter, and returns home after three days to find that three hundred years have passed.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
My Lord Bag of Rice
The warrior Hidesato steps over a dragon, kills a giant centipede for the Dragon King of Lake Biwa, and is rewarded with a rice bag that never empties.