The Grammar of Fantasy: An Introduction to the Art of Inventing Stories

From the father of modern Italian children’s literature, this is one of the great works about the imagination and how stories are made―featuring radiant illustrations from Matthew Forsythe and a refreshed translation from Jack Zipes.

A Marginalian Favorite Book of 2025!

"Holds great value for the adults who teach kids and the adults who write for them." ―Mac Barnett, U.S. National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, for the New York Times

★ "A must-have for educators and librarians looking to inject creativity into their classrooms." ―School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW!

This handbook for writers of all ages and kinds is essential reading for teachers and creatives. It offers a playful, practical path to finding your own voice through the power of storytelling. Full of ideas, glosses on fairy tales, stories, and wide-ranging activities, this book changed how creative arts were taught in Italian schools.

Gianni Rodari is not only revered as a children’s author, but also remembered for his visionary pedagogy, and it is these two fields he combines in this revolutionary essay collection. Translated into English by acclaimed scholar of folklore and children’s literature Jack Zipes, and with original art from illustrator Matthew Forsythe, this edition of The Grammar of Fantasy is one to live with and return to for its humor, intelligence, and remarkable understanding of children.

Gianni Rodari is widely considered the father of modern Italian children’s literature. In 1960, he collaborated with the Education Cooperation Movement to develop exercises to encourage children’s creative and critical thinking abilities. The recipient of the prestigious Andersen Prize in recognition of his contribution to children’s literature, he was also one of Italy’s most important educators and an activist who understood the liberating power of the imagination. Jack Zipes is a renowned children’s historian and folklorist who has written, translated, and edited dozens of books on fairy tales (Breaking the Magic Spell, The Irresistible Fairy Tale, The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm). He is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. Matthew Forsythe is the award-winning author-illustrator of picture books Pokko and the Drum, Mina, and the illustrator of The Golden Leaf. He was also lead designer on Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and production designer of the Oscar-nominated short film Robin Robin.