Folktale – Folktales are stories that originated a long time ago among the traditional folk people. Some were originally passed down orally because of tradition. Many folktales are based off superstitions and are in turn false. There are many different types of folk tales such as talking animal tales, fables, wonder tales, merry tales, cumulative tales, tall tales and local legends, ghost stories and jump tales, and trickster tales. Folktales have left a huge mark on world culture due to their variety of story type and great sense of tradition.
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Bos, S., & Jenkins, E. (Illustrator). (2016). A masked fairytale: Goldilocks and the three bears. Melbourne, AU: Chirpy Bird.
This book is based on the 1897 classic by Robert Southey. It tells a story of a young girl in the woods who stumbles upon a home. Inside the home are three versions of everything, one for each of the bears who live there. Goldilocks does not know of the three bear residents and eats their porridge and sleeps in their beds. As she is sleeping, the three bears return home to find their home has been entered by a stranger. They soon find the girl in baby bears bed and chase her out. In this book, there is a clear pattern of words being repeated. “Too hot, too cold, just right” as she samples each of the three porages. “Too soft, too hard, just right” as she lays in their beds.
This book would be great to read in a preschool before center time, and then offering the masks for students to play with at the dramatic play learning station. The repetition of words engages kids because they can read along with what they think will come next. I chose this reprint because it offers modern and colorful illustrations as well as the added bonus of masks. This would also work in a classroom anywhere from ages pre-k to second grade and is something I would include on my own classroom book shelf. (Credit Tess Thompson)
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Deedy, C. A., & Austin, M. (Illustrator). (2007). Martina, the beautiful cockroach: a Cuban folktale. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.
This folktale, as retold by Deedy, is about a female, Cuban cockroach that has just turned 21 of age. Her family sets out to help her find a perfect man to marry. Her Abuela suggested to her that in order to see how a man will really treat her, Martina should spill coffee on each suitors’ shoes and see how they react. Again and again Martina is disappointed by the suitors reactions to the spilt coffee, but in the end she finds the one she is meant to be with.
I think this book would be good for students ages in 1st to 3rd grade. The story shows examples of not letting someone treat you less than you are worth. I think the way Martina chooses to wait for the right man is a good message that kids should learn about who to choose as friends. I chose this book because I like the way each suitor is shown in a different way, but still isn’t the right fit. (Credit: Mallory Waker)
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Pinkney, J. (2007). Little Red Riding Hood. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group USA.
This book is the classic folktale, Little Red Riding Hood. A little girl is instructed by her mother to take her sick grandmother food to make her feel better. The mother tells the little girl to go straight to her grandmother’s house. While she walks through the forest, she encounters a wolf who inquiries about her grandmother’s house location and fools the girl into looking for twigs to build a fire. When she arrives at her grandmother’s house, the wolf has eaten her grandmother and pretends to be her grandmother. Soon after, the wolf eats her, too. A woodcutter comes by the house, cuts open the wolf and the little girl and her grandmother emerge whole. The wolf is then put to death and the little girl returns directly to her house afterwards.
This book would be appropriate for second and third graders because of the violent/frightening nature. This book includes folktale elements such as one-dimensional characters, a vague setting, and the forest symbolizes the unknown nature of the forest in which the little girl passes through. The book differs from the classic folktale since the little girl skin appears to be of color. Another variation from the original is what she brings for her grandmother; in this story, it is chicken soup and raisin muffins. This story would be one to include in a children’s library. (Credit: Michaela Bruno)
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Smith, A. M. (2006). The baboons who went this way and that. Edinburgh: Canongate.
This compilation of African folktales was an interesting read for me, but might not appeal to younger children. These tales focused on topics such as why the elephants and hyenas cannot live close to people and how a family was cursed with children made of wax. It was interesting for me to read these folktales and see how they compared to folktales in America. I could see how these folktales explained natural events and provided an explanation for things that occur on their own.
I think this book would be geared to children in grades 3 and above. This book is a compilation of folktales from Africa, but the stories are all longer than ones that would be in picture books. There are also very few pictures and the pictures that are included are simply drawn and do not include any color. It would be difficult to read these stories to children, but it could be a good book to keep on the shelf in a classroom of older children who can understand a longer story as well as pay attention. You could still use this in a classroom to introduce African culture and how folktales differ from country to country. It would be beneficial to summarize the stories so younger children could understand them better. (Credit: Haley Gleason)
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Töwe, N. Jack & the beanstalk. (2012). USA: Minedition Micheal Neugebauer Publishing Itd.
Nina Töwe beautifully illustrated and retold the classic folktale Jack & The Beanstalk. Jack and his mother are facing hard times and must sell their only cow in order to eat. Instead, Jack trades his cow for magic beans. The beans grow a large beanstalk that leads to a castle, lived in by the Giant and his wife. During his trips up the beanstalk, Jack steals items from the castle that make his mother rich. In the end, Jack defeats the mean giant and everyone lives happily ever after.
Jack & The Beanstalk is a perfect book to introduce folktales to a large group of students, and is also a great book to have on a classroom library shelf. I would recommend this book for children ages six to nine years old. There are some difficult words, but is overall a great book for children interested in folktales to read. (Credit: Sydney Janes)
Mallory's EDT315 Semester 