Welcome to Children’s Literature

The Theme That We Are Going to be Studying is Fairy Tales

What’s your favorite child hood fairy tale story? We have all read a fairy tale story before………

Being the new kid in school Having an adult family change/leave A new baby in the family Jealousy Common fears Dealing with bullies Problems to overcome Loss of something special to you A mean teacher Losing your best friend Students picking on each other Getting detention Death of a friend or family member Having to move Best friend moving

Fairy tales often begin with the words Once upon a time or Long, long ago. They usually include a good character and a bad character (evil). They can include magic or something enchanted. They frequently include a forest or castle in a fairy tale. The plot usually involves some kind of problem, the problem is eventually solved, and the good people live happily ever after.

Folktales and Fairy Tales  The term “folktales” and “fairytales” are often used interchangeably.

Folktales are part of oral tradition. The stories are passed on from generation to generation. Variants of folktales can be found throughout the world Folktales found throughout the world bear witness to the similarities, but the changes reflect the individual cultures.

Three elements of folktales are……  Simple language  Simple plot  Simple characters

Simple Tales Are short narrative, contain only one motif, and are realistic. An example of this is The Gingerbread Boy

Complex Tales May contain magic Have different motifs May contain supernatural elements An example of this is Sleeping Beauty

Journey Tales Entail visits to another land An example of this is The Twelve Princesses

Pourquoi tales Give explanations for certain situations of life. An example of this type of tale is, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

A Parody Is a literary or artistic work that mimics or ridicules an author's characteristic style. In order to appreciate a parody of a fairy tale, one must know the original well.

Variants The "variants," different versions, different motifs, different settings, different names, and different plots, reflect the culture in which they are written.

Samples of writers and their variants  Perrault from France wrote Puss in Boots.  Madame de Beaumont from France wrote Beauty and the Beast. (It was NOT Disney!!!)  Grimm Brothers from Germany wrote Hansel and Gretel.  Andrew Lang, contended that "all fairy tales are borrowed from other countries."  Joseph Jacobs found and wrote English folk tales, such as Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs.  Hans Christian Anderson, from Denmark, wrote, among many others, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor's New Clothes.  Isaac Bashev Singer collected Jewish folk tales.  Joel Chandler Harris collected slave stories in a collection called The Tales of Uncle Remus.  Other tales exist from the cultures found in Africa, Native American Indians, Appalachia, and even America's unique tales known as tall tales, such as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and John Henry, among others.

Folktales tend to trace the history of children's literature. The most common and best known tale in the world is Cinderella. There are over different versions.

The oldest known version was found in China in the 9th century, so contrary to what people believe, Charles Perrault of France was not the "creator" of the original tale. His version appeared in the 12th century. Other versions are still being written today, for example, in Russia and the United States. It is basically a story of sibling rivalry.

When evaluating traditional literature You are seeing if it has a good story Identifies original cultural source Includes characteristics of traditional literature Has rapid plot development Includes symbolic characters Has a simple and direct style Expresses universal values

One popular one is the Hero. There are many different characters that are in fairy tales

The Hero Is usually humble, simple, naïve, untainted (can recognize wonder signs) Believes in the miraculous & reveres nature Wants to keep happiness.

A not very popular character is the Villain.

Uses words & power to exploit, control, transfix, incarcerate, and destroy, intentionally for personal benefit No respect or consideration for nature & other humans Seeks to abuse magic (for personal gain)

Knowing the aspects of “folktales” and “fairytales” makes it easy to teach them to young children. Knowing how to evaluate these types of stories helps when trying to pick a story for a certain lesson.

Now that we know the essential information on fairy tales let’s create one of our own!!