1. Traditional Children’s Literature

2. Characteristics Unknown authorship
Conventional introductions and conclusions
Vague settings
Stereotyped characters
Anthropomorphism
Cause and effect
Happy ending for hero
Magic accepted as normal
Brief stories with simple and direct plots
Repetition of actions and verbal patterns

3. Subgenres 1.Myths- often include hero or supernatural
2. Fables- simple narrative, often with lesson in behaviour or morals like The Lion and the Mouse
3. Ballads and songs- Stories that were passed down through singing songs
like There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a fly.
4. Legends- “unverifiable” tales, told as if they are non-fiction, often featuring human heros with some exaggeration
5. Tall tales- American stories from frontier times (also exaggerated sometimes) like Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed
6. Fairy tales- Largest and most diverse sub genres, including Beast Stories, Trickster Tales, “Simpleton Tales”, Pourquoi Tales(or “why tales”),Cumulative Tales, Realistic Tales, Wonder Stories.
7. “Traditional Rhymes”- Nursery Rhymes like Mother Goose

4. Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella
Robert D San Souci
Illus. Brian Pinkney
Aladdin
2002
This story is a Caribbean twist on the classic story of Cinderella. The story is told from the POV of the god mother of Cendrillon.

5. D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
Delacorte
Ingrid and Edgar d’Aulaire
1992
This is a book of classical Greek myths, written and illustrated for children.

6. Thumbelina Hans Christian Anderson Retold by Amy Ehrlich
Illustrated by Susan Jeffers
Thumbelinas story begins with a lonely woman who wanted a child. A witch gives the woman a seed, which grows into a flower that tiny Thumbelina blossoms out of. She is soon taken by a toad (while she was sleeping in a walnut shell by the window) She embraces the adventure and makes a variety of friends living out in nature.

7. The Golden Goose (Grimms Fairy Tales)
Retold by Rose Dobbs
Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott Espenscheid
Published 1955
The youngest and “simplest” of brothers is rewarded for his kindness by a little old man whom he shared his food and drink with. (Much like the textbook said, I would highly suggest a newer edit if you are reading this to children/students)

8. Briar Rose: The Sleeping Beauty
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
Illustrated by Svend Otto S.
Published 1975 Pelham
This story is one of the many versions of the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty.“ It is a story of good prevailing over evil. The prince saves the princess from the curse of the evil fairy thanks to a good fairy. In the end, “they lived contented to the end of their days.”

9. Rumpelstiltskin Written and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Published 1996 Puffin
This version of “Rumpelstiltskin” is an adaptation of German fairy tale by the Grimm brothers. A miller’s daughter is able to outwit Rumpelstiltskin to save her daughter.

10. The Boy Who Cried Wolf B. G. Hennessy Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Published 2006 Simon & Schuster
This story is the retelling of the original fable in which the main character repeatedly cries out for help. He is sent help every time until he really needs help in which everyone thinks he is not really in danger.

11. The Lion and The Mouse Jerry Pinkney Published 2009 Little Brown Books
This story tells Aesop’s fable in which a lion saves the life of a mouse who in return saves the lion from a hunter’s trap.