Folklore: Stories that were told long ago and were passed on to other generations.
Much of folklore is filled with negative images of animals as being cunning and selfish. Also, women have had negative roles as needy, helpless victims who a range of evil beings want to harm. The dark origins of Mother Goose rhymes are well known. Of course, one can use these to teach history and the origins of the text along with a lesson in how to discern accurate depictions from falsehoods, for example. We can teach readers to become active critical readers through this type of text. Yet, within the genre, which I tend to avoid, there are samples of useful stories. Some tales below are from other countries introducing us to the culture. Others can provide a humorous view of nursey rhymes and tales. The list of global versions of tales is endless what is listed are what struck me as great versions with beautiful visuals.
The True Tale of the Three Little Pigs
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Mythology
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Global FolkloreSnow White An Islamic Tale,2013
A- Fawzia Gilani's /I-Shireen Adams applies to a wide range of students as a read aloud or independent read Retelling of the traditional Snow White tale with elements of Islam culture. The culture is communicated through the dress, words, and through the references to the Qur'an listed after the Glossary. Great detail is used to illustrate the setting and the characters along with the evil godmother being depicted accurately. The poisonous liquid and the chalice are made from glossy overlay to bring attention to them. Lon Po Po A and I- Ed Young, 1989 Another book appropriate for a wide range of students and can be used in many ways. The art lends to the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood. Soft strokes bring a calm tone to the story and make this a pleasant read. The children's names have been kept authentic making this an enlightening read which depicts the importance of trees in the culture as the tree is what saves them from the bad wolf. A great source for teaching comparing/ contrasting and creating alternate endings. The elementary student will probably enjoy this as a read aloud as the text fills the page with the other side containing an illustration. The Child's World: www.childsworld.com This series includes stories from across the globe written by M.J.York and illustrated by Laura Freeman, 2013. There are 14 titles in all. Some include The Boy at the Dike, a Dutch folktale, and The Magic Paintbrush, a Chinese folktale. Each of these titles uses comic like illustrations to appear as the modern cartoons on television. The stories do not include illustrative support and the text is very dense, this resource should be used with middle school students. |