Where have all the Fairy Tales gone? Do adults tell them to kids anymore? Do children know them? If not, why? And should they still be a part of a child's literary education? I think fairy tales are to the soul what fruits and vegetables are to the body. Good old fairy tales are the literary nutrition kids need to grow spiritually and morally healthy and strong. Lately, the mail man has been bringing me books of fairy tale collections I have ordered. They are so delightful. Katerine Lee Bates wrote this in a wonderful introduction to one of these collections:
Fairy tales have moral and spiritual values. They quicken the budding spirit to beauty and joy, to the magic and mystery of earth; they condemn pride, envy, laziness, selfishness, cruelty; they honor pluck, patience, generosity, gentleness, mercy; they hold the divine faith that goodness cannot in the long run be overcome of evil. Children are quick to catch the noble strain even in the wildest of their fairy-tale heroes, whose exploits life will give them many a chance to emulate. That adventurous Jack the Giant-Killer did not kill all the giants. While Ogre Greed still gobbles his prey in this great guarded castle, there is fighting yet for every Jack Braveheart to do.
Here is a list of outstanding fairy tale collections,. I am collecting them slowly and would be very happy to lend them out:
Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Tales and Stories, Haugaard
English Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacob
Fairy Tales , Berlie Doherty
Classic Fairy Tales to Read Aloud ,Naomi Lewis
Once Upon a Time: A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales , Katherine Lee Bates
The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, Charles Perrault
Beatrix Potter's tales
The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Tales from Grimm , Naomi Lewis
Aesop's Fables
The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit , Julius Lester
Just So Stories , Ruduard Kipling
The Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang
American Tall Tales, Mary Pope Osborne
The Arabian Nights: Best-Known Tales , Kate Wiggin and Nora Smith
5 comments:
I love those old fairy tales. If we're not reading them to our children any more, maybe we have ourselves and technology to blame. We're "too busy", so we plop our kids down in front of the TV or a computer or a video game box. And what values do we think they are getting from those media? Not ours, that's for sure. I remember you reading to our kids at bed time, and in the car on the wireless mike, on the sofa, etc. Come on, let's retrench.
Yes, the fairy tales must live on! Kids really do love them. We only have to expose them to the classic stories that teach so much. When I turned 8 or 9, Grandma Julie's birthday gift to me was a read aloud of the original Little Mermaid. I still remember us snuggled on my bed, reading the story. (I was surprised by the sea foam ending!)That reminds me of how you read with your grandkids, Mom. Keep it up. They will treasure those stories and memories.
I love fairytales too. I love thinking that magical things can really happen. Faerie Tale Theatre movies that you parents recorded some time ago are part of my childhood. Remember Matthew Broderick in Cinderella, or Susan Sarandon in Beauty and the Beast? Well, I didn't know who those actors were then, but now I realize, the got some pretty big names. The point--I loved watching and getting catptured in the stories. Some are even a little scary. I'm sure I read some too.
I have quite a collection of fairy tales- being that I taught for 10 years. But my favorite books are 2 old collections that were given to me as gifts for my birthday. One was for my 8th birthday from Grandma Julie. I still treasure it! It has a great story called "How to Catch a Leprechaun" that I read every year to my students.
I agree Jan, fairy tales are invaluable and truly proven classics.
I still remember Mom reciting Master of all Masters and Big Claus and Little Claus to me in bed in my attic room in Piedmont. She did a good job exposing us to these wonderful stories.
Belinda
Post a Comment