Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales

Thumbelina is a picture book written by Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Arlene Granston. The target audience for this fairy tale is preschool through second grade girls even though some boys may enjoy the story of Thumbelina.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars ****

Summary: Thumbelina is the story of a tiny girl named Thumbelina who is taken away from her mother by a toad. She is very beautiful and has a wonderful singing voice; all the animals love her. Some of the animals want to marry her but she does not feel the same way about them until she finds her fairy prince charming, who happens to be small and delicate just like her. Thumbelina and her new profound love marry and live happily ever after.

Thumbelina contains elements that are typically found in fairy tales that contribute to the storyline and overall layout of the story. This is a great example of what goes into creating fairy tale and can be used an example in the classroom to model fairy tales. Magical elements are found throughout the story such as the animals being able to talk and that Thumbelina herself is so tiny all the creatures and her surroundings are much larger than her. None of those are very realistic or would even happen in the real world. There is also a triumph over evil. Thumbelina suffers in the wildness by herself until she comes into contact with some of her animal friends but even the animals are not always nice and respectful compared to Thumbelina who sings and helps the animals. Eventually she triumphs over all the struggle and finds a spouse and place to live that she truly enjoys and makes her happy. The good overshadowing the evil is a common idea found in many, if not all, fairy tales. The characters in Thumbelina are also easily identifiable and simple that young readers can easily understand and follow along. The plot is also simple to understand as well.

Not only can fairy tales be used as examples to explain the genre but they can also be incorporated into a classroom curriculum in other ways. Thumbelina would be an example of a book that can be used in a science lesson. Many animals and elements of nature are found throughout the book such as toads, fish, insects, and birds. They are all shown in their environments and represented with great detail through the illustrations. Other aspects of nature of represented such as bodies of water, flowers, and trees. The seasons are mentioned as well and are tied into what animals do during the winter to keep warm and find food. Instead of reading a non-fiction book with facts, students can see such topics of science represented through a fictional story specifically targeted for a younger audience. I like the idea of using Thumbelina in my classroom but my only apprehension is that it is more geared towards a female audience and boys in the class might not enjoy or be open to reading a story about a tiny, delicate girl. This would be an option for an independent read or for a book club with a group of girls. 

Thumbelina

The McElderry Book of Aesop’s Fables is written Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. The target audience of this book is kindergarten through second grade boys and girls.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars ****

Summary: The McElderry Book of Aesop’s Fables is a book of fables that touch on themes such as kindness, friendship, truth, and leaning lessons of life in a child-friendly way. The fables range from four to five pages or only two to three easy-read pages that can be easily read aloud or enjoyed by independent readers. Most of the stories include animals and the focus on the relationships between the characters. The themes of each story are clearly identified at the end.

Fables are usually great examples of fairy tales and unimaginable ideas and where lessons of life are learned. The McElderry Book of Aesop’s Fables uses talking animals, clear cut themes and easily defined characters that allow readers to understand the message and following along. This book is a great classroom resource for teachers to have and utilize not only for a fairy tale/fable unit but to also explain ideas and life lessons through literature and examples. Some of the stories that are included in the book are The Lion and the Mouse, The Hare and the Tortoise, and The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg. The stories are short enough to keep student attention while getting an important point across.

The illustrations in this story are beautiful but also targeted towards a young audience with simple pictures and friendly looking animals. The illustrations were created through watercolors. They do a great job at depicting the story so children who do not know how to read can understand the story of if read aloud to a class, the pictures can be shown to help students visualize better what is going on in the fable.

Below is two summaries of stories found in The McElderry Book of Aesop’s Fables:

The Lion and the Mouse is a simple story about a field mouse and a lion. The mouse awakes a sleeping lion from a nap and the lion is not happy. The mouse begs for forgiveness and promises to repay him someday in the future. The lion does not believe a tiny field mouse could possible help such a large, lively lion. One day the lion is caught in a trap set by hunters and the mouse chews the net to set the lion free. The lion realizes that anything is possible and thanks the mouse. The theme is kindness is more important than strength.

The fable of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse revolves around the theme of it is better to be happy with what you need rather than to risk everything for more. The town mouse goes to visit the country mouse. The country mouse has always wanted to go to a big city, like where the town mouse lives. He decides to bring the country mouse to a big city where they explore the different places that a city has to offer. Suddenly they encounter a house cat where they are chased. Once they find safety, a dog comes and the country mouse is terrified. She decides that the city life is too much for her and she is perfectly happy living in the country where she feels safe.