Traditional Literature

Traditional Literature

Author: Jerry Pinkney
Title: Little Red Riding Hood
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Date: 2007

Age Level: Primary (K-2) or Elementary (3-4)

Summary:
A sweet little girl meets a hungry wolf in the forest while on her way to visit her grandmother.

Strengths:
· This book shows multiculturalism.
· The watercolor paintings used as pictures in this book are fantastic.
· This book shows students it is a bad idea to speak to strangers, even though the stranger in this book was in the form of a wolf.
· This is a fun retelling of the folktale that many students will already have heard.
· This book shows Little Red learning a lesson, to follow directions, which is important for students to learn.

Concerns:
· This book may be frightening for the younger grades. It is very blunt, unlike some other versions of the story. For instance, when the wolf goes in to see the grandmother, he “gobbled her down whole.”
· This telling of the story has the wolf eat Little Red Riding Hood, before she is rescued by the woodsman. I think this is too graphic for children.
Classroom use/Other comments:
· This book can be used when studying traditional folk tales.
· This book can be read aloud by the teacher, or by students if they are practicing their intonation.
· This book could be acted out by students, perhaps in a reader’s theatre.


Author: Tololwa M. Mollel
Title: The Orphan Boy
Publisher: Clarion Books
Date: 1990

Age Level: Elementary (3-4)

Summary:
Though delighted that an orphan boy has come into his life, an old man becomes insatiably curious about the boy’s mysterious powers.

Strengths:
· This book demonstrates that sometimes you have to accept things, and trust people, without always asking for a reason why.
· This book teaches words that some students may not be familiar with, such as what a drought is.
· This book is set in Africa, which gives a different perspective that what many books these days do.
· This book shows that it is important to follow directions and believe what you are told, so that you do not make the mistake the old man did, and ruin a secret.

Concerns:
· This book has some religious undertones that parents may not be pleased with.
· The story ends rather abruptly, and it may be hard for students to catch what has happened.

Classroom use/Other comments:
· This book teaches students what a folk tale is. They could use this book as a starting point to write their own folk tales, perhaps about the stars and planets as in this one.


Author: Eric Kimmel
Title: The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol
Publisher: Holiday House
Date: 1981, 1995

Age Level: Elementary (3-4)

Summary:
Stories about a clever man who lived by his wits as his pockets were always empty.
Strengths:
· This book is compiled of a number of short stories, which are each funny and show Hershel’s great ability to get around things.
· This book made me laugh out loud at parts, I think students would really enjoy it.
· Although there are many separate stories in this book, they are all about the same characters, which allows the book to flow a bit more than it would otherwise.
· The plot is exciting and fun, which makes the reader want to continue reading.
· This book shows students how to reason through and get around problems, such as not having money.

Concerns:
· This book shows Hershel lying to get away with things, and I think that is not a great lesson for students to learn.
· Other than that, however, I found this to be a great book that students would enjoy reading or having read to them, and found no other concerns.
Classroom use/Other comments:
· This book could be read aloud to students, one short story at a time, as a reward for completing work, or behaving well.
· This book could also be read individually by students, although it may be a bit long for a 3rd or 4th grade student.


Author: Paul Zelinsky
Title: Rapunzel
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books Date: 1997

Age Level: Primary (K-2) or Elementary (3-4)

Summary:
A retelling of the German folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress.

Strengths:
· This book gives background information not told in the traditional fairy tale version of Rapunzel, which I think is very helpful in turning it into a children’s story.
· The pictures of this book are very descriptive and follow the story well.
Concerns:
· Some of the images in this book of the sorceress may be too frightening for young children.
· This book shows a very unrealistic view of life. Children may come out of hearing this book thinking that all they have to do is sing prettily in order to make a boy fall in love with them.
· This book does not show much of concept of time – one page Rapunzel is young and almost the next she is being proposed to.
· This book also gives children the idea that by crying into a blind person’s eyes, they will be able to see again.

Classroom use/Other comments:
· I do not think I would use this version of the book in my classroom. It was too explicit, and did not seem particularly appropriate for young children, despite the fact that it is a children’s book.


Author: Jane Yolen
Title: Sleeping Ugly
Publisher: Coward-McCann, Inc
Date: 1981

Age Level: Elementary (3-4)

Summary:
When beautiful Princess Miserella, Plain Jane, and a fairy fall under a sleeping spell, a prince undoes the spell in a surprising way.

Strengths:
· This book teaches students that what is in on the inside is more important than what is on the outside.
· This book teaches students the importance of being kind and having manners, and how in the end these can prove to be very important qualities to have.
· This book is a spoof of the original fairy tales, and is fun to read and different.
· The pictures that accompany the text follow the story well and are fun to look at for the reader.

Concerns:
· Plain Jane is considered to be ugly in this book. I think students are being taught that looks do not matter, but at the same time, think that they shouldn’t be taught that being ‘plain’ means being ugly.


Classroom use/Other comments:
· This book could be read by students on their own, or could be used by the teacher in a unit on fairy tales. The teacher could use this book to demonstrate differences between types of fairy tales.