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February 1, 2000
Children's Fairy Tales
By Elizabeth Bogardus
Sala-cadoola-metcha-caboola-bibbity-bobbity-boo! Put it together and what have you got . . .
A fanciful world of magic, playful animals, personified trees and furniture, and other formerly inanimate objects! In other words, the world of Walt Disney Productions. With their first full-length animated feature "Snow White" in 1937, the wonderful world of Mr. Disney brought a whole new viewpoint to the traditional European fairy tale. These stories which had been passed down for centuries through an oral tradition, and then written down in the mid seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by people like Charles Perrault and Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, were originally told to teach lessons and often to inspire fear. Few ended "happily ever after," and even less were designed to be told to children. Less than fifty years after the first Disney version of a fairy tale was brought to the public," most people in the United States believed these to be the original, "true" stories, in many cases from their own heritage.
While the animated films of Walt Disney and other companies are wonderful, enjoyable tales for both children and adults, it is important that we not forget the often-dark roots that gave life to these colorful, pretty stories. Upon reading Marcia Brown's Caldecott award-winning "Cinderella," which is very true to Perrault's original recording of the tale, to my sixth grade English Language Arts students last year, I was inundated with queries. "Where's the birds? The mice?" "Why are there two balls?" What had begun as a weeklong unit comparing versions of Cinderella from around the world became a month-long research project into the origins of many of the students' favorite stories.
In the course of our research we found that often the richest, most valid information was available on the Internet. Classic research materials such as books and encyclopedias that are written for middle school age students usually will carry the glossed-over versions of the European tales. The purpose of this web tour is to bring to light many of the sites that are available on folk tales from the European tradition. Many are scholarly in origin, while others are designed for use with intermediate-age students. All would benefit a teacher seeking to enrich a unit or develop his/her own background knowledge.
Folktale, Myth, Legend, and Fable
This Web site from the Internet School Library Media Center is maintained by library media specialists from James Madison University. Go to this site when beginning any unit on traditional literature for excellent yet concise background information. It is a clear explanation of the four categories of traditional literature that come under the heading of "folklore." The definitions are brief, giving specific examples of tales that fit in to each of the categories. This is an easy-reading site from which both intermediate and more advanced students would benefit.
Fairy Tales: Origins & Evolution
If you need background information, this is a great resource. The site discusses the evolution of the tales and their "sanitization," as well as the beginnings of the literary fairy tale: who wrote them, and who was meant to read them. A member of the Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Mythology Web Ring, this site has extensive links to other related information, as well as a bibliography and "essential" reading lists. Modern fairy tales are also discussed at this site, which is maintained by an Englishwoman with an interest in folklore.
Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts
Located at this thorough and extensive site are text versions of all sorts of folk/fairy tales organized and listed alphabetically around themes from "Air Castles" to "Weather and Climate Legends." Links to texts in other languages are also available. Although the site is designed and maintained by a literary scholar, it is very user-friendly, and well organized. Recently updated, it is fast loading due to a lack of graphics. It was compiled by D.L. Ashliman, a professor of Germanic languages and literature at the University of Pittsburg.
The Grimm Brothers Home Page
This site is also from professor Ashliman at the University of Pittsburgh and gives background information on the men who collected much of the oral tales of Europe and wrote them down for the first time. It also includes a detailed chronology of their lives, naming specific actions and listing all family members. A discussion of their publications, both joint and individual is included, as well as links to other sources of information such as electronic texts, journals, and encyclopedias.
Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories
At this site you can find a chronological listing of all of Andersen's stories, as well as the text version of most. Books about Andersen as well as collections of his works are recommended, including links to sources for purchasing. All of his stories that are in the public domain are also available. A chronology of Andersen's life includes photos. This site was created by Zvi Har'El, a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Tales of Wonder
This Web site contains links to stories from cultures all over the world. Organized by country and continent, this site is image-heavy, and takes a while to load, but is worth the wait. It includes adventure stories, as well as creation myths, fairy tales, and legends. It was created by Richard Darsie a professor at the University of California.
The Little Red Riding Hood Project
This University of Southern Mississippi Web site includes a text and image archive containing sixteen English versions of the fairy tale. The Little Red Riding Hoods presented here represent some of the more common varieties of the tale from the English-speaking world in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. The materials were drawn from the de Grummond Children's Literature Research Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi. This site was prepared as a resource for scholars researching the tale.
The Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant-Killer Project
Also from the University of Southern Mississippi, this Web site is a text and image archive containing several English versions of the fairy tale, and is a scholarly page. The Jacks presented here represent some of the more common varieties of the tale from the English-speaking world in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. The materials were drawn from the de Grummond Children's Literature Research Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi. Besides the text and images, this site includes pictures of a nineteenth century board game based on Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as a downloadable image to reproduce an old-fashioned penny book.
The Cinderella Project
This is an award-winning, original on-line text and image archive from the University of Southern Mississippi. It contains a dozen English versions of the tale, with images of the original pages and illustrations. Recently updated, it includes David Delamare's "Cinderella" from Green Tiger Press.
Email: Elizabeth Bogardus
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