Fairytale Blog

I learned so much about fairy tales from this unit. I found it very interesting that many of the fairy tales we read all had similar common elements making them a fairytale. I found Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue extremely enjoyable because I felt that the book flowed very smoothly. This book was written very beautifully and I would definitely like to use it in the future. I also enjoyed reading The Classical Fairy Tales by Tatar because it was exciting to read all of the different versions of the same stories. For example, this book includes many versions of Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, Bluebeard, Hansel and Gretel, and ect. This is definitely a book I want to explore more and consider for later use.

-Brain storm common elements that mark a story as a fairy tale.
These might include: fantasy;unrealistic, conflict, not always happily ever after, girl in distress/needing help, magical element, good vs. evil, marriage/love, obstacles, family dynamic, prince/princess/royalty, escape, animals, youth vs. old (age"), punishment/moral

FAIRYTALE STORY LINKS:

-The Goose Girl by the Grimm Brothers
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/grimm/gans_e.html

-Rapunzel by the Grimm Brothers
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/grimm/rapunzel_e.html

-Snow Queen by G.H. Anderson
http://www.russianlegacy.com/catalog.product_info.php?products_id=502

-Rumpelstiltzkin by the Brothers Grimm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4967/rumpel.html

-Little Brier-Rose by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0410.html#grimm

FAIRYTALE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

-Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue
-The Classic Fairy Tales by Tatar

Questions to think about:
1. What do the stories have in common?
2. How do you know a tale is a version of a familiar tale
3. How do some of the stories differ in their depictions of the main characters?
4. What are differences between the stories' themes?

FAIRYTALE SITES FOR USE WITH ELEMENTARY STUDENTS:

-Grimm's Fairytales

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/


-Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/aesophca.html

-Folk and Fairy Tales From Around the World

http://www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/

-Other Fairy Tales

http://www.lib.umd.edu/ETC/ReadingRoom/Fiction/FairyTales/

(from: http://www.readwritethink.org)

FAIRYTALE CARTOONS:

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/f/fairy_tale.asp

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BROTHER'S GRIMM:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/

GOOGLE LINKS FOR FAIRY TALE SITES:

http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Folklore/Literature/Tales/Fairy_Tales/

My response to a prompt on the Brother Grimm's "Snow White":

Q: Walt Disney used aspects of this version of "Snow White" when creating his film, and many re-tellings of the story rely primarily on Grimm. Discuss the aspects of the tale that were NOT familiar. What in the story surprised you? What do you see as the them of this story?

A: I found Brothers Grimm's "Snow White" to be a very interesting version of the story of Snow White. This story was familiar to me in some respects, however, it presented many differences from Walt Disney's version that I remember. I watched the film Walt Disney created of Snow White so long ago that it is hard for me to remember specific details of the story. In Brothers Grimm's Snow White, the idea of having a beautiful daughter came to mind when the queen was sitting by a black ebony window while sewing and pricked her finger with a needle. Blood fell onto the snow and she thought this was a beautiful site. She then explained that she would love to have a child as white as the snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood. This aspect of the tale was not familiar to me because I never remember the presence of blood being involved. While watching Walt Disney's film of Snow White as a child, I thought that the story was very innocent and happy.
Another aspect of the Brothers Grimm's Snow White that I was not familiar with was how Snow White was awaken after eating the poisonous apple. The son of the king was traveling through the woods and arrived at the dwarfs cottage where he saw the coffin of Snow White sitting on top of a mountain. After he convinced the dwarfs to let him take the coffin, he ordered his servants to carry it away on their shoulders. While transporting the coffin, they stumbled over a shrub causing the piece of poisonous apple to be freed from Snow White's throat. Snow White then came back to life and fell in love with the Prince. This surprised me because I always thought that Snow White was simply awaken by the kiss of her prince.
It surprised me that Walt Disney's version of Snow White also involved a huntsman who was ordered by the stepmother to take Snow White into the forest and kill her. I thought that this was very violent for a children's fairy tale, especially with the queen ordering the huntsman to bring back her lungs and liver as proof that he did the deed. Brothers Grimm's Snow White was much more violent and dark then the film produced by Walt Disney. It also surprised me that in the Brothers Grimm's story, the stepmother (new queen) attempts to get rid of Snow White so many times. I never knew that the stepmother looked into the magic mirror so many times and that it played such an important role in the story until now.
I believe that the theme of this story is mainly good versus evil. Throughout the story, Snow White is portrayed as an innocent, young girl who is very curious and trusting. Snow White is naturally beautiful, making her evil stepmother extremely jealous. Snow White's stepmother is willing to do anything in her power to eliminate Snow White so that she can become the fairest one of all. After many cunning attempts, the evil stepmother's plan backfires and she is the one who ends up losing her life. This theme of good versus evil also involves aspects of youth vs. old age and beauty vs. an ugly witch. I enjoyed reading Brothers Grimm's Snow White and now have a whole new view of fairy tales.



Fairytale Poem:

Hazel Tells Laverne

last night
im cleanin out my
howard johnsons ladies room
when all of a sudden
up pops this frog
musta come from the sewer
swimming around an tryin to
climb up the sida the bowl
so I goes ta flushm down
but so helpmegod he starts talking
bout a golden ball
and how I can be a princess
me a princess
well my mouth drops
all the way to the floor
and he says
kiss me just kiss me
once on the nose
well I screams
ya little green pervert
and I hitsm with my mop
and has ta flush
the toliet down three time
me a princess
-Katharyn Howd Machan