When a child or tween asks for a good book, we often go straight for the fiction. We offer a picture book to read aloud as a bedtime story, readers or easy chapter books to those learning how to read, and children's novels to tweens. How many times do you take them to the folk and fairy tales section? In many libraries folklore is shelved in children's 398.2, or in a section on its own, which makes it a few steps out of our reach and totally out of our thoughts. That is a shame, because folklore can be the perfect choice when a child asks for a great book to read, or for a parent who wants to read to the whole family.
Folk and fairy tales are sometimes referred to as traditional tales, and stem from an oral tradition. That's what makes them such great read-alouds for a family. These stories have magic, adventure, humor, and other qualities that are desirable for most readers and listeners. And even though folklore wasn't always for children, most of the books you find on the children's folklore shelves are suitable for all but very youngest children. Of course, a few might be too scary or too complex for young preschoolers, but many can be heartily recommended for the whole family.
Individual folk and fairy tales are often published in picture book format, with rich, full color illustrations and a paragraph of text that goes along with the artwork on each page. These can be good matches for that little girl asking for "princess books;" in fact, most libraries carry several different "Cinderella" stories from around the world. Besides the commonly known European version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault, try some of these alternatives:
- Little Gold Star: A Spanish American Cinderella Tale by Robert D. San Souci
- Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie
- The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella by Rebecca Hickox
- The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story by Judy Sierra
- The Gospel Cinderella by Joyce Carol Thomas
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and the sequels More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones
- Scared Witless: Thirteen Eerie Stories to Tell by Martha Hamilton
- The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack
- Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales by Robert D. San Souci
From the two lists above, you can discern that children's folktale collections often represent multicultural stories, which fill another readers' advisory request. In fact, Libraries Unlimited publishes the World Folklore series, which features folklore from dozens of countries and cultures around the world, from Armenian, Brazilian, and Chinese to Hmong, Polish, and Russian ( http://lu.com/showseries.cfm?serid=34 ).
Folktales can also please those who want a short book. Many single illustrated folktales are perfect for children and tweens who are older than the picture book audience, but can be read in one sitting by tweens, and can hold their interest. For example, some boys who prefer to read comic books, will quickly dive into such books as Aaron Shepard's Master Man, a folktale from Nigeria about two men who each believe he is the strongest in the world. Because many boys enjoy wrestling, another tale popular with boys is Judy Sierra's The Elephant's Wrestling Match. For those who like horror movies, offer The Golem by David Wisniewski, based on the Jewish legend that features the inspiration for Frankenstein.
Readers of all ages enjoy humor, and your folklore section likely holds a wealth of "fractured fairytales." Remember the fairy tale parodies on the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" television show? Many children's authors have taken that idea and created wonderfully funny fairy tale spoofs. Here are a few you can read to the whole family:
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
- Yo, Hungry Wolf by David Vozar
- Bigfoot Cinderrrrella by Tony Johnston
Fantasy has always been a popular fiction genre with readers of all ages; and with the success of "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling that popularity has skyrocketed. Many characters and motifs in current fantasy originated in folklore, including witches, magicians, fairies, dragons, unicorns, and other magical creatures. If a child or tween would like something with fantasy elements, offer some folklore along with the fantasy novels. In fact, consider doing a display that mixes fantasy with magical fairy tales. Here are some titles that have a wide age appeal:
- Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons by Dugald Steer
- Michael Hague's Magical World of Unicorns by Michael Hague
- King Arthur and the Round Table by Hudson Talbott
- Young Merlin by Robert D. San Souci
Children who love animal stories can find many animal tales in folklore. In fact, many fables and folktales have a moral or lesson, so offer it when parents ask for that type of material. Folklore truly has something for everyone. So next time you are helping a parent or teacher looking for read-aloud recommendations, or helping a child or tween who would like something scary, funny, short, and magical, don't overlook your folklore section. It contains treasures that will please even the pickiest reader.
References:
- Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. Penguin, 1991.
PENNY PECK is Senior Librarian, San Leandro Public Library, California, and teaches in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University. She is also author of Crash Course in Children's Services (Libraries Unlimited, 2006) and Crash Course in Storytime Fundamentals (Libraries Unlimited, 2009)