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MaryM
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| Posted: Dec 20 2012 at 3:05am | IP Logged
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So I pretty randomly picked options here. There are so many to choose from and the most famous ones might not be your favorites.
This month is the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the fairy tale collection by the Brother's Grimm. Just saw Google has their doodle for today reflecting this occasion.
Thought it would be a good time to talk about fairy tales in general and the collection made famous by the Brother's Grimm.
How do you feel about fairy tales?
Do you prefer the original unsanitized versions or the softer, gentler ones?
Do you use fairy tales in your homeschool education plans?
What are your favorites?
What are your least favorites?
Do you have any fairy tale resources to share?
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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Oh I love fairy tales. And I prefered reading the originals.. once my mom let me (I was around 11 or so). My favorites were Snow White and Rose Red, The Goose Girl and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
Then I discovered the rewritten fairy tales.. and there's even more out there now.. I've really enjoyed reading them with my oldest.
I wish I could remember it.. but I just saw a quote about fairy tales that I would love to share.. wonder if I can find it. I can't remember enough of it at the moment but it may come back when I stop trying to think of it. 
I really feel that fairy tales are the right type of romance for the pre-teen girls.. they are just figuring out an attraction for boys, but really shouldn't be dabbling in dating and such.. fairy tales seem to fill that need/desire for romance without being TMI. And I think that without the fairy tales that girls will turn to romance novels (harlequin types) or in "playing grown-up games". The rewritten fairy tales are wonderful for this age.
I know that the typical criticism is that they give you "such and unrealistic idea" of love and romance and such. Hmmm perhaps in the sanitized versions but I think there's a lot of reality in them.. the bad can look tempting.. the good can look ugly.. it can be a lot of work.. about the only part that is really "unrealistic" is the "happily ever after" and maybe that's because we've come up with a modern idea of "happy" that is unrealistic rather than the fairy tales being the problem.
Ah ha.. I found the quote I saw the other day.
Quote:
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
¯ Albert Einstein |
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not to mention
Quote:
“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
¯ G.K. Chesterton |
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lots more here at Goodreads
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SeaStar
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OK- I admit it. Fairy tales in general creep me out a little. I like a few- Cinderella, Snow White- but not many.... I think because they tend to be so dark.
Hansel and Gretel is one I have never read to my dc. The witch trying to cook up the kids and keeping Hansel in a cage... 
Gave me nightmares when I was little.
I don't use fairy tales as a part of school, mostly because I don't like them myself much. I did read once that most fairy tales were written in a rather gruesome vein because their purpose was to warn children not to do certain things. Ex. Don't go off wandering in the woods... the witch might turn you into dinner.
They certainly can be spooky.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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I've always liked fairy tales. I have to admit that it wasn't until I played the Baker's Wife in a college production of Sondheim's Into the Woods that I realized how dark the originals were.
Our fairy tale volumes have mostly come from used book sales, and I have not invested in choosing an edition of Grimm for our library yet. Mostly, when we read fairy tales, they have been from Andrew Lang or Howard Pyle. Certainly, these are not sanitized in a Disneyfied way, but they were written a little more recently and specifically for children, so I'm not sure they are quite as dark as the original Grimm.
I'd love to hear others' insights into Grimm especially!
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Lindsay
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JodieLyn
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Oh yes, they are definately morality tales and cautionary tales.
They're from a much harsher time. Children having to work at much younger ages just for a family to eke out a living. Tales were told to the young children for their own protection. Not like now when a paent generally has them under an eye but when small children were left at home while everyone else is working.. tales that they would remember and consequences that were severe.. and a witch catching and eating you was a lot nicer in it's way than starvation and exposure. But also, good "children" were rewarded. The ones that were unselfish, the ones that worked hard. And you saw characters that might do anything for personal gain.. the step-sisters that cut off pieces of their own feet (sounds more horrifying than plastic surgery does't it, but the end is often the same).
The stories are harsh but so were the times they were told in. Though you could find urban legands now that are more modern and just as horrifying as cautionary tales of old.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Claire F
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We love fairy tales around here. I found a beautiful edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales on thriftbooks.com for a steal - one of my favorite used book finds this year!
We've enjoyed reading the originals, and talking about the differences if we've read other versions, or seen movie versions. Some of them are downright shocking - Rumplestiltskin gets his foot stuck in the ground and tears himself in half throwing a fit when he realizes he's lost; Hansel stuck in a cage, on the menu for the witch's dinner; Red Riding Hood and her grandmother get eaten up by a wolf (and in the oldest versions, there are no woodsmen to save them - they die in the belly of the wolf!)
My kids think they are wonderful though, and don't get scared. I'd be more selective in reading them if I was worried they would bother my kids, but they haven't been worried by the darker parts at all.
We do use them for school. Last year, we read them regularly (along with American Tall Tales and some other literature selections). This year, we're doing a fairy tale "book" project. We read a fairy tale, then do an art or craft project related to it, and then my oldest narrates the story back to me as I write it down. We're printing the narration and including the art (or a photo of it, if it isn't a flat page) and binding them together as a book. Very fun! We made candy houses for Hansel and Gretel, painted a princess on mattresses for the Princess and the Pea, and even made pumpkin carriages out of some of our fall pumpkins when we read Cinderella. It has been very fun  .
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lapazfarm
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Claire F wrote:
| This year, we're doing a fairy tale "book" project. We read a fairy tale, then do an art or craft project related to it, and then my oldest narrates the story back to me as I write it down. We're printing the narration and including the art (or a photo of it, if it isn't a flat page) and binding them together as a book. Very fun! We made candy houses for Hansel and Gretel, painted a princess on mattresses for the Princess and the Pea, and even made pumpkin carriages out of some of our fall pumpkins when we read Cinderella. It has been very fun . |
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LOVE this idea! 
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lapazfarm
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We love Fairy tales, the gorier the better!LOL!
Our favorite are actually a collection of Appalachian folktales called the Jack Tales. The kids love to hear me reading them aloud in my best southern Appalachian accent. It's a hoot!
Jack Tales
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Mackfam
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lapazfarm wrote:
Claire F wrote:
| This year, we're doing a fairy tale "book" project. We read a fairy tale, then do an art or craft project related to it, and then my oldest narrates the story back to me as I write it down. We're printing the narration and including the art (or a photo of it, if it isn't a flat page) and binding them together as a book. Very fun! We made candy houses for Hansel and Gretel, painted a princess on mattresses for the Princess and the Pea, and even made pumpkin carriages out of some of our fall pumpkins when we read Cinderella. It has been very fun . |
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LOVE this idea! |
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Me too!!!! I'm so glad you shared, Claire!! This is inspiring me!
I love fairy tales, prefer the originals, and believe strongly in reading them to the children! I haven't used them as part of school...mostly as a family read aloud. The children really respond to them - they're great for stretching our imaginations AND our sensibilities! The darkness often associated with them seems off-putting at first glance perhaps, but fairy tales present such a worthy example of good and evil and much symbolism that, as Christians, we are very familiar with...like sacrificial love. These are not white-washed, super-happy-sappy stories - they're full of grittiness and really make you sit up, notice, and ask questions! Great for nurturing the beginnings of The Great Conversation!!
Like Lindsay, I've mostly picked up Lang and Pyle from used book sources when I can find them. I think Mom has Grimm's...which I need to borrow from her shelf. I have a lovely hard cover copy of Andersen's Fairy Tales that I picked up at a flea market that we love. These are shorter fairy tales and would be a great place to start with fairy tales if you're just sort of dipping a toe in the waters. Since Andersen wrote them in the same style he used when reading aloud, these make ideal read alouds.
That quote of Chesterton's about fairy tales is one of my favorites, too!!
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Claire F
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I can't take credit for the fairy tale project - I got the idea from Bravewriter's "Jot It Down" program . There is a fairy tale project outlined in Jot It Down, and we've taken it as inspiration and kind of gone our own way with it a bit, but the core idea is all Bravewriter.
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Claire
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Grimm's Fairy Tales -200 year anniversary
