We have recently added to our Traditional Tales section a series of Beloved Tales published by Raintree. These are collections, in one slim paperback, of three or four versions of the same tale from different cultures around the world.
It is such a good idea to gather together these variants in one cover, and interesting to see such a geographical range. Each version is about eight pages long, with lavish illustrations, so not too wordy, and each version has a different illustrator. They would (appropriately) be good for reading aloud.
- Cari Meister, Hansel and Gretel stories around the world: 4 beloved tales from Germany, Russia, Italy and the Philippines
- Cari Meister, Beauty and the beast stories around the world: 3 beloved tales from France, China and Switzerland
- Jessica Gunderson, Little Red Riding Hood stories around the world: 3 beloved tales from Germany, Italy and Taiwan
- Cari Meister, Rapunzel stories around the world: 3 beloved tales from Germany, Italy and the Philippines
- Cari Meister, Cinderella stories around the world: 4 beloved tales from Canada, China, Egypt and France
- Jessica Gunderson, Snow White stories around the world: 4 beloved tales from Albania, Germany, Mozambique and Turkey
Comparisons would make a rich classroom opportunity to explore cultural diversity: what’s different and what stays the same, across regions and over time.
The Curriculum Centre’s Traditional Tales collection is extensive, and organised with well signposted granularity. It includes fairy tales, modern revisions of fairy tales, folk tales organised by type and by provenance, fable, myth and legend, creation stories etc.
If you are researching background for a fairy tale topic, take a look also in our poetry collection, or explore our catalogue to find picture books that integrate fairy tale tropes. There are some lovely modern fairy tales on our Modern Foreign Languages shelves, too.
We will have a new blogger, Laura, posting next week. She has a particular interest and a wealth of knowledge in traditional tales, and is planning a series of posts called Focus on Folklore.
