The Snow Queen is a lesser-known tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It’s a collection of stories, really. The first is about a mirror made by an evil sprite, which shows everything reflected in it at its worst. This mirror is broken, and bits of it fly into people’s eyes… Continue reading
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is the story of a young shepherd. Growing bored with his work, he shouts “Wolf!” to make the townspeople come running. He laughs at them and at their anger when they find he has tricked them. He repeats the joke, so at last when a wolf… Continue reading
Hansel and Gretel is a good, horrible fairy tale for when you want a creepy story. The University of Pittsburgh collection contains the basic Grimm’s version. The story is certainly among the most familiar of fairy tales. A poor woodcutter and his wife, faced with starvation, abandon their two children… Continue reading
The Emperor’s New Clothes is a fun story, with little magic and nothing scary in it. The title links to Virginia Lee Burton’s classic picture book. The Emperor’s New Clothes: A Tale Set in China is Demi’s version. Susanna Davidson has done a simpler version with very funny pictures younger… Continue reading
The Italian fairy tale “Snow White” is one of the best-known fairy tales, one of the most dramatic and exciting, and it is also one of the most violent and frightening, including as it does murder, cannibalism, and red-hot shoes. Our state standards mandate the use of folk and fairy tales… Continue reading
“Puss in Boots” is one of the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, of “Cinderella” fame. It is not as well-known to today’s kids as “Cinderella,” but the character’s inclusion in the “Shrek” movies and the Dreamworks film have made Puss, if not the story, popular again. Share it with classes… Continue reading
The Three Little Pigs is a classic story which all students ought to know. It can also make a great lead-in for lessons from economics, science, social studies, and art. As you may recall, this is the story of three little pigs who set out into the world to find… Continue reading
Carlo Collodi (pen name of Carlo Lorenzini) wrote his Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883. The book told the story of a wooden puppet who dreamed of being a real boy. American students usually are more familiar with Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film version of Pinocchio. In either version, the… Continue reading
The Frog Prince is another classic fairy tale written down by the Brothers Grimm. In the story, a princess is playing near a pond, and drops her golden ball in the water. A frog offers to get the ball for her, but only if she will let him live… Continue reading
In Aesop’s fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper, the ant works hard all summer while the grasshopper plays. Not only does the grasshopper play, but he actually taunts the hardworking ant. Come winter, the ant has plenty to eat and the grasshopper dies. The moral is clear: work hard… Continue reading
