Perhaps I am thinking of children's stories because I've been reading in elementary schools this month. When I was in elementary school, I liked to hear the teacher read stories. I truly loved it when my mother read stories to us at home (bedtime or any time). I still enjoy reading stories to children. One of the keys to reading to children is to change your voice for the different characters (fun for the reader also).
This week I have three short lists followed by a Top Twelve List. I'm sure you know most of these stories, if not all of them.
Four favourite Fables:
The Fox and the Grapes the old 'sour grapes' tale
The Tortoise and the Hare slow and steady wins the race (despite knowing the story, I still rooted for that doggone hare each time)
The Dog and the Manger unfortunately I know people who are very much like that dog
The Lion and the Mouse possibly the best of all of Aesop's fables
These four fables and many many others were told by Aesop, but most of them were not written by Aesop. Instead, they were passed along in an oral tradition that was very rich in many cultures. African, Asian and Native American fables and folktales were attributed to the nations rather than having a single person credited with authorship.In fact, the Brothers Grimm collected and recorded fairy tales which had circulated before their time.
Four Favourite Fairy Tales:
Hansel and Gretel a German horror tale collected by the Grimm Brothers
The Ugly Duckling one of Hans Christian Anderson's more popular tales
Cinderella of the dozen or so versions I've seen, I still find the Disney Cartoon the most fun
Jack and the Beanstalk admit it...Jack would be considered a gangster today
Many of the stories passed down through the ages are for working class children and these stories often paint the rich and powerful as villains. At the same time, the goal of the poor girl or boy is to marry into a royal family. Oh well...
Four Books I Enjoyed (as a boy):
The Saggy Baggy Elephant by Kathryn Jackson a story of feeling like an outcast before learning one's identity
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper I used to really like this; it has a childlike appeal
Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf you don't have to act like the other bulls just because you're a bull interesting
Walter, the Lazy Mouse by Marjorie Flack what a treat this was in my third grade classroom...an anti-laziness lesson Walter was so lazy that by the time he was ready to go to school, the others were already coming home. He consistently overslept and one time, he slept so long that his parents forgot about him and moved without him. That's when his lesson began.
There are many stories that delighted me as a youth. Most of them are not on these lists. I should mention that none of my lists are all-inclusive lists, but merely a reflection of my opinion (at the time). Before my top 12 are listed, I would like to note my appreciation for the stories of Dr. Seuss which were read to me and my brothers decades ago. Although we were entertained by all of the Seuss books, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic among classics. At one point in my life, I had memorized most of that story-poem. The Dr. Seuss style enchanted me so much that I wrote my first book, Benny and the Basketball Bully, in rhymed verse.
The Top Twelve:
12. The Princess and the Pea H.C. Anderson
11. The Emperor's New Clothes H.C. Anderson deep message for all of us
10. The Three Little Pigs you know the fairy tale, but please try to check out The Three Little Bops, a 1957 jazz cartoon featuring the pigs as a jazz combo with a trumpet playing wolf trying to join their group...great stuff (Looney Tunes)
9. The Five Chinese Brothers a Chinese folktale about five brothers whose unity saves the day the book came into controversy some years ago because the American artists drew the pictures of the characters in a heavy handed stereotypical manner the criticism of the artwork was justified, but the story still stands up pretty well
8. The Hippopotamus and the Tortoise a Nigerian folktale( upon which Rumpelstiltskin was partly based and which the Grimm Brothers collected). This story is quite entertaining . Please treat yourself and your children to it.
7. The Brave Little Tailor seven in one blow I love, I mean, loved this story; another Grimm Brothers tale
6. The Story of the Three Bears by Robert Southey, who admitted that he had heard this story circulated before he 'wrote' it. In the versions before Southey's, the precursor to Goldilocks was clearly considered the antagonist. In other words, Goldilocks was the villain
and the bears were the victims. This is what I've been saying for almost fifty years!! Somehow the little blonde girl has been turned into the innocent defenseless plaintiff.(darned media)
5. The Little Red Hen a Russian folktale no work--no food
4. The Three Billy Goats Gruff my favourite of the classic "literary three" wherein each entry proves to be bigger or better or more interesting than the last...and the third is last As the eldest brother, I identified with the oldest billy goat who saved the day.
3. The Bremen Town Musicians animals, music, crime fighting...how could it go wrong?
2. The 12 Dancing Princesses another Grimm masterpiece read it again (to your children, of course) a classic example of the king and his daughters' suitors (or would be suitors)
1. Stone Soup the folktale to end all folktales a powerful story of sharing all for all
So long for now.
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