Traditional Literature/Folk Tales/ Fables

The Frog Prince Continued

Author: Jon Scieszka

Genre: Fable

Summary: The Frog Prince, Continued, is a book about what happened after the Princess kissed the frog. They were happy for a while, however after some time they were miserable and not happy with each other at all! They never wanted to do anything that the other wanted to do and basically couldn’t stand each other. One day the Princess told the Frog Prince she wished she never kissed him and that he was still a frog. This gave the Frog Prince the idea to run away and find a witch to turn him back into a frog. He sets off to find a witch, but each one wants him dead since he is a prince, they don’t want him saving Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, the one witch wants to eat him! Finally he comes across a Fairy Godmother she says she will help but she never turned anyone into a frog before, she does the spell and turns the prince into a frog carriage! The prince is nervous that he will be stuck like this forever, however when the clock sticks midnight he turns back into the prince, returns home to a worried princess and kisses her! They both turn into frogs and live happily ever after.

Character: Frog Prince, Princess, Witches, Fairy Godmother

Setting: Castle, woods

Plot: The Frog Prince trying to find happiness since he and the Princess are no longer happy.

Theme: Love, witches, happiness, fairytales

 

 Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock

Author: Eric A. Kimmel

Genre: Fable

Summary: This book is about a spider named Anansi, one day she is walking through the forest and finds a moss covered rock. Anansi says “Isn’t this a strange moss-covered rock!” and all of a sudden is passed out on the floor. She wakes an hour late says it again and is passed out on the floor again. She then wakes again and discovers that whenever you say “Isn’t this a strange moss-covered rock!” you will pass out. She decides to trick her friends and while they are passed out she will steal their food. She tricks the Giraffe, the Zebra, the Rhino, the Hippo, the Elephant, and the Lion. Little did Anansi know a Little Bush Deer was watching the whole time and decided to play the trick on Anansi. Anansi gets mad when the Deer will not say the phrase so Anansi says it passes out and then the Little Bush Deer helps all of the other animals get their food back and the spider learns her lesson!

Characters: Anansi, Giraffe, Zebra, Rhino, Hippo, Elephant, Lion, Little Bush Deer

Setting: Forest

Plot: Anansi playing tricks on her friends

Theme: Tricks, moss covered rock

 

The Three Snow Bears

Author: Jan Brett

Genre: Fantasy

Summary: This book is about a girl named Aloo-ki who loses her sled dogs. She immediately goes searching for them and finds herself in at an igloo. She wonders who lives there and decides to take a look inside! Inside she finds 3 cups of soup, one is too hot, the other is too cold, but the smallest one is just right, so she drinks it all. Then she finds 3 pairs of boots, one pair is too big, the other too fancy, but the smallest pair fits just right. Aloo-ki is tired so she decides to take a nap, one bed is too lumpy, one too soft, but the last one is just right! The bears return home and see that their soup has been tried, boots have been tried, and their beds have been slept in! Aloo-ki wakes up to 3 bears standing over her! She quickly runs out and sees that the bears have found her snow dogs! She jumps on them and takes off waving goodbye and thanks to the bears.

Setting: Igloo

Plot: A little girl finding a bear’s igloo and eating and sleeping in it.

Theme: Bear

The Three Pigs

 Author: David Weisner

Genre: Fable

Summary: This story first starts out like the original 3 little pigs, however when the wolf gets to the third pigs house, the story changes. The pigs jump out of the story and go into other fairytales, such as hey diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle. Along the way they meet new friends who then follow them back to their story, where the wolf tries to get in but fails!

Characters: 3 little pigs, dragon, cat , wolf

Setting: Pigs house, story books

Plot: The tale of the 3 pigs with a new twist

Theme: Pigs, Courage, friendship

 
The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Author: Beatrix Potter

Genre: Traditional Literature

Summary: This story is about a rebellious rabbit named Peter. One morning his mother tells her children they can either go in the fields or down the lane. She tells them they are not allowed to go into Mr. McGregor’s, but of course this is the first place Peter goes. As soon as he slips under the fence Mr. McGregor sees him and starts running after him trying to kill him! Peter hides and eventually Mr. McGregor gets tired of chasing him, however Peter lost his shoes and shirt and now cannot remember how to get home! He hears noises and sees that Mr. McGregor is hoeing onions and then behind where he is hoeing is the fence! Peter runs and Mr. McGregor chases him but Peter slips under the fence and returns home safely, missing all of his clothes, and very tired. 
Characters: Peter, Mrs. Rabbit, Mr. McGregor, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail (Peter’s sisters)

Setting: Mr. McGregor’s farm

Plot: Story about a rabbit who does not listen to his mother and finds himself in danger.

Theme: Listen to your mother

 

The Lion and the Mouse

Author: Jerry Pinkney

Genre: Fable

Summary: This book is about a Lion and a Mouse. The Lion finds the mouse and is about to eat him, but then decides to let the mouse go. Then the Lion gets caught in a trap and the mouse comes to the rescue and sets him free.

Characters: Lion and Mouse

Setting: Forest

Plot: A story about an unlikely rescue of a lion from a mouse 
Theme: Hero,  unlikely friends

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe 

Author: C.S. Lewis  

Genre: Fable  

Summary: This book is about 4 children who discover a magic wardrobe in the professor’s house with whom they are living with. They are living with the professor because of the Air Raids that are occurring in London due to the war. The house is huge and it has many rooms, one day the children go exploring the house and this is how the magical wardrobe is found.  The first to discover this magical wardrobe that takes you to Narnia is Lucy; however the others do not believe her. Then one day while playing hide and seek Edmund also finds the magic of the wardrobe however when Lucy tells the others Edmund lies and said this never happened. Narnia is a place that forever stays winter but will never go to Christmas; this is because the White Witch who calls herself the queen put a spell on the land. When Edmund goes he believes the Witch is good and agrees to bring his brothers and sisters back. Edmund fell for the witches trick because she was so nice to him when he came to Narnia the first time, and gave him Turkish Delight which was exactly what he wanted.  Then one day, the children are trying to stay out of   Mrs. Macready’s way while she is giving tours of the house, and the only place they have to hide is the wardrobe. This is when they discover that Lucy was telling the truth about Narnia and that Peter lied when he said he was pretending with Lucy.  Since Lucy was there already the children let her be their guide, this is when she takes them to her friend the faun Mr. Tumnus house he is gone due to the fact that he hid Lucy from the Queen. Lucy wants to find him and with the help of the bird and beavers their adventure begins. The bird leads them to the beaver and then the beaver takes them to his home to tell them all about Narnia. He tells them about how they can save Narnia from the witch since they are the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve. However Edmund runs off and puts everyone in danger when he tells the Witch that Aslan is coming. Aslan is a lion who is very powerful and the king of Narnia. This makes the witch very nervous and she sets out to find the Aslan. Along the way she finds out that Father Christmas has come and given the animals gifts, this is when she truly knows her reign is in great danger. Aslan comes and sacrifices his life to save the children, however the spell is broken and Aslan comes back to life. He then frees all the animals that the witch turned to stone and then they battle the Witch. The battle is intense and the witch is turning many animals to stone until Edmund breaks her wand which turns the people into stone. In the end this slows her down and then dies and the children rule Narnia. They then eventually go back home through the wardrobe doors, however when they return they still her Mrs. Macready giving the tour to the same group of people. In the end they tell the Professor about Narnia and he believes them but says they will never be able to enter Narnia through the Wardrobe again; however their journey with Narnia was nowhere near done.  

Characters:  Pevensie children: Lucy, Peter, Edmund, Susan. Aslan, Tumnus, White Witch, Professor, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Father Christmas, Mrs. Macready  

Setting: Narnia, House, Wardrobe, England  

Plot: Children find another land through a wardrobe and save the land from the witch.  

Theme: Magic, Courage, Bravery, Betrayal, Good vs. Evil

 

Tom Thumb: Grimms' Tales Retold  

            Retold and Illustrated: Eric Carle  

            Genre: Fables  

            Summary: This book has 4 different stories in it. The first one is “Tom Thumb”; this book is about a boy who is as big as a thumb. One day he is guiding his horse to his papa the woodcutter when 2 men ask his father to trade the boy for a piece of gold. His father said no but Tom said to do it, Tom tricked the men and ran away. Then two robbers came along and Tom told them he would help them rob the house but he tricked them to! Then Tom got eaten by a cow, then the cow got killed and a wolf ate him! Finally Tom tells the wolf he knows where he can find food, he steers him to his family’s house and when the wolf ate so much food that he cannot escape Tom yells for his father. His father kills the wolf and frees Tom. The next story is “The Fisherman and His Wife”, one day the fisherman catches a fish that tells him he is a prince in disguise and cannot be killed. The fisherman lets the fish go and when he tells his wife she tells him he must go back and wish on the fish. The wife keeps wishing for bigger and better things, until her life returns back to normal and the fish can no longer be found. The next story is “Han’s Luck”; Han leaves his job and decides to return home. Before going he collects his wages from the miller and then heads home. Along the way he keeps trading items and in the end he is left with nothing but is finally home. The final story is “The Seven Swabians”, seven men set out to perform brave deeds, after a long time traveling they finally found their chance with a rabbit, but instead of killing it they all cried for mercy except for the smallest member. Then they come to a river and all the men except for the little one walks in because he is at the end of the line and sees that the leader’s hat is bobbing and he is nowhere to be found. He then returns home to tell the story.

            Characters: Tom, woodmiller and his wife, Han, Han’s mom,fisherman and his wife, magic fish.      

               Setting: Woods, barn, house, lake, fisherman’s house, Han’s mom’s house, open land  

                Plot: Different tales retold.  

                Theme: Be grateful for what you have.
 

How Chipmunk Got His Stripes

Author: Joseph and James  Bruchac  

Genre: Folk Tale

Summary: A bear is out walking and is bragging about how great he is. A brown chipmunk  comes up and questions him. He asks him to make the sun go away tomorrow. Other animals gather to see if the sun will come up. The sun comes up and bear is so grumpy. The chipmunk teases the bear since he was wrong. The bear threatens to eat the squirrel  however the chipmunk gets away. But he gets claw marks on his back from the bear and they stay there.

Characters: Bear and Chipmunk

Setting: Woods

Plot: Story about how the chipmunk got his stripes.

Theme: teasing

The Three Little Pigs
Author: Patricia Seibert
Genre:  Traditional Literature
Summary: This is the story of the 3 little pigs, they leave their parents and set out to build their own houses. The first pig builds his house of straw, the second of wood and the third of brick. The wolf comes and blows down the first house and the second house. The two pigs run to the brick house and when the wolf comes he can't blow it down!
Characters: The three little pigs, big bad wolf
Setting: The 3 houses of the 3 little pigs
Plot: 3 little pigs build their houses out of different materials and the big bad wolf tries to blow them down!
Theme: hard work

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Author: Candice Ransom
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary:  This story is about 3 bears, the papa, the mama, and the baby bear. They leave their house and are surprised by a visitor in their house when they get home. Goldilocks went into the bears house and ate their breakfast, sat in their chairs, and is now sleeping in baby bears bed!
Characters: Mama bear, Papa bear, Baby bear, Goldilocks
Setting: 3 bears house
Plot: Goldilocks in the three bears house trying all of their different items.
Theme: respect
 
 Little Red Riding Hood
Author: Candice Ransome
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary: This book is about Little Red Riding hood, she leaves her house to go to Grandmothers. Along the way she meets a wolf but stays away from him. When she gets to Grandmothers house she is shocked to see that Grandmother looks just like the wolf she met along the way! She figures out it is the wolf and finds her grandma in the closet where the wolf was saving her for later.
Characters: Red Riding Hood, Grandmother, Wolf
Setting: woods, Grandmothers house
Plot: A little girl on her way to her Grandmothers house.
Theme: Bad wolf, Be careful when walking alone.

The Ugly Duckling
Author: Jerry Pinkney
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary:  This story is about a baby swan who begins his life in a ducks nest.  All of the ducks think he is ugly and he is having trouble fitting in. They make fun of him and tease him until he finally decides to leave!  He is on his own and he must learn how to survive. Finally he finds the place he belongs!
Characters: ugly duckling
Setting: The lake
Plot: Story about an Ugly Duckling trying to fit in.
Theme: differences, acceptance
 
Cinderella
Author: Marcia Brown
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary: This story is about Cinderella, her stepmother and her mean stepsisters. They make her do everything and never allow her out to do anything fun. One night there is a Royal Ball and of course they tell Cinderella she can't go. However a fairy godmother makes her a beautiful dress and makes her look beautiful. She goes to the ball and dances with the prince but must leave at midnight because her beautiful dress will disapper. She looses a shoe and the prince sets out to find her.
Characters: Cinderella, prince, stepsisters, stepmother, fairy godmother
Setting: Cinderella's home, castle
Plot: Story about Cinderella.
Theme: Be yourself, good conquers evil