Read this, then that! (Grimm's Fairy Tales)

I make it no secret that I am a fan of the original, Grimm's fairy tales. 

So naturally, when I heard that the Common Core Standards were aiming to make Grimm's tales a must in their curriculum, my knee jerk response was, "Yay!".

However, what it might surprise many children to discover is that beyond the Disney versions of beloved tales such as, "Cinderella" and "Snow White", the original stories are, well, quite grim!

Love them or loathe them, it is good to at least be familiar with the source of these stories we grew up on, even if the versions we are familiar with have been candy coated.  This becomes especially important when considering the tales that have inspired popular children's authors to pen their own takes on these beloved classics.

Here is a quick list of three tales to check out from our fairy tale collection, and a middle grade novel which corresponds to the original story. 

Read this!

The Twelve Dancing Princesses is the story of twelve sister princesses who are doomed to spend their nights dancing with mysterious princes in an underground kingdom.  This might not sound so bad at first, but I assure you that these princes are not all they seem!  When the king discovers that his daughters' dancing shoes are worn out at night, he enlists the help of many noblemen to solve the problem.  When they each fail their mission, a poor soldier approaches the king insisting he will be able to succeed.
                                                                                                                                                       

Then this!

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler tells the original story through the eyes of Zita, the thirteenth sister of the famous twelve princesses.  Raised as a servant, Zita remains naive about her royal heritage until she reaches the age of twelve.  This is also when she discovers that her sisters are under an enchantment and Zita herself may be the only one who can break it!

Read this!

Rumplestiltskin is a fairytale about a miller's daughter whose father foolishly brags that she can do impossible tasks such as spin straw into gold!  

When the girl is brought before the king, she is told that she must make good on all the things her father has bragged that she can do.  If she fails, her life might be at stake!  The girl reluctantly makes a deal with a strange little man who claims he can spin gold.  However, his price might be too high to pay. 

Then this!

Rump:  The true story of Rumplestiltskin by Leisl Sturtliff introduces us to Rumplestiltskin's humble 

childhood.  His motivations for helping the miller's daughter are explored, as well as the importance of his name. 

Read this!

 

For those of you who just can't keep to one tale, we have several collections of Grimm's fairytales which contain both popular and lesser known stories.  Feel free to grab one of these thicker books and explore each tale, or choose a few that interest you!

Then this!
 

After you have become familiar with the tales, pick up, A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.  While Hansel and Gretel might appear to be the only story adapted for this novel, Gidwitz manages to weave many other Grimm tales into this first book in a series.  It isn't a requirement to know all of Grimm before picking up this book, but it might enhance your enjoyment. 






Posted by Miss Jessikah