Some of these tales have been around for centuries. According to the book Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal by Paul Fleischman, the earliest telling of Cinderella may have been in China, in the 9th century. The themes have remained the same among all the stories (unfairness, righting a wrong, and person-against-person). Mr. Fleischman writes that when Cinderella reached France, the story gained the glass slippers and the mice that were coachmen. He believes that more than a thousand versions of Cinderella exist!
Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most famous fairy tale authors of our time. He lived in Denmark in the 1800's. He wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen and The Princess and the Pea, and so many others (more than 160 tales!). These fairy tales have been written and revised by so many others, including Walt Disney in his movies.
One of my favorite fairy tales is the 'fractured' fairy tale. A fractured fairy tale is a fairy tale that has been 'broken' or 'twisted' in some way. For example, you can read the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but from the wolf's point of view so that the wolf is actually telling the story; or the story of Cinderella but the main character is a boy and not a girl; or the story of Jack and the Beanstalk but instead of Jack we have a Jacqueline. Get the idea?
Some of the fairy tales we have shared include:
Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most famous fairy tale authors of our time. He lived in Denmark in the 1800's. He wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen and The Princess and the Pea, and so many others (more than 160 tales!). These fairy tales have been written and revised by so many others, including Walt Disney in his movies.
One of my favorite fairy tales is the 'fractured' fairy tale. A fractured fairy tale is a fairy tale that has been 'broken' or 'twisted' in some way. For example, you can read the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but from the wolf's point of view so that the wolf is actually telling the story; or the story of Cinderella but the main character is a boy and not a girl; or the story of Jack and the Beanstalk but instead of Jack we have a Jacqueline. Get the idea?
Some of the fairy tales we have shared include:
- Little Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman
- Lon Po Po by Ed Young
- The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward
- Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten! by Trisha Speed Shaskan
- Rumpelstiltskin by Paul Zelinsky
- Yeh-Shen, A Cinderella Story from China retold by Ai-Ling Louie
- The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin
- Cinder-elly by Frances Minters
- Prince Cinders by Babette Cole