Fairy Tale (Fable) Friday... Last Day of the "Old" Style Blog!

I have five reviews for today! Some are more recent, Zen Shorts; some are almost ancient, Deep in the Forest. However, they're all fairy tales/folk tales/fables and I enjoyed them all. I would have to say, my favorite was probably Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky. It wasn't at all familiar to me when I stumbled upon it at the library. All of the others I had at least heard about it! Second favorite to me was probably Deep in the Forest. I really enjoyed this wordless rendition of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I could really see a teacher incorporating this into a unit on different versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, perhaps as some form of assessment by having students write their own version, based on what they have learned from different versions and basing it upon the illustrations in the book.

Designed to teach us to reexamine habits, desires, concepts and fears, Zen Shorts are short meditations. Karl, Michael and Addy view their world differently after Stillwater, a panda, moves into their neighborhood and shares a different tale with each of them, teaching them life lessons in a unique way.

Other Books by Muth:
The Three Questions, Jon J. Muth
Stone Soup, Jon J. Muth
Gershon’s Monster, Jon J. Muth

This African folktale tells the story about how the sun and the moon came to live/settle in the sky. Their friend, the ocean and its inhabitants came to visit, quickly filling the house and pushing the un and the moon onto the roof and eventually into the sky, as the house continued to fill with water and water animals.

Lesson Plans/Book Activities:
http://techplan.edzone.net/ci2006/SunMoonSky.doc
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/nttidb/lessons/ut/moonut.html

http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3863

This Mexican fable teaches that the strongest person is always you. In her attempt to bring home “a great big crumb,” the little red ant asks for help from those who she feels might be the strongest. When she gets no help from others, the little ant realizes just how strong she really is.

Lesson Plans/Book Activities:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/6-4_(K)_Writing_to_Text__107410_7.doc http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/4/00.04.06.x.html
http://www.plumasarts.com/pdf/lp/daphne.pdf

In a take on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Turkle’s worldless version switches roles slightly, with a small bear cub entering the home of a family deep in the forest. When the family returns home, they find their house in shambles, with their cereal bowls left empty, the baby’s chair broken, and Mama’s bed pillow torn and the bed messed. The dark pencil drawn illustrations leave you feeling as though you’re really deep in the forest.

Lesson Plans/Book Activities:
http://www.lib.ucon.edu/online/research/speclib/ASC/findaids/Turkle/MSS20000115.html
http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson853/FracturedFairyTalesBooklist.pdf

In this Mexican rendition of Cinderella, the Mexican culture is heavily touched upon and realistically portrayed. Readers are introduced to some aspects of the Spanish language and these terms are translated to ensure that they meaning/comprehension continues. The mosaic-like tile backgrounds and arcrylic illustrations along with the text tell a story very similar to the Cinderalla known by so many young readers while emphasizing Mexican culture and traditions.

Lesson Plans/Book Activities:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson027.shtml
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/multicultural-literature/reading-comprehension/34368.html
http://www.sunbeltpub.com/sunbeltpub/html/bilingual.pdf