Once
upon a time…
PowerPoint Presentation
Prepared by Mrs. Bolyard, Librarian
Fairy tales are part of the oral tradition of literature.
What makes the fairy tale
different from folklore, fables,
and tall tales is its use of magic
and fantasy.
They may be magicians, ogres,
dragons
brownies,
goblins, gnomes, or leprechauns.
elfs,
Often fairy tales involve ordinary people who have
experiences of a supernatural kind and are affected
by charms, disguises, spells, or other fantastic
occurrences.
In The Sleeping Beauty, a princess is
shut up by enchantment in a castle and
sleeps for 100 years; the thick wood that
grows up around the castle is penetrated
by a prince who awakens the princess
with a kiss.
Although the stories were told centuries ago to
entertain children, many were originally written for
adults.
As their popularity spread, the fairy tale came to
have a major influence on children's literature.
Authors of Fairy Tales
include:
Born in Paris, France in 1628
Collected fairy tales and
published Tales of Mother
Goose in 1697
Among the eight stories in this
book are The Sleeping Beauty,
Little Red Riding Hood, Blue
Beard, and Cinderella.
Died in 1703
In the early 19th century the Grimm brothers of
Germany traveled around the countryside collecting
stories.
Their 200 stories commonly called Grimm’s Fairy
Tales have been translated into 70 languages.
Fewer people know about the lives of
the Grimm brothers and how they
went about the countryside listening
to folktales as told by those who had
heard them from their mothers and
fathers.
The brothers were born in Germany.
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was
Wilhelm Carl Grimm
born on Jan. 4, 1785.
was born on Feb. 24, 1786.
The brothers went to school determined to study
law as their father had done.
However, while attending school, Jacob
became interested in the legends and both
discovered that they enjoyed folk poetry.
Because of these interests, Wilhelm
obtained a job in a library and Jacob joined
him.
The brothers
quiet, scholarly
Jacob
and the more
friendly, jovial
Wilhelm
spent some 13 years collecting stories "from the lips
of people" of Hesse in middle Germany.
The first volume of Nursery and Household
Tales was published in Berlin in 1812
A second volume was published in
1815 and a third in 1822.
Sometimes there were several versions of the stories, and
these the Grimms combined into one.
It must have been difficult to choose between
different versions.
Should Rumpelstiltskin ride around the
fire in a ladle, or should he hop around it
on one foot?
Should a wolf
live in the sugar house
found by Hansel and
Gretel?
or a witch
The stories were kept alive by the German peasants of
the time--the cowherd, the woodcutter, the wood-carver-who had no hope of rising above their positions in life
Wilhelm died on Dec. 16, 1859
Jacob died on Sept. 20, 1863.
Another writer whose tales became universally popular
was
He was born April 2, 1805, on the island of Fyn, off
the coast of Denmark.
He memorized and recited plays to
anyone who would listen.
To put an end to this, his mother apprenticed him first
to a weaver, then to a tobacconist, and finally to a
tailor.
Hans Christian knew these occupations were not for
him. The only things that held his interest were the
theater, books, and stories
When he was 14, he decided to go to Copenhagen, the
capital of Denmark, and seek his fortune.
Andersen's writings began to be published in Danish
in 1829. His first works were poems, plays, novels,
and impressions of his travels. He was slow to
discover that he especially excelled in explaining the
essential character of children.
In 1835 Andersen published Fairy
Tales Told for Children.
He published these short stories with little
appreciation of their worth and returned to the
writing of novels and poems. However, people who
read the stories--adults as well as children--wanted
more.
In 1833 the king gave him a grant of money for travel, and he
spent 16 months wandering through Germany, France,
Switzerland, and Italy.
Germany
Switzerland
France
Italy
Andersen published 168 fairy tales in all.
"The real ones come of themselves," he
said. "They knock at my forehead and
say, 'Here I am'."
Although he never married
and had no children of his
own, he was at his best as an
interpreter of the nature of
children.
He died on Aug. 4, 1875.
Although these authors lived long ago and far away...
Andersen--Denmark
Perrault--France
Us-United
States
Grimm Brothers--Germany
...the appeal and popularity of the tales, continue to
entertain us and we live happily
ever after.
Resources:
Compton’s Encyclopedia Online v3.0 c 1998 The
Learning Co., Inc.
“Andersen, Hans Christian”
“Fairy Tale”
“Grimm Brothers”
“Mother Goose”
“Perrault, Charles”
“Perault Tales”
Maps: European Countries; c. 1996 Houghton Mifflin Co.
Denmark; About.com
World; Silver Burdett Gim Inc.
Pictures: Sleeping Beauty--Compton’s
Encyclopedia Online v3.0
c. 1998, The Learning Co., Inc., “Fairy Tale”
Charles Perrault--Petit Larousse, Dictionnaire des citations
Hans Christian Andersen--www.kb.dk/elib/illbooks/hcaportr/
Clip Art: Witch--www.clip-art.com