Thumbelina

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Illustrator: Herb Leonhard

Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books

Publication Date: 2005

Genre: Fairy Tale

Audience: Gr. Pre-K-2

Overview: This story is about a woman who wants to have a child but when a witch grants her this wish she has a child who is smaller than a thumb. This tiny little girl is named Thumbelina who is born as a lost little girl and goes through many trials and tribulations and has to marry the son of a frog. Will she get her wings to become a fairy?

Activity: Have the students draw what they think Thumbelina looks like.

Reviewer’s Name: Alex Corbutt

Hansel and Gretel

Author: Rika Lesser

Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky

Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Publication Date: 1996

Genre: Fairy Tale

Audience: Gr. Pre-K-2

Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, ALA Notable Children’s Book, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year.

Overview: This story, which was originally told by the Brothers Grimm, is about two children lost in the forest who stumble upon a house made out of cake, icing and lots of candy. But when they go inside to explore there is an unusual surprise waiting for them. The pictures are mysterious yet very detailed.

Activity: Have the students draw their own version of the candy house.

Reviewer’s Name: Alex Corbutt

Repunzel

Author: Susanna Davidson

Illustrator: Desideria Guicciardini

Publisher: EDC

Publication date:  2005

Genre: Traditional fairy tale

Audience:  Gr. 2, 3

Overview:  A girl with beautiful long golden hair is imprisoned in a tower by an evil witch.  She wishes to escape but she is unable to.  One day a prince comes along and wishes to save Repunzel from the evil witch.  Her long golden locks come in handy to her rescue.

Activity:  Pretend you are Repunzel and you are stuck in a tower.  How are you going to be saved?  Who is going to save you?  What obstacles will they have to face?  Write a couple sentences.

Reviewer's Name: Erin Mazzatta

The Language of Birds

Author/Illustrator: Illustrated by Rafe Martin and Susan Gaber
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Russian Fairy Tale - picture book
Audience: Gr. K-3

Overview: When two young sons are given money by their wealthy father, one son (Vasilii) wastes his money, and the other (Ivan), learns to speak the language of birds. When Ivan reports to his father the birds’ prediction that one day the wealthy merchant will serve Ivan, the old man gets angry and sends Ivan away. Through Ivan’s kindness and his talent of speaking with the birds, the young man advances in life and marries the daughter of a wealthy king. The wealthy merchant father loses his riches and comes to serve Ivan, just as the birds once predicted.

Activity: Have children invent a dialogue between themselves and an animal of their choice. What would the animal say to them, and what would be their response?

Reviewer’s Name: Katie Coursey

Melisande

Author: E. Nesbit
Illustrator: P. J. Lynch
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication Date: 1989
Genre: Fairy tale
Audience: Gr. 4+

Overview: E. Nesbit shot to the top of my favorite authors list after I read this book. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has said repeatedly that Nesbit is the children's author with whom she most identifies, and Nesbit's sharp sense of humor and logical brand of magic very closely resemble Rowling's own. In fact, I had a hard time convincing myself after the first few pages that this story was written roughly a half-century before J.K. Rowling was born; perhaps she is E. Nesbit's literary reincarnation.

The story is about a princess who, thanks to a curse from an evil fairy, grows up bald. When she is older she wishes for beautiful golden hair a yard long, that grows an inch every day and grows twice as fast when cut. A charming fairy tale and a fine lesson in the magic of exponential growth, Melisande is the perfect thing to read while waiting for Deathly Hallows to come out.

Reviewer's Name: Preety Sidhu

The Talking Eggs

Author: Robert D. San Souci
Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1989
Awards: Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor
Genre: Folklore
Audience: Gr. K-3

Overview: A Southern folktale about a little girl named Blanche and how she befriends and old woman who takes her to her magical home. Blanche is then able to gain amazing riches and escape from her evil mother and sister with the old women’s help.

Activity: Students can invent their own magical being. Then they can draw a picture and describe it in a few sentences. (Example from book: Two headed cow with horns like corkscrews)

Reviewer’s Name: Natalie Eder

Puss in Boots

Author: Charles Perrault
Illustrator: Fred Marcellino
Translator: Malcolm Arthur
Publisher: Farrar Strauss Giroux
Publication Date: 1990
Awards: Caldecott Honor
Genre: Fairy Tale
Audience: Gr. K-3

Overview: An entertaining story about a clever cat, who once he obtains a pair of boots, is able to use his skills to benefit his master in the end.

Activity: Allow students to act out the animals the Ogre turns into (lion and mouse) and then get the students to act out two animals who are opposites.

Reviewer’s Name: Natalie Eder

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Author: John Scieszka
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: 1989
Genre: Picture Book
Audience: Gr. K+

Overview: This is the story of the Three Little Pigs from the viewpoint of (the wolf, Alexander T. Wolf. According to him, he was just looking for some sugar for a recipe he was using for his grandmother and accidentally blew down the pigs' houses while having a sneeze attack. Essentially it's just the original story re-done from a different perspective, that is also pretty funny.

Activity: Separate children into groups and have them collectively write another viewpoint of another story. Encourage children to change as much of the story as they can, but to follow the same general structure so they do not stray too far from the original.

Reviewer's Name: Andrew Generazio

Her Stories

Author: Virginia Hamilton
Illustrator: Leo & Diane Dillon
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic
Publication Date: 1995
Awards: 1996 Coretta Scott King Award Author Winner
Genre: Picture book, African American Folktales, Fairy Tales
Audience: Gr. k-4

Overview: This a book composed of spoken stories from Virginia Hamilton’s.

Activity: Have older students each choose a story from this book to read and then have them present their story to the class either through a speech, a poster, a picture and give a brief summary of the story.

Reviewer’s Name: Sarah Dulle