Tales from Grimm

Tales from Grimm is a collection of folktales from the Brothers Grimm.  The tales in this book are translated and illustrated by Wanda Gag.  The origin of each folktale is quite unknown, as most countries and languages have their own versions.  But, the Brothers Grimm published their first compilation of German tales in 1812.  Most of the stories in Tales from Grimm are well known and popular in America.  However, there are a few that are quite obscure, including: "Spindle, Shuttle and Needle," "Doctor Know-It-All," "Clever Elsie," "The Three Brothers," "Lean Liesel and Lanky Lenz."  Each folktale has commonalities.  Themes include, poverty, love, and socioeconomics. 

For example, "Spindle, Shuttle and Needle" is the story of a young Prince who goes looking for a wife who is "both rich and poor."  When The Prince finds the orphan girl, she is too shy to look up and he leaves her window.  It is then that the spindle, shuttle and needle, take lives of their own and travel to find The Prince.  Once The Prince and the orphan girl are reunited, they fall in love and the orphan girl becomes the Princess.  The Prince had found a maiden that was rich in love, but poor in riches.  Again, in the story of "The Three Brothers," poverty and love are two underlying themes.  An old father is dying and must leave his home to one of his three sons.  Each son leaves the house to learn a trade and then meets back at the home in one year.  Each son has mastered their chosen trade, but when the time comes to decide who will get the home, the father chooses the third brother.  Because of his deep love for his brothers, the third brother asks the two other brothers to live with him too.  So, all three brothers will live in the house after all.

As a teacher, I would use this compilation of folktales to introduce a geography/culture lesson.  I would assign my students the task of talking to an adult they know, and asking that adult to tell them a folktale, fable, or myth.  Each student would write down the story and bring it back to class.  As a class, we would discuss the origin of some of their stories and learn about the cultures of each.  This would also be a great lesson on values and morals of varying countries and whether or not the values have changed.  We could also discuss the type of dress, food, and language that would be associated with each story locale.

Tales from Grimm. ISBN -13: 978-0-8166-4935-8. Wanda Gag. 1936. Newbery Honor. Age 9-12. Folklore.