Grimm's Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales

By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Published by Longmeadow Press (1995)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 632

Genre: Fairy Tales

Summary: "The Goose Girl" is about a princess that is going to another kingdom to marry a prince, but she is forced by her waiting maid to trade clothes and when they get to the kingdom the real princess becomes a gooses girl and the waiting made pretends to be the princess. The goose boy complains about the weird things the goose girl does and the king finds out she is really the princess and the fake princess is killed.

"The Frog Prince" is about a princess that makes a deal with a frog in exchange for him getting her ball. The princess gets frustrated at the frog demanding she keep her promises so she throws him against the wall and he turns into a prince. They marry and are taken home by a faithful servant of the prince.

"Little Red Riding Hood" is about Little Red Riding Hood taking goodies to her grandmother. But, her and grandmother get eaten by a wolf, but they are saved by a woodcutter and the wolf dies. Then a few days later Little Red meets another wolf on the way to grandma's house. So she and Grandma trick the wolf and he drowns in a pot of oil.

"The Bremen Town Musicians" is about a donkey, a cat, a dog, and a rooster that decide to go to Bremen to become musicians because their owners want to kill them. They find a house with thieves in it and scare them off and then they stay there and never go to Bremen.

My Reaction: I've read these tales for a long time and in fact the book I used for this assignment is my book and it contains a couple hundred more tales in it than these four. I love these stories and that is why I read them for the assignment. I love that some of them are different than the ones we are familiar with. I think it's hysterical that the princess never kisses the frog, but throws him against a wall!

Potential Problems: These tales contain death, people eating animals, graphic details, and a violent princess.

Recommendations: Older children might enjoy these stories. I love them! I started reading them with my sister when she was in about 3rd grade.

Joseph Jacobs Fairy Tales

More English Folk and Fairy Tales

By Joseph Jacobs

Putnam

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Pages: 268

Genre: Folk and Fairy Tales

Summary: "The Golden Ball" was about these sisters that are given a golden ball by a nobleman. They are told that if they lose it they will lose their life. One sister loses hers in a haunted house so she is sentenced to death. Her sweetheart wanted to get it back for her and save her. So he spends three nights in the house. He kills goblins every night, on the last night he hears them playing with the ball under the bed so the sweetheart cuts of a one of the goblin's limbs every time it pokes out from under the bed until they are all dead. Her retrieves the ball and saves the girl just in time.

"The Pied Piper of Franchville" is about a town that is over run with rats. A piper comes and offers to get rid of them for a fee. The own agrees and the piper plays his pipe and all them rats follow and are drowned. The town refuses to pay the piper the agreed wage so the piper leads all the children away and they never return.

"Tamlane" is about a girl named Burd Janet and a young man named Tamlane were in love and betrothed to be married. Right before the wedding Tamlane disappears and everyone is sad. Buurd Janet goes walking in the woods and discovers Tamlane has been turned into a tree by the fairy folk. Tamlane tells her that he thinks they plan to uses him to pay the teind, or tithe to the netherworld, and then Tamlane instructs her how to save him. She waits at midnight and the fairies come on horses. Burd Janet sees Tamlane in one of the horses and runs to him and pulls him off his horse and holds on to him without letting go while the fairies turn him into different shapes. They turn him into a hot coal and Burd Janet throws him into the well. Tamlane come out a naked man and Burd Janet put her robe on him. They go home and get married.

"Catskin" is about a girl who is being forced to marry a man. She ask for three special made dresses and a coat of catskins. She then runs away and gets a job at another kingdom in the kitchen, where they are mean to her. She puts on her nice dresses to go to the balls the prince has but the prince doesn't know who she is. He figures out she is the kitchen girl, but still wants to marry her because he is in love, but the queen wont allow it until the prince gets sick and it's the only way to save him. After they get married they find Catskin's father and take him to the castle.

My Reaction: I'd never heard the golden ball story and thought it was really good. The others i was familiar with so I enjoyed them, I also like how they were different from the versions I'd heard before.

Potential Problems: I could see that they might be a little scary for timid youngsters. These stories contain death, goblins, ghost, and talk of human sacrifice.

Recommendations: I would recommend these to anyone who likes a good story. They would be fun to tell to a variety of ages and are fun reading if you love fairy tales.

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales

Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales

Retold by E. Jean Robertson

Published by Schocken Books (1979)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 264

Genre: Fairy Tales

Summary: The first tale I read was called the "Tinder-box", it was about a soldier that went down a hole in a tree for an old lady, while he was in the tree he retrieved precious for himself and a tinder-box for the lady, but decides to keep it. he later learn he can use the tinder-box to summon magical dogs that will do his bidding. He uses them to get rich and to see a princess that's been kept from the world by overprotective parents. The king and queen find out and put him in prison but he uses the tinder-box to summon a dog, who kills the king and queen and the royal judges and counselors. The people all ask the soldier to become king.

The next tale was "The swineherd". It was about a prince that was in love with a princess and he sends her simple presents, but she rejects them. So the prince disguises himself and gets a job in that kingdom as a swineherd. He makes neat items that the princess sees and wants, but the swineherd will only sell them for kisses from the princess, and the price gets steeper every time. The emperor finds out and kicks them both out. Princess regrets not marrying the prince, so the swineherd reveals that he is the prince, but the prince rejects her.

"The Princess and the Pea" is about a prince that wants to marry a princess. One stormy night a girl comes to the castle looking a mess and claims to be a princess. To test that she was a true princess the queen makes her sleep on 40 mattresses that had a pea underneath them all. The princess slept poorly and woke up black and blue. That was the test so they decided she was real princess and let her marry the prince.

The last tale I read was "The Nightingale". This story was about a Chinese emperor that learns of a nightingale that has the sweetest song. He has it brought to the palace to sing for him. He loves it and decides it should stay. Then the emperor gets a mechanical nightingale and the the whole court likes it and they shun the real nightingale. The fake nightingale breaks and shortly after the emperor is on his death bead, but the nightingale comes and sings the death spirits aways. The nightingale comes every night after that to sing to the emperor and no one in the court knows.

My Reaction: I liked them. I'm not as familiar with Anderson's tales as I am with other fairy tales, but I liked them.

Potential Problems: These stories include death and spirits.

Recommendations: I would recommend these stories to all children. I heard the tinder-box story when I was in fourth grade and loved it. They would be great to read aloud.

Holes

Holes

By Louis Sachar

Published by Yearling (2000)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 240

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summary: Stanley is accused of stealing a pair of shoes that belong to Sweet Feet, a famous baseball player, which he didn't do. He is sentence to go to Camp Green Lake; there, he has to dig a hole that is 5ft in depth and diameter, every day. He blames his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather who was curse by Madame Zeroni for not carrying her up the mountain so she can drink from the steam. Camp Green Lake, more than a hundred years before Stanley was there was a lake and a town. The town dries up after they shot a black man for kissing the school teacher and the teacher became the outlaw Kissing Kate Barlow. Stanley makes friends with a boy called Zero and he teaches Zero to read. When then counselors are tormenting Zero for not being able to read Zero knocks one out and runs into the desert. Stanley runs after him several days later. He finds him hiding under an old boat living off old canned peaches. They walk to a distant mountain shaped like a thumb and Stanley has to carry Zero. At the top Stanley sings an old family song to Zero and they find water and onions. After they get their health back they walk back to camp and after everyone is in bed they come out of hiding and dig for a treasure that belonged to Kate Barlow, but are found as they find the treasure but they can't get out of the hole because they are covered in yellow spotted lizards, which are deadly. They climb out when Stanley's Lawyer gets there and the treasure has Stanley's name on it because it was stolen from his ancestor that had the same name. Camp is closed and Stanley and Zero become rich.

My Reaction: I love this book, and I've loved it for a long time. The characters are memorable and the story is exciting. I enjoy putting the pieces from the different stories together.

Potential Problems: This book addresses prejudices, it contains murder, cruelty, and other crimes.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to older children. I think this is also a good book for kids that don't like reading.

Awards this Book has Recieved:

• 1999 Newbery Medal

• 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

• A Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction

• An ALA Notable Book

• An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

• An ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults

• A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year

• A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book

• A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

• A Publishers Weekly Notable Children's Book of the Year

• A Publishers Weekly Bestseller

• A Horn Book Fanfare Title

• A Riverbank Review 1999 Children's Book of Distinction

• A New York Public Library Children's Book of 1998-100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

• A Texas Lone Star Award Nominee

• A NECBA Fall List Title

Check Out the Website: Holes the Book

This is from the Disney Movie. I love the song and it gives a great introduction to the characters.

How Are You Peeling?

How Are You Peeling?

Foods with Moods

By Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers

Published By Scholastic Inc. (2004)

Reading Level: Baby-Preschool

Pages: 43

Genre: Picture Book

Summary: This book very simply goes through all the different emotions and uses vegetables to express the emotions. It also asks the children what to do when they experience different emotions.

My Reaction: I thought it was a really cute and I thought this is a good book to read with children to help them understand emotions and it could open conversation about what to do when they experience different emotions.

Potential Problems: I don't see any potential problems.

Recommendations: I would recommend this as a good book for parents to read to small children.

The Wanderings of Odysseus

The Wanderings of Odysseus:

The Story of the Odyssey

By Rosemary Sutcliff

Published by Laurel Leaf (2005)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 134

Genre: Myth

Summary: Odysseus leaves the conquest of Troy to go home. On the way home they blind the son of Poseidon. Poseidon is angry and stops Odysseus from getting home. They try make it back again with Circe's help, but in the process Odysseus loses all his men and he ends up on Calypso's Island. He is there until Athene intercedes on his behalf and ensures that he makes it home. Odysseus dresses as a beggar and finds a servant still loyal to him and reunites with his son. Penelope creates a contest for those that want to marry her. Odysseus wins and slays all the suitors. The next day he reunites with his wife. He sees his father, then because Athene intervenes Odysseus makes peace with the suitors' families.

My Reaction: I enjoyed this book, because I just finished reading the Percy Jackson series and I liked reading stories about the gods and comparing them to those books. It did drag though. There were several dry, slow spots that were hard to read past.

Potential Problems: This book contains violence

Recommendations: I would recommend this to children that enjoy the Percy Jackson series.

The Westing Game

The Westing Game

By Ellen Raskin

Published by Penguin Group (1997)

Reading Level: Ages 11-13 years

Pages: 216

Genre: Mystery

Summary: Several people are invited to live in Sunset Towers, an apartment building by Lake Michigan. They all accept the invitation. One day they see smoke coming from the chimney of the Westing House. Turtle, a little girl that is protective of her braids, goes in the house on a bet and sees Mr. Westing dying in his bead. The tenants find out the next day that Mr. Westing is dead and they are invited to come to the reading of the Will. They learn that they are all related to Mr. Westing somehow and someone from that group took his life. The group is invited to play the Westing Game and find out who. The winner receives $200 million dollars! They are divided into 2 person teams and each team is given different clues. They have to use the clues to figure it out by the next time they are asked to meet. Several of them are snowed in together. Several end up in the hospital from bombings, one of the tenants is stealing items. Each person is paired with the perfect person. When they all finally give their answers they are all wrong and are forced to stay together to figure it out. But they don't figure it out fast enough and someone dies. Then turtle figures it out and doesn't tell anyone. She receives a mentor and the rest of the tenants work through their individual problems and end up happy.

My Reaction: I thought the book was delightful! The author gives you all the clues so that you can try to figure it out along with the characters. And the book stayed interesting, there were no parts that really lagged.

Potential Problems: bombings, death, talk of murder, theft, and use of the word "dastardly"

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good mystery story.