Title: Grimm’s Fairy Tales
The Frog Prince; Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty); Red Riding Hood; Hansel and Gretel
Authors: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Copyright Date: 1812
Number of Pages: 6; 5; 5; 10
Reading Level: 9+
Genre: Fairy Tales
Summary: Hansel and Gretel
A woodcutter and his wife have two children; Hansel and Gretel. The woman is not the children’s mother but their stepmother. There is a famine and the family is low on food. The woman decides that they must take the children out into the forest the next day and leave them there with only some bread. The children hear this plan and Hansel comes up with a plan. The next day when father and mother take the children into the forest Hansel drops white stones that shine white in the moonlight. When the children find themselves lost they wait until they can see the stones and find their way back to the cottage. The mother decides they have to take the children deeper into the woods this time so that the children won’t find their way back. The children again hear this plan but Hansel is unable to sneak out of the cottage to gather stones. The next day father and mother lead the children deep into the woods and Hansel drops bread crumbs along the way. This time it doesn’t work because the birds eat all of the bread crumbs left behind. The children are very lost and go deeper into the woods, hungry and scared. They come upon a house with a roof of cake and windows of sugar water. They eat what they can before a witch comes out and invites them in. She locks Hansel in a stable and starts to feed him to fatten him up and Gretel has to help. One day when the witch decides she will cook Hansel even though he has not grown at all (he kept sticking out a knuckle bone for her to feel) she heats up the oven and tell Gretel to climb in to see if it is hot enough. Gretel says she doesn’t know how so the witch crawls in and Gretel shuts the oven door on her. Gretel frees Hansel and they find their way back to the cottage with the witch’s riches. The stepmother died while they were away and they live happily with their father.
Recommendation
I think that these fairy tales are a part of human culture and that every child should get to hear them read aloud to them. Some can be gruesome but children can decide for themselves if they think its gross or COOL!
Problems/Conflict
Some say that the Grimm fairy tales are very graphic and that they are, well, grim. I don’t think that they are any worse than what is on TV today and movies that kids watch.
My Reaction
I’m fascinated by Grimm’s Fairy Tales, more so that the others that we are studying. There is something different about these tales that I can’t quite put my finger on. I like the fact that the brothers Grimm wanted to preserve the originality of the words and how the stories were told. I think that they took on a job to preserve these stories that could have been lost or altered forever and for that I am grateful.
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