Reading Response: Traditional Literature

 

These 27 tales were chosen by the illustrator to be featured in the book of translated tales originally published in the early 1800s. There is not an introduction to identify why each of the tales were translated and included, but the brief synopsis on the back lets the reader know that the tales include compromise stories that are both familiar and unfamiliar to readers.  Some stories are lengthy and a few others are short, very reminiscent of fables. Maurice Sendak is the illustrator of a popular children’s book–Where the Wild Things Are–and his illustrations of the characters and settings seem to correlate with that book, one in which many children have read. The illustrations are hand drawn in pencil and featured only in black and white.  There is one illustration embedded in each story which takes up a full page, and each illustration focuses on only one important plot element or character of the story. While the intended audience are children of late elementary to middle school age, some of the content may be a little advanced or scary for the younger children, while other content may be understood better if an adult were to read the tales.  All tales are fantastical stories with some realistic elements, but the morals of each may not be understood by children. Each story within the collection can be read independently, and there is not a specific organization to the tales included in the anthology.   

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. illus. by Maurice Sendak. trans. by Lore Segal and Randall Jarrell. 352 p. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2021. $28.00. ISBN  0-374-33971-6. Ages 9-12.

The purpose of these 24 tales is to connect readers to the African culture that dominates these tales.  While the stories can be understood by reading each individual tale–and not necessarily in order–the introduction provides for important background to help understand why characters’ names are included and what each animal within the tales represents.  Although these are folktales, they are important stories that have been orally passed down through generations that helped a group of people express themselves in a world where they were completely oppressed.

There is a significant bibliography in the text that guides readers to other variations of these tales.  This helps readers to make connections between/among other folktales, especially ones that come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. While some of the folktales are hard to read and created out of difficult situations, others express positive themes such as hope and celebration for better times. The book comprises four different sections of folktales: American Black Folktales; Tales of the Real, Extravagant, and Fanciful; Tales of the Supernatural; and Slave Tales of Freedom.  Each of these sections move through the most oppressive times of African’s lives, to the more creative and surrealistic, to freedom, encompassing a struggle that Africans endured when they were forced from their homes and put onto ships to be used in the slave trade. 

There is one illustration per story that is sketched in pencil and all black and white that clearly depicts the theme of the story. The illustrations help to gain an understanding of the tale that would add additional understanding as the reader is visualizing, so these illustrations are integral to each story.

 Hamilton, Virginia. The People Could Fly. illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon. 192 p. Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. $13.00. ISBN 0-679-84336-1. Ages 11-13.