Maribeth MontgomeryLSIS 5505 0L1

Dr. Edna Cogdell26 September 2010

Plot structures tend to be simple and directThe action shows the inevitable conflict and

resolution and the story ends brieflyAlmost all folktales are success stories of some kindRepetition is common

Three is the magic number and is reoccurringRepetition of responses, chants, and poems are also

commonCharacters and settings are introduced briefly in

usually Characterization

Characters are flat in dimensions and usually symbolic of completely good or completely bad.

a few sentences

Style Introductions tend to be repetitive, such as the familiar

“Once upon a time,” or the Persian “There was a time and there wasn’t a time.”

Figurative language and imagery as well as proverbs are often included.

Themes Values of a particular culture such as humility, kindness,

hard work, sympathy, wisdom, and courage are often reward in folktales to express the importance of these virtues

Motifs Motifs are reoccurring ideas, subjects, themes, symbols,

objects, characters, etc. The number three is a reoccurring pattern Magical powers, transformations, magical objects,

wishes, and trickery are also common motifs in folktales.

Cumulative Tales These stories are appealing to very young children. The story itself is not as important as the increasing repetition of

the details. The events lead up to a quick climax. Examples include “The Gingerbread Boy” and “The Old Woman

and Her Pig” Pourquoi Tales

These tales answer the question why. They explain certain traits or characteristics of an animal, the

origin of certain natural phenomena, or the origin of human customs.

Many Native American folktales are pourquoi tales. Beast Tales

Beast Tales are possibly the favorite folktales of children. Animals act and talk like human beings “The Three Little Pigs” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” are

examples of beast tales.

Wonder Tales or “Fairy Tales”These tales somehow involve magic or the

supernatural.They often involve witches, demons,

Realistic TalesThese are tales of characters who are realistic

and things that could have happened.Sometimes they are loosely based on actual

events, such as the tale of Johnny Appleseed.

Fairy tales offer a powerful medium that allows children to develop their perception of emotions and their reflection on emotions

The child can relate his or emotions to the emotions of the character in a playful way (Hohr).

Fairy tales teach children about morals and values without talking down to them or sounding like a lecture from a parent.

Fairy tales “fire their moral imaginations “ by showing them how other children risk everything for the sake of something that they desire or the better good.

Because children are self-centered by nature, they are more likely to learn about morals and virtues by discovering them for themselves or experience them vicariously through the characters in a story than if they were instructed about them.

Kids tend to rejoice in struggling and overcoming and getting beyond evil, which is an important aspect of fairy tales.

Fairy tales vary in their messages about virtues, but courage and faith are a figure in all of them (Elder).

This summary is based on the version of The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf

writ written by Maggie Moore (2001)

“Once upon a time,” three little pigs leave their mother’s home and set out to live on their own for the first time.

As they are leaving, the mother warns them to watch out for the big bad wolf.

The three little pigs build their separate houses out of straw, sticks, and brick.

The big bad wolf shows up at the house made of straw and says, “Let me in, little pig, let me in.”

The little pig responds, “Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin.”

The wolf then, “huffed and puffed and blew the house in.”

The wolf then goes to the house of sticks, and the exact same events and dialogue take place.

The big bad wolf then shows up at the house of bricks.

He again demands to be let in, the pig denies him again, but the wolf cannot blow the house down.

The wolf tries to get to the pigs by going down the chimney, but the little pig puts a pot of boiling water on the fire, and the wolf falls in

The little pigs live “happily ever after” in their house of bricks.

This story also begins with the familiar “once upon a time,” and portrays three little wolves leaving their mothers home for the first time.

The mother warns the three wolves to beware of the big bad pig.

The wolves first build a house of brick together. The pig shows up and demands to be let in.

The wolves respond with “No, no, no, by the hairs on our chinny-chin-chins, we will not let you in.

The pig then growls, “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.

When that did not work, the pig, being resourceful, used a sledgehammer to destroy the wolves’ house.

The wolves then built a house of concrete in attempt to build a stronger home.

The pig showed up with the same demand to be let in, and the same threat to huff and puff and blow the house down.

When the pig cannot blow the house down, he destroys it with a pneumatic drill.

Then the wolves build a house of steel because it is the strongest, securest house that they can possibly imagine.

The pig shows up with the same demand to be let in. The wolves deny him in the same fashion, so he makes the same threat to blow the house down.

When he cannot blow the house down, he decides to blow it up with dynamite.

The wolves then decide that they are taking the wrong approach, and they build a house made of various fragrant flowers.

The pig shows up with the same threat, but when he goes to huff and puff, he smells the beautiful, calming fragrance of flowers.

He then decides that he will be a good pig. He sings and dances and plays games with the wolves, and they all live “happily ever after.”

Both stories include the magic number three.The characters and setting is introduced in only a

few sentences in both tales ,and they begin with “once upon a time.”

Both stories include three siblings moving out of their mother’s home for the first time and building their own houses.

In both stories, the three siblings are attacked by a big bad creature that their mother warned them about and some of the houses are destroyed.

Phrases and dialogue are repeated in both stories, such as “I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house down.”

The siblings in both stories are able to outwit the big bad creature and live “happily ever after.”

The fractured fairy tale used three wolves instead of three pigs.

The Three Little Pigs built separate houses of straw, sticks, and bricks, while the three wolves built all their houses together, and they built four houses: one of bricks, one of concrete, one of steel, and one of flowers.

The three little pigs were able to trick the big bad wolf by putting a pot of boiling water on the fire as the wolf climbed down the chimney; therefore, scolding the wolf.

The three little wolves were able to trick the pig by making their house out of fragrant flowers, which causes the pig to sniff the lovely scent until he no longer wanted to huff or puff or do them any harm. Consequently, he changed into a good pig and

Fractured fairy tales allow children to experience a familiar story from another characters perspective.

This can help students see characters as more than just flat one dimensional beings.

Children can also learn that every story has more than one side to it, and that people interpret situations from their own unique perceptions.

Students can use their imagination and innovation to rewrite their own fractured fairy tales by using the online writing tool available via Read, Write, Think.org

Books. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <http://www.amazon.com/Three-Little-Pigs-Read-Readers/dp/1404800719>.

Elder, Charles. "Why kids need (and want) fairy tales." Newsmagazine 05 Oct 1998. Vol. 254, Issue 42. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy072.nclive.org/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=6&sid=51eddd2f-53cb-4900-8bf0-e30b10e6f646%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=1156195>.

"Fairy Godmother." Mrs. Gold's Class. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <http://www.mrsgoldsclass.com/Archive/FairyTales.htm>.

"Fractured Fairy Tales." Read Write Think.. IRA/ NCTE, 2010. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/fractured-fairy-tales-30062.html>.

"Fractured Fairy Tales." Booklists. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <https://www2.elpasotexas.gov/kidszone/kidszone_library/booksandreading/booklists/booklistfracturedfairy.htm>.

Hohr, Hansjorg. "Dynamic Aspects of Fairy Tales: Social and Emotional Competence through Fairy Tales." Journal of Educational Research 44.1 (2000): 1-13. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy072.nclive.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=6&sid=c65bc339-b9ed-4c33-ad9b-1ccc494aad38%40sessionmgr14>.

Kiefer, Barbara Z. Charlotte Huck's Children's Literature. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. 228-238. Print.

Moore, Maggie. The Three Little Pigs. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Picture Window Books, 2001. Print.

Trivizas, Eugene. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1993. Print.