Classic Children's Fairy Tales

Have you ever wondered what actually goes into creating a satisfying fairy tale?

Sure, there's always a good guy and a bad guy; throw in a difficult situation, an eventual solution, a whole bunch of magic, and most certainly, a happy ending - and you've got it made: A FAIRY TALE of not-so-gargantuan proportions!

J.R Tolkien suggests FOUR common characteristics in a fairy tale:
1. Fantasy
2. Recovery
3. Escape
4. Consolation


Fantasy: a little trip away from 'facts': where animals talk, and pumpkins turn to royal carriages - and back again!
Recovery: regaining a fresh appreciation of the experience, but only after having gone through it - and perhaps getting pricked in the finger by some nasty spindle, or going into a coma after biting a luscious red apple.
Escape: here is where creative imagination kicks into 5th gear - where the rules of reality don't apply, and the key characters of the fairy tale through magical and miraculous circumstances 'escape' the dreadful situations, and arise a little richer from the experience.


And finally..
Consolation: Ahh... the happy ending.

CAVEAT: You might think that ALL fairy tales have happy endings. Don't mean to burst your bubble, Buddy - but truthfully, some of the most popular fairy tales we know today (like the ones by the Brothers Grimm) have terrifying, dark and morbid closures. Kudos to Stacy Conradt for her article entitled 8 Fairy Tales and Their Not-So-Happy Endings!

I'm sure you remember those colorful and animated illustrations that went with the fairy tale collections you used to read. Fairy tales just wouldn't be the same without great PICTURES!

Ever heard of Gustave Dore? Paul Gustave Doré (1832-1883) was a French artist, and engraver whose wood engravings became especially popular in the world of fairy tale illustrations. Here are some of his creations:

Cinderella

Sleeping Beauty

Little Red Riding Hood

More of Gustave Dore's famous illustrations can be viewed by clicking this link to ArtPassions.net

Throughout my years in the field of education, I've come to realize that popular classic fairy tales might not be as popular to many kids than we think.

Sure - most of them (thanks to Disney) know about The Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid and Aladdin.


But are they missing out on some incredible 'others' like the The Bremen Town Musicians, The Little Match Girl and King Thrushbeard? (Umm.. do YOU know these?)


Honestly, I don't remember having SO much homework from school that I didn't have time to enjoy the luxury of reading a fairy tale.
Perhaps in the hectic life of today's student, it IS a luxury one cannot afford.


Parents, here are THREE solutions/suggestions I would like to offer:

1. Drop in your local library. Head to the Kid's section and grab some Fairy Tale collections. (Umm.. make sure you check them out first.) Go home, and with the help of a microphone and the free sound editing software called AUDACITY, record yourself narrating some of these fairy tales. Save it as an MP3 audio file (for your child's MP3 player) or as a WAV audio file that can be burnt onto a CD. Your child will appreciate not only these classic fairy tales, but the fact that you cared enough to narrate them!

2. Internet-savvy, are ya? Well, search the web for MP3 audiobooks featuring classic fairy tales for children. Amazon.com has a plethora of them. The Talking Book Store is another wonderful site for downloadable MP3 audiobooks. Some sites even offer free downloads and even children's activity pages.

3. Classic Fairy Tales with .. CLASSICAL MUSIC! Now, that's a dynamic duo! Theo's Classic Children's Fairy Tales offers instant MP3 audio downloads of some famous fairy tales narrated in English, and with classical instrumental music in the background.
Unlike most audiobook recordings of narrated fairy tales which employ only snippets of classical music (usually at the start and at the end of the story), Theo's tales have music from start to end (fading in the background shortly after the beginning of the story).
These recordings feature mostly Baroque and Classical instrumental pieces by such mighty composers as Bach, Haydn, Handel, Beethoven and Mozart. And for the cost of less than HALF of what you'd spend at Starbucks for a Grande Caffe Mocha, you'll receive via instant download a CLASSIC FAIRY TALE that you or your child can listen to on your iPod/MP3 player.
Check out Theo's Classic Children's Fairy Tales at the e-Junkie store, HAPPY ENDINGS.
Don't laugh. That's what the store IS called. (Let's keep it "G" rated here, people!)