The Primary English Encyclopedia: The Heart of the Curriculum, Third Edition
See also creation stories, fable, fairy tales, folk tales, legend, myths
‘Traditional tales’ is an umbrella term for all the kinds of story named above which are discussed under the individual entries. These ancient stories were told many times and passed down the generations. Some of the same universal themes are found in stories all over the world. Such stories are an important part of the fiction collection in the primary school and they thread through the English programme. They impart much of importance about human nature in general and are an excellent way of learning what is valued in cultures different from out own. Here it may be helpful to explain the emphasis of each kind, although there is much overlapping.
• Creation stories are tales in a cultural context which try to explain how the earth and all its objects, people and creatures came about.
• Fables are stories ending with a moral principle.
They often involve animal characters as in Aesop’s Fables.
• Fairy tales always include an element of magic and often magical folk like elves, gnomes, sprites and fairies (see Carpenter and Prichard, 1984 for a substantial account of the history of the fairy tale).
• Folk tales are mainly about the lives, trials and tribulations of ordinary people from every part of the world. Some contain fairy tale elements such as characters being granted three wishes or people being transformed by magic.
• Legends are usually about heroic characters, for example King Arthur and his knights. They may be based on historical characters and events that actually happened, but they tend to be embroidered with detail and supernatural elements.
• Myths are ancient stories of gods and heroes, often about the origins of life and issues of deep human concern. (Creation stories are often thought of as a category of myth because of their emphasis on how things began.) Greek myths concentrate on stories about the gods, for example the story of Persephone, the daughter of Zeus who spent half the year on earth and half in the underworld. But there are myths from all over the world and there are many excellent collections of retellings.
Excellent annotated lists of collections of the different kinds of traditional tale are found in Tales for Telling (2000) a file from The Centre for the Children’s Book and in Stones (1999), Phinn (2000) Hallford and Zaghini (2004).
Carpenter, Humphrey and Prichard, Mari (1984) The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hallford, D.P. and Zaghini, E. (2004) Folk & Fairy Tales: A Book Guide London: Booktrust.
Phinn, Gervase (2000) Young Readers and Their Books London: David Fulton.
Stones, Rosemary (1999) A Multicultural Guide to Children’s Books London: Books for Keeps.
Steele, Mary (1989) Traditional Tales: A Signal Bookguide Stroud: The Thimble Press.
Tales for Telling: A Journey Through the World of Folk-tales (2000).
Seven Stories, The Centre for Children’s Books. www.sevenstories.org.uk – site visited 1 May 2007.
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