Evaluation

This book was an absolute magical masterpiece and a thrill to read. It would be perfect to read to a third or fourth grade class as part of your muli-educational curriculum. For your fourth grade class you may use these short stories first as a read-aloud and then as a writing prompt. The teacher may ask the students to pick their favorite folk tale as part of their prompt and write a ‘reader’s response” to this specific story. The teacher may also use these stories as creative writing pieces. Students can have the opportunity to spin their own folktale or extend one of the folktales that is written within this book. For the younger grades, the teacher may pick one of the short stories to read from the book and ask the students to draw what they hear as part of their “studio art” activity. Not only will students be encouraged to use their imagination, but they will be learning the importance of linking drawing with reading and writing. Lastly, the teacher could use some of these stories to create an “around the world” folk tale unit. The students may practice comparing and contrasting two different tales from different countries or blending the stories together to make a completely new tale. Not only are folk tales useful in teaching various writing styles, but they also teach children the importance of oral tradition and storytelling.