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Creating A Fairytale World
To a modern audience, what makes a setting feel ‘fairytale’? What is it about the tone, style and plot? I argue here that what makes a fairytale setting feel ‘fairytale’ is mostly the ‘fairytale logic’. Just as we know, almost intuitively, that a particular narrative is a fairy tale when we read it, it seems […]
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Old Mother Frost Fairy Tale Analysis
Old Mother Frost” is a German fairy tale also known as “Mother Holle”, “Mother Hulda” and “Frau Holle”.
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The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale Analysis
A character is different from their family/tribe and feels utterly alone. Eventually they find their ‘people’ who accept them for who they really are. Understanding they are not alone in the world after all, the main character accepts themselves. Now they can be happy.
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The Elves and the Shoemaker Fairy Tale Analysis
Read a modern re-telling of “The Elves and the Shoemaker” and you might conclude it’s a tale in praise of gratitude: Gratitude is noble. If someone does you a kind turn, be nice in return.
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Town Musicians Of Bremen Fairy Tale Analysis
“The Town Musicians Of Bremen” is a German folktale. Its plot structure is so strong that many storytellers writing series for children borrow it.
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Fairy Cup Legends In Modern Children’s Stories
Is fairy land real? Some children’s stories would like us to think so. Their endings contain a ‘wink’, encouraging readers to carry the possibility of fantasy lands with them, even after the story draws to a close. This is one way of achieving resonance. We might argue this is a cheap trick. Enter Richard Dawkins, […]
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Snow White and Rose Red Fairytale Analysis
There are many slightly-altered versions of “Snow White and Rose Red” but I’ll refer to a version set down by the Grimm Brothers. This is the story of a lesser known Snow White.
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The Oral Origin Of Fairytales
The era in which oral folktales became written fairytales was also the era in which children’s literature as a whole began to develop. How did oral tales change once they became written-down stories? First, the main audience shifted, notably, from the peasant class to the monied classes. Main characters were previously adults; now they were […]
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Giants and Ogres In Storytelling
Giants and ogres are central archetypes in the fairytale cast. Though similar, they’re not exactly the same.
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Baba Yaga: Witch or old woman?
Baba Yaga is a legendary Slavic witch, or a hag, who lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs and who flies through the air in a mortar.
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The Juniper Tree Fairytale Analysis
“The Juniper Tree”, as told by the Grimm Brothers, is a horrible tale. I don’t have a problem with gruesome.
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Fairytales and Modern Storytelling
This is my collection of fairytale links. I’m interested in fairytales from a writing perspective. How do fairytales help us to create contemporary stories?
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Matchless by Gregory Maguire Fairy Tale Analysis
Matchless is a fractured fairytale by Gregory Maguire based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl. Matchless makes for an interesting case study in storytelling. First, the brief would have been to create a story for ‘all ages’ — for regular NPR listeners to enjoy with their kids. This ain’t easy. How is it done? Second, […]
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What is a fractured fairytale?
A fractured fairy tale is a story which makes use of a traditional fairy tale but restructures and reimagines.
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Goldilocks and The Three Bears Fairy Tale Analysis
This month I wrote a post on Teaching Kids How To Structure A Story. Today I continue with a selection of mentor texts to help kids see how it works. Let’s look closely at a classic fairytale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Years later, at Goldilocks’ house. pic.twitter.com/PEa3WhhYZm — Dick King-Smith HQ (@DickKingSmith) July 19, 2020 snow white broke […]