Several basic categories represent the folktale genre including realistic tales, fairy tales and repetitive tales, which are all appropriate traditional literature for elementary students. Folktales mean stories told by the people. Fifth graders enjoy folktales such as "King of De World," which is an African American tale about a boy who challenges the reigning lion as king of the world. A Jamaican folktale entitled "Anansi'' Riding Horse" is an age-old story about the ultimate trickster, Anansi, the spider. This folktale demonstrates how greed is a negative trait that leads to destruction.
Tall tales are uniquely American folk literature. The characters are exaggerated folk heroes or historical figures. Fifth grade students read about "Pecos Bill" and "Paul Bunyan," who were two larger-than-life characters with extraordinary character traits that set them apart from others. The tall tale "Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart" by Pat Mora helps students make connections between this story and other similar ones by sharing the same criteria in traditional literature.
Legends are based on true historical happenings associated with certain places or time periods. This type of traditional literature tells the story of people and events from the past. "The Knights of the Round Table" tells the story of King Arthur. An Aztec legend, "The Two Mountains," is about a god and goddess who disobey their parents by marrying. As a result, they become mortal and turn into mountains for all eternity. This legend is about a cultural tradition. Native American legends also are prevalent in all tribal stories. "The Legend of the Dreamcatcher" is about the traditions of the Cherokee tribe.
Myths explain the origin of people and their beliefs, culture and moral values. This form of traditional literature shows the relationship between humans and other powers. "Atlantis" is an example of a myth that shows how the deities viewed human life. "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan is the story of a modern-day 12-year-old boy who discovers he is a demigod. This is a good novel for students to read after studying about Greek mythology.