The traditional fairy tale is a wonderful educational tool that will capture preschoolers' imagination and teach them valuable lessons about life, like never wander off without your parents. Fairy tales often include fantastic forces and interesting characters such as wizards, goblins and fairies. Many oral traditional fairy tales were collected by the Brothers Grimm; these stories are often dark and violent. These traditional tales have been used as a base for lighter and modern versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Using tradition literature is a great way to compare versions of Cinderella stories around the world with more modern versions.
Folk tales are part of an oral tradition, and these stories have been told passed down through generations. Often folk tales have no known author and you can find several versions of the same story. Collections of stories around the world are a great way to teach preschoolers about different cultures. Preschoolers love to listen to trickster tales from Africa where animals have magical powers or Inuit tales with spirits and polar bears. It is important to understand the people where the folk tales come from. A folk tale is a great way to help preschoolers change perspective, and learn about how the environment affects people's ways of living.
Tall stories are perfect for preschoolers. These stories are American folk stories with larger-than-life heroes or historical figures. The characters face extreme situations and find ingenious solutions to survive. The tales of Brer Rabbit, which have roots in African and Cherokee traditions, are suitable for preschoolers. Brer Rabbit represents the small person's fight to overcome larger and stronger but not so clever forces. His encounter with Brer Fox, Brer Wolf and Brer Bear teaches preschoolers about the importance to think and never give up. Paul Bunyan is a story about a giant lumberjack that is suitable for preschoolers. Use this tale and let preschoolers invent their own exaggerated story about the man who could chop down trees without even touching them with his axe.
The legend of Pocahontas fascinates preschoolers. Legends are based upon true historical figures or events. Pocahontas was the daughter of a Virginia Indian chief and she married an English settler. The legend of the dreamcatcher is another Native American legend that captures preschoolers' imaginations. Reading legends about the origin of traditions like Thanksgiving is an exciting way find to use tradition literature. Christmas is a tradition many preschoolers look forward to most of all. Christmas legends from around the world are engaging literature. For instance, there is a Mexican legend about the poinsettia, which has become a traditional flower in many parts of the world during Christmas.