Parenta Magazine December 2023 (smaller)

Gina Bale
Embark on a captivating journey into the
historical origins of fairy and folk Tales,
discovering their timeless influence on
storytelling and sparking early years
imagination. From the inception of the UK’s
first printed fairy tale, “Tom Thumb”, to the
ancient “The Smith and the Devil” these
tales have left an indelible mark across
diverse cultures. Are you ready to explore
the educational significance of these
enchanting narratives and understand
their pivotal role as powerful tools for
fostering creativity and imagination in
children? Dive into the magic now!
Fairy tale vs folk tale
The term ‘fairy tale’ grew out of ‘folk
tales’ which were an oral tradition across
all cultures. Folk tales are filled with
characters that are generally animals that
can talk and have human characteristics.
The tales are rooted in human scenarios,
Embrace
storytelling
Enchantment of mythical
beings & magical kingdoms
not magic, to relay a moral and are not
credited to an author.
Fairy tales are written folk tales that include
mythical creatures and magical kingdoms.
Fairy tales unlike folk tales are rooted in
magic and accredited to an author.
There is so much evidence now that some
fairy tales accredited to authors such as
Johnson, Perrault and the Brothers Grimm
go further back than classical mythology
and have been told before English, French
and Italian languages even existed.
The earliest surviving printed fairy tale
in the UK “Tom Thumb” was published
by Richard Johnson in London in 1621.
This makes it, according to Nottingham
University, the first printed fairy tale native
to the UK.
History of our fairy and
folk tales
Research by anthropologist Dr Jamshid
Tehrani and the New University of Lisbon
social scientist, Sara Graça da Silva,
has determined that “The Smith and the
Devil” is the world’s oldest fairy tale. They
believe that this tale spread throughout
the Indo-European-speaking world from
India to Scandinavia. They believe it was
possibly first told 6,000 years ago during
the Bronze Age.
“Jack and the Beanstalk” also evolved from
a group of stories and can be traced back
to when the Eastern and Western Indo-
European languages split, making this a
tale from over 5,000 years ago. “Beauty
and the Beast” and “Rumpelstiltskin” are
thought to be about 4,000 years old.
Dr Tehrani in his research also found that
the tale “The Wolf and the Kids” originated
in the 1st Century AD and “Little Red Riding
Hood” appeared 1,000 years later. The
best-known version of “Little Red Riding
Hood” was published by the Brothers
Grimm 200 years ago, based on the 17thcentury
story by Perrault. This story has
two endings and fortunately, the version
with the huntsman saving Red Riding
Hood is the most popular. There are times
when a happy ending is needed.
“Little Red Riding Hood” teaches children
not to trust strangers (even elderly wolves),
give out personal information, learn that
appearances can be deceiving (someone
or something is not what it appears to be),
and of course, care for the elderly. There is
a subtle message in the fairy tale as well
for parents - don’t let your child go into the
deep dark woods as you never know who
or what could be lurking!
A variant of this “The Wolf and the Kids”
is a story about a wolf impersonating a
nanny goat and eating her kids, and is
also popular in Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, and Asia. When Perrault was
writing about “Little Red Riding Hood”
the Chinese poet Huang Zhing (1644-
1912) was writing another variant “Tiger
Grandmother” which is popular in China,
Korea and Japan.
The benefits of fairy
and folk tales
All these stories and beliefs help to lay
the foundations for creative thinking and
problem-solving. The stories show them
the differences between good and evil,
right and wrong, punishment and reward,
moral and immoral, male and female, and
birth and death. Folk tales and fairy Tales
are valuable for cross-cultural comparison
and human behaviour.
Our use of mythical and indigenous
fairy and folk Tales can be a powerful
tool that enables children to explore
the world around them. The belief in
mythical creatures and magical worlds
provides children with so much exciting
and engaging context for imaginative
play, ranging from small world play to
adventures in Forest School.
These tales spark a curiosity that can offer
strong moral lessons through the mistakes
of the characters they are introduced
to including modelling behaviour. For
example, a ‘wicked witch’ probably doesn’t
have many friends but the character that
is kind and thinks of others has many. This
helps to provide children with a context to
evaluate their own and other’s behaviour
and decision-making and facilitate
emotional and social development. When
children immerse themselves in a magical
world, they take on different roles and
experiment with emotions. This helps them
to understand their feelings and those of
others better.
When children are encouraged to imagine,
they engage in processes that involve
memory, problem-solving and abstract
thinking. Their belief in mythical beings,
and magical worlds opens a world of
possibilities. This encourages them to
ask questions, explore and create their
narratives, which in turn helps to develop
critical thinking skills and intellectual
curiosity.
The use of these tales creates a languagerich
environment, enhancing their
vocabulary and communication skills.
Storytelling, no matter the genre, is a vital
part of language development but fairy
tales allow children to enter a magical
world of possibilities that help them to
express themselves and communicate
with their peers and adults.
Belief in fairies, mythical creatures, and
magical kingdoms can instil a sense of
wonder and curiosity in children. When
they believe in their existence, they see the
beauty and mystery of the world around
them. This sense of wonder and curiosity
will extend into other areas of learning
and can help them think outside the box,
developing their skills for innovation -
a vital skill set for all our children in the 21st
century.
As educators in early childhood settings,
it is so important that you nurture creative
thinking and imagination. Let fairy and
folk tales be part of your creative toolkit
and remember they don’t all have Happy
Endings!
Just think of all the fun the children can
have by creating a magical small world.
Making gooey messy magical potions
together or ‘chilling out’ by forest bathing
with mythical fantastical creatures and
fairies?
In conclusion, imagination and the belief in
mythical creatures and magical kingdoms
are invaluable tools in early years teaching
and they have been part of our culture and
oral history since the Bronze Age. Their use
in education provides a way for children to
express themselves within the confines of
the story and resolve conflicting emotions.
What is your favourite fairy or folk tale and
how do you incorporate the story when
parenting or teaching? Do let me know.
References:
✨ “The phylogeny of Little Red Riding”
Hood, Tehrani, J., PLOS ONE,
November 2013, Volume 8 Issue 11.
✨ ancientpages.com/2017/08/30/
worlds-oldest-fairy-tale-smith-devilsurvived-several-millennia/
✨ nbcnews.com/sciencemain/suchdeep-roots-you-have-how-little-redriding-hoods-2d11591047
✨ debeysklenar.wordpress.com/tag/
the-tiger-grandma/
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from Gina:
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