Types of Folktales

Beast Tales

Creation Stories

Cumulative Tales

Fables

Fairy Tales

Folktales

Jataka Tales

Legends

Mother Goose

Myths

Noodlehead Tales

Parodies

Pourquoi Tales

Tall Tales

Trickster Tales

Fairy tale (Marchen, tale of magic, wonder tale)

Fairy tales, sometimes called "magic stories," are filled with dreamlike possibility. Fairy tales feature transformations, magical interventions, enchanted forces, and, of course, magic. Fairy tales always have a "happily ever after" ending, where good is rewarded and evil is punished. The scholarly term for fairy tales is märchen.

Sleeping Beauty (Seastar, 2002)

Retold by Mahlon F. Craft. Illus. by Kinuko Y. Craft

Cinderella (Little, Brown, 2002)

Retold and illus. by Ruth Sanderson

· This is the best known type of folktale, and one of the most popular (ex.: Duffy and the Devil, by Harve and Margot Zemach).

· Characteristics:

o Tale of some length, with a succession of episodes and motifs

o Setting does not have a definite location or time

o Includes magic and/or magical characters and marvelous adventures

o Preferred by children in the third and fourth grade.

Noodlehead story (droll, numskull story, humorous story)

The main character in a noodlehead tale makes the same mistake over and over until the resolution of the story. While foolish and bumbling, the noodlehead is often wiser than the other characters, suggesting that the rest of the world is foolish and unable to recognize wisdom. Humor is an aspect of this type of tale, resulting from the absurdity of the situation and the stupidity and foolishness of the characters.

Ming Lo Moves the Mountain (HarperCollins, 1982)

Retold and Illus. by Arnold Lobel

Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap! (Holiday, 1993)

Written by Tom Birdseye Illus. by Andrew Glass

Lazy Jack (Candlewick Press, 1995)

Retold by Vivian French. Illus. by Russell Ayto

· Story about a silly or stupid person who nevertheless often wins out in the end (ex.: Lazy Jack).

· Often nonsensical; meant for fun.