BOOK OF THE WEEK

This week, the Junior Librarians, Noor and Auston, have both chosen to share with us their favourite traditional tale.

Firstly, Noor recommends Show White and the Seven Dwarfs, retold by Anna Bowles and illustrated by Olga Demidova.

Noor’s reason for her choice:“I like fairy tales and this is my favourite tale as I like all the woodland animals in the story.”

Secondly, Auston’s choice is The Gingerbread Man, retold by Mara Alperin and illustrated by Miriam Latimer.

Auston tells us: “This is my favourite traditional story – the Gingerbread Man is so cheeky! I like how everyone chases him!”

Mrs Harvey supports Noor’s and Auston’s choices – both stories are timeless classics. The message of each story revolves around the themes of being true to oneself and the idea that strength and wealth comes from within. It highlights the importance of honesty and selflessness – key concepts of The Grimsdell Way.

The traditional tale genre has an important role to play in the development of our children. From prepping us for the pitfalls of life to teaching us valuable skills and lessons, traditional tales and fairy tales are ever relevant, whatever our age. These narratives stay with us well beyond our childhood. 

According to child psychologist Sally Goddard Blythe, director of The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology and author of The Genius of Natural Childhood: Secrets of Thriving Children,even in our own age, fairy tales still have a lot to teach children about life, and indeed give us key imaginary experiences (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/family-time/imaginative-play-benefits/) that shape us throughout our lives: “Fairy tales are important not because they show children how life is, but because they give form to deep fears and dreams about life through fantasy”. 

Most traditional tales embody the hopes and aspirations of the majority of people in the society and are used to transmit and preserve the cultural values of the group. The stories help in showing how society views itself and also conveys their notions of justice, rights and social obligations of its citizens. Honesty, goodness and unity are depicted as important values which the heroes and heroines of traditional tales always use to prevail over their problems. The traditional tale genre provides ways for children to receive important messages – the role of honesty, kindness - and the message of each is ultimately positive, providing a sense of wellbeing. 

For Early Years children, traditional tales can help develop vital life skills in a safe environment. Exploring ideas around what is right and wrong is one of many lessons with which we support children as they grow up. We help them to understand that there are rules and expectations about how we behave, and to think about cause and effect. Young children are egocentric because that is part of their cognitive growth – they learn to build empathy and think about others through interactions. They discover their actions have consequences and can affect other people’s feelings, as well as impacting their own emotions.

With their beloved structures and language, sharing traditional tales in EYFS can be a very powerful and safe way to help children consider and navigate complex, moral subjects like these. Traditional tales usually begin with openings such as “Once upon a time…”. Children know they are leaving reality and entering a safe story world. Here they can creatively explore universal themes such as good versus evil and relate them to the world around them.

Happy Reading!

Mrs Harvey