Homeschool Fever

About this Genre: Folklore is the retailing of myths, stories, legends, “old-wives-tales”, epics, cultural jokes, and traditional literature that has been passed down in oral or written form for hundreds to thousands of years.

Importance: It provides a foundation for future literary understanding. It also gives a background reference to cultural references in other stories (such as why we think wolves are so bad).

Criteria to use when evaluating books from this genre:

• Language – sounds like spoken language with rich rhythms; reflect cultural integrity
• Structure – preserves simple plot structures of oral stories
• Theme – explores significant universal themes
• Illustrations – serves as examples of artistic excellence, complements and extends the narrative, reflects the cultural heritage of the tale

Major awards associated with this genre:
Aesop Prize - From the Children’s Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society for outstanding book(s) incorporating folklore published in English for children or young adults

Fun Idea!
Identify Folkloric Style: Pass out modern literature that has thematic elements of folklore scattered through it. Read it aloud. Discuss with children, or have them work in a group, to find what elements in this story they find similar to more traditional ones the class has read.

Why this Genre is Important:
It gives children a good cultural insight into their own society, and helps them understand why people may act why they act. It also gives them a thirst for historical and ancient literature during times when people weren’t reliant on computers and electronics. Folklore helps children learn societal morals (Aesop’s Fables), gain insights to ways to solve daily problems, and shows them unchanged knowledge that modern people may have forgotten (Follow the Drinking Gourd)