MABLE FRANCIS FUNGUS

RUMPELSTILTSKIN: A GRIMM'S FAIRY TALE

Let's speak of Folktales....Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin is a Grimm's Fairy Tale. There were several versions presented by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. Whereas many other folktales present good values, this story seems to, (at least in part,) reward rather unfortunate behavior. The only character truly punished in the end is Rumpelstiltskin, the elf with magical powers.

In this story, a man (in my version, a miller) brags about himself. He especially tells of his daughter's extreme abilities... she can spin straw into gold. The greedy king hears about it and decides that the miller's daughter shall spin gold for him. If she succeeds, he will marry her. If she fails, she will be killed. With the help of the magical elf, the miller's daughter spins THREE rooms full of straw into gold. For his greediness, the king marries the miller's daughter. For his foolishness, the miller is the son-in-law of the king.

My version of Rumpelstiltskin, while preserving the basic story, softens it in parts.

To read this story,

Click

Pat's Cat and Cat's Pat: An Emergent Reader Story

The Emergent story is designed for the child to read to him or herself. Many publishers produce these books on 4 levels.

Emergent stories are different from regular picture books. While picture books
have a reading level that can be as high as second or third grade level and are generally read by adults to children, emergent stories are written very
easy-to-read ,depending upon the level. It is important to pay attention, not only to "word count" but "words used." Words introduced should be repeated often through the story, especially on Level 1. Rhyming words are helpful, though the stories should not be in rhyme unless the story is written on a more advanced level. Rhyming stories would require too many "new words."

Pat's Cat and Cat's Pat is a simple Level 1 story about a little girl and her pet.
It is written as a simple "chapter book." I like chapter divisions even in the easiest of stories. It breaks down the story for comprehension checks and review of vocabulary.

Click to read the level 1 version.

An easier version is at:

Click

SHADOWS

Click the picture for an enlarged view
The early childhood and early grade science curriculum includes a unit on shadows. I thought it would be fun to write a song about shadows. I wrote the lyrics and music early one morning and brought them to my friend Bernie who plays and sings my songs for recordings.

It was such fun to do. I do love shadows myself. I wrote a story about shadows which I will post on my website (and let you all know). It is about a girl named Shelly whose brother teaches her about shadows. The story stresses the 'sh' sound.

CLICK for the song.