Folk+Tale

= = = = = = =//All you Need to Know about...// =  Folktales include fairytales, noodlehead stories, pourquoi tales, trickster tales, and fractured tales. Authors and illustrators carefully study the culture in which the stories originated, their "root cultures," so that they language and illustrations accurately reflect that culture.

//Characteristics:// Folktales are fairy, human, or animal tales passed down by word of mouth. They have simple plot structures that involve flat, stereotypical characters who are typically all good or all bad. The characters can be human or animal. You'll typically find repetition in these tales, such as repeated numbers or lines. They have standard openings and closing, such as "Once upon a time," "Long ago and far away," and "They lived happily ever after." The common motifs in folktales are foolish bargains, magic, talking animals, tricks, wishes, and transformations. These tales are not believed to be true.

//Fractured Tales:// A type of folktale. They are parodies of well-known folktales. They change either the characters, the setting, or the point of view. These stories might be told from the antagonist's perspective. They usually begin with "So you think you know the story of ...".

//Tips for Teaching: // Address the reality of the content in folktales and fairytales. Many students take it too literally. For instance, the idea that "someday my prince will come." This idea is both nonrealistic and teaches children that girls need a boy to rescue them and make their lives better. Compare and contrast different versions of folktales. Utilize the media. There are many references to folktales, specifically fairytales, in music, movies, and the news.

//In the Classroom: // Most have some knowledge of fairytales and may have heard multiple versions of the same tale. They can be used to teach multiple perspectives. They can be used to teach theme and lessons on morals. They can be used in Social Studies when teaching about different cultures. They lend themselves to differentiated instruction. You can easily find simpler or more challenging texts and versions of a story. Students can create fairytales with a modern spin from age-old tales. For instance, students can create their own modern day version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." If reading many folktales, provide students with a folktale comparison sheet so that they can visualize how the books are the same and different.

//Their Importance/Usefulness: // Folktales are easy to enjoy! They are usually brief. They revolve around a simple character who learns lessons that mirror the values, morals, and expectations of society. Readers internalize the lessons that will help them to succeed in life. They provide students with a frame of reference to bring to the literature and cultures they will later encounter.

//Examples: // The Gingerbread Man retold by Jim Aylesworth

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africe by Niki Daly

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Twelve Dancing Princesses retold by Ruth Sanderson

//<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Graphic Organizers: // = = = =

= Modern Folktale Map =


 * Patterned beginning: ||


 * Setting: ||


 * Characters: ||


 * Problem: ||


 * Initiating event: ||


 * Next event: ||


 * Next event: ||


 * Resolution: ||


 * Patterned ending: ||

//<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Citations: // <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Moss, B & Lapp, D. (2010). //Teaching new literacies in Grades K-3: Resources for 21st century classrooms//. New York: Guilford. Moss, B & Lapp, D. (2010). //Teaching new literacies in Grades 4-6: Resources for 21st century classrooms//. New York: Guilford.

//​<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Student Responses: //

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<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__Title:__ Jorinda and Joringel //by __Bernadette Watts__// __Citation__: Watts, B. (2005). // Jorinda and Joringel //. New York: North-South Books, Inc. __Reading Level__: DRA: 28 Guided Reading: L __Suggested Literacy Strategy__: Monitoring, Questioning and Re-predicting would be a good strategy to use in this tale because the story can easily engage readers, and force them to actively think about what is to occur as the story progresses. __Description__: In this book, any young girl who wanders near a castle in the middle of the woods is turned into a bird by an evil witch. True love triumphs in this story when a young man searches for, and finds a magical flower which makes him immune to the witch’s powers. The boy frees his sweetheart and the hundreds of other captives amassed by the witch. Originally told by the Brothers Grimm, this story is a little known historical tale. =====

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Kaitlin Farrell** __Citation__: Shah, I. (2002). //The Old Woman and the Eagle//. Boston, MA: Hoopoe Books. __Reading Level__: K-5; DRA:25; Guided Reading: M __Suggested Literacy Strategy__: Theme; Students would have to figure out the “big idea” or “moral of the story” because in the case of this book, it is not stated explicitly. __Description__: This book tells the tale of an old woman who lives in a town resembling one found in the Middle East at a time unspecified. She has never seen an eagle but has seen many pigeons. Therefore, when an eagle lands near her house, she mistakens him for an odd looking pigeon. She changes him to look more like a “normal” pigeon by clipping his nails, straightening his beak, and flattening his hair. The eagle is sad about this but a fellow eagle soon helps him fix his appearance to look the way he was before. The new eagle tells the eagle not to bother with silly people like the old woman because they think “that all sorts of things are other things.” This reflects the human habit of changing things that are unfamiliar in order to make them more familiar, or in their minds, acceptible.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">__Book:__ //Strega Nona// by Tomie De Paola __Citation:__ De Paola, T. (1975). //Strega Nona//. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Inc. __Description:__ The book is about an old woman who helps everyone in the town of Italy; however, when she asks for help it turns into a disaster. Big Anthony comes to help her with some work around her house and she strictly tells him not to touch her magic pasta pot. However, one day Strega Nona leaves town and Big Anthony turns the pasta pot on, yet did not know the right way to turn it off. Suddenly, the town begins to overflow with pasta until Strega Nona returns and turns the pot off properly. As a punishment, Big Anthony has to eat all of the pasta that he had made. The colorful illustrations and humorous text all accent this great folk tale. __Reading Level:__ DRA: 28 Guided Reading: M Grade Level Equivalent: 4.4 __Suggested Literacy Strategy:__ Students can draw conclusions from this text since it teaches an important lesson to its readers about Big Anthony’s actions. Students would be able to think about being in Big Anthony’s shoes and what they would do in his scenario. This folk tale book can be used as a read aloud text and can demonstrate to children an important lesson in listening, following directions, and cause and effect as well.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jeanna Calia ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Jen Levine**
 * Book:** ** A Big Quiet House retold by Heather Forest **
 * Citation:** ** Forest, Heather. (1996). //A Big Quiet House// .** Little Rock, AK: August House LittleFolk.
 * Description:** **// The Big Quiet House // is a Yiddish folk tale from Eastern Europe. This story is about a man, his wife, and his children who live in a small house. The man complained that he wanted a bigger house and that all the noises his wife and children make at night keep him from sleeping. Every night he would visit the “wise old woman” in his village to help with his problems. Each night she would tell him to bring one of his farm animals into his house. Each animal caused even more noise at night making it impossible for the man to sleep. By the end of the book, the wise old woman told the man to put all the animals back outside. That night, he realized how big his house actually was and he slept without any problems. **
 * Reading Level:** Guided Reading Level: J; Ages 4-8
 * Suggested Literacy Strategy:** ** Students can use the drawing conclusions comprehension strategy while reading this book. They can put themselves into the author’s shoes and think about why the author wrote each part of the story. Students can also think about why the author wrote this book as a whole. **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Description: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The book is a folk tale that teaches children about the importance of preserving trees. It takes place in the Amazon rain forest. A man goes into the forest to chop down a tree but he gets tired and falls asleep. While he is sleeping, different animals that live in the tree talk to him and tell him reasons why he should not chop the tree down. For instance, the bee collects pollen, the jaguar won’t be able to find dinner because the tree is home to many animals and the porcupine reminds the man that trees produce oxygen. At the end, the man wakes up and does not cut the tree down. This would be a good book to read during a lesson about ecosystems.
 * Debra Szubrowski**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Book: **//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Great Kapok Tree //
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Citation: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cherry, Lynne (1990) //The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest.// Orlando, FL: Harcourt
 * Grade Level:** DRA:N, Guided Reading: 30
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Suggested Literacy Strategy: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Theme would be a good strategy to use in this story. All the animals have a different reason for saving the tree. Readers can connect all of these ideas to find an overall theme.

__Book__: //The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain// by Judy Sierra __Citation__: Sierra, J. (2000). //The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain//. New York, NY: Clarion Books. __Reading Level__: DRA: 28; Guided Reading: L __Description__: In this Spanish folktale, a beautiful butterfly is searching for her soul mate—a husband with a voice soft and sweet enough to sing their future babies to sleep. Many suitors come and go and in time, the beautiful butterfly finds her true love. On the same day as their honeymoon, a giant fish swallows up her new husband. The butterfly, along with all of nature, mourns her loss yet a comical twist of events leads to a very happy ending. __Suggested Literacy Strategy__: The strategy of “Monitoring, Questioning, and Repredicting” would be valuable for students who are reading folktales. In this type of story, there are many surprising twists and turns that can take place; a student must be constantly monitoring their understanding, predicting what might happen next and building on their predictions. This technique will help them become more actively engaged in the story.
 * Randee Myers**

Book:** //Kancil and the Crocodiles: A Tale from Malaysia//
 * Michelle Bonnetti
 * Citation:** Day, N.Y. (1996). //Kancil and the Crocodiles: A Tale from Malaysia.// New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
 * Reading Level:** 28 / M
 * Description:** In this book there is a little mouse deer and a tortoise who are really thirsty. They want to cross the river to get fruit, but don't know how with all the crocodiles in the river. They tell the crocodiles they need to count them for a party being thrown. So the crocodiles all line up from one bank to the other and the mouse deer and tortoise hop across them and "count." After they get across, they tell the crocodiles they've tricked them, but then they realize they have no way of getting back to the other side.
 * Suggested Literacy Strategy:** I would use Theme with this book because it has a good moral. You see the mouse deer and tortoise are greedy and deceptive and then they end up getting stuck on the other side of the river. It might teach kids not to take advantage of others or be deceptive because it could end up hurting you in the end.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Casey Caruso ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Book__ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">: //Anansi and the Talking Melon// by Eric Kimmel __APA Citation__: Kimmel, E. A. (1994). //Anansi and the Talking Melon.// New York, NY: A Holiday House Book. __Reading Level__: DRA= 30-34, Guided Reading= N __Suggested Literacy Strategies__: This book would be a good book to teach making predictions. This would be a good book to teach making predictions because there are plenty of points in the story where the chidlren can stop and make a prediction of what they think will happen next. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Description__ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">: This folktale is about a spider who wonders into an Elephants melon patch. The spider uses a thorn to poke a little whole into one of the melons. After eating the inside of the melon, the spider got too fat and couldn’t get out of the melon. So, the spider decides to play a prank on the elephants instead; he pretends that the melon is a “talking melon.” Now, many animals in the jungle believe that this is a talking melon. By the end of the story, none of the elephants or other jungle animals realize that the spider is the one talking inside the melon. However, the elephant will never listen to the melon again because it got him in trouble with the king.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__Book:__ //<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Anklet for a Princess // <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__Citation:__ Mehta, L. (2002). //Anklet for a Princess//. Fremont: Shen’s Books. __Description:__ This Indian folk tale conveys the universal values of the Cinderella story. This multicultural story is comprised of rich traditions and the culture of India. Beautiful watercolor depictions of Indian life and style accompany the text of this famous story. __Reading Level:__ DRA: 28, Guided Reading: L, Grade Level: 3-5 __Suggested Literacy Strategy:__ For this folktale, using the look backs as fix it strategy would be helpful to the readers since this story is based upon the popular tale of Cinderella the students would probably have an idea about its plot. Moreover, it is best to use the look backs as fix it strategy when reading a book that the students have already read so that they can focus on actually picking out which strategy would work the best for a specific function. For example, they could focus on new vocabulary words from the story relating to the Indian culture using the look backs as fix it strategy.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Liz Kalajian **

__Book:__ Anansi the Spider: A Tale From the Ashanti __Citation:__ McDermott, G. (1972). Anansi the Spider: A Tale From the Ashanti. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. __Reading Level:__ DRA: 28, Guided Reading: L __Description:__ Anansi is a spider who has 6 sons who all have special talents and skills. One day Anansi gets into trouble in which, he falls into the water and gets swallowed by a fish. His sons come to his rescue him but then a bird picks him up and attempts to flu off with him. Fortunately, his sons rescue him once again. Back home, Anansi finds a mysterious globe of light and said he was going to give it to the son who rescued him. He went to Nyame and asked to him to hold on to the globe of light until he decided which son deserved it. That night they couldn't reach a decision so they argued. Nyame put the light (the moon) in the sky for all to see. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__Suggested Literacy Strategies:__ Predicting will be a good strategy to use for this book. The teacher can stop at parts in the story to leave students in suspense and have them record their predictions to the next part of the story using clues they may have picked up from previous pages of the book. Students can share their idea before the teacher moves on to the next part of the story, revealing the real outcome of each section.
 * Jasmine Martin**

__Book:__ //The Talking Eggs// __Citation:__ San Souci, R. D. (1989). //The talking eggs//. New York, NY: Dial Books. __Reading Level:__ DRA: 38 Guided Reading:O Grade Level: 4.8 __Description__: This is an old Creole folktale about two sisters, Rose and Blanche, who have very different temperaments. Blanche, the younger sister, is bright and kind while her sister Rose is cruel and spoiled. One day Blanche gets hit for doing a chore too slowly so she runs away. She soon encounters an old lady who encourages her to follow her back to her house. There is only one condition, she can't laugh at what she sees. When she arrives she finds dancing rabbits, food that appears from nothing, and learns that the old lady can remove her head. She never laughs once and in return is told to take some talking eggs from which she will get a reward. She does and gets beautiful treasures. The next day her sister goes to the old lady but laughs and is rude. In return, she receives no treasures and sees nothing magical. Instead she steals eggs she was told not to touch, who turn into wild animals that chase her and her mother. Blanche winds up living in fortune and happiness, while Rose does not. __Suggested Literacy Strategies:__ There are two good strategies to use for this book. One could be predicting, because it would be interesting to see what wonders the students thought Blanche would encounter in the old lady's house, as well as which character would be fortunate in the end. Imaging would also be a good strategy because there are such lavish, funny scenes described in the story, from dancing rabbits dressed in suits to talking eggs. It would be fun for the students to draw a particular scene given these descriptions.
 * Lauren Masco**

__Title:__ //Nail Soup// retold by Harve Zemach __Citation:__ Zemach, H. (1964). //Nail Soup//. Chicago, Illinois: Follett Publishing Company. __Description:__ This Swedish folk tale is about a tramp, which can be understood as a gypsy, who wanders through the night looking for shelter. He comes across an old woman and convinces her to let him stay. He asks for something to eat and the woman says she has nothing. The Tramp knows differently and responds that he will make nail soup, a recipe that he has learned in his travels. The tramp ends up getting the old woman to add many different ingredients to the soul without her even realizing. In the end she is very pleased with the tramp and gives him some money for his future travels. __Reading Level:__ Grade: 2.7 DRA: 24 Guided Reading: K __Suggested Literacy Strategy:__ Predicting. The story is not too predictable, but leads students in an easy direction to begin predicting. Having them think about how the old lady will react to the tramp’s demands will have the students guessing along the way.
 * Alli Clare**

__Book__: //The Hatseller and the Monkeys// __Citation__: Diakite, Babae Wague. (1999). //The Hatseller and the Monkeys//. New York: Scholastic Press. __Reading Level__: DRA- 30; Guided Reading- N; Grade Level- 3.5 __Description__: This West African folk tale is about BaMusa who is a hatseller traveling town to town selling hats that were stacked on his head. Hatselling is a business BaMusa loves and that runs in his family. One day, a hungry BaMusa stopped to rest under a fruit tree and awoke to find that his hats had gone missing. Monkeys had taken his hats and climbed the tree he was sleeping under. BaMusa tries several different things to get his hats back but is unsuccessful until he eats and is able to think clearly. After eating he figures out how to get his hats back and learns from the monkeys that one thinks best with a full stomach. __Suggested Literacy Strategy__: This book can easily be used to teach about problems and solutions. There is a very obvious problem and BaMusa tries in several ways to solve it before he is successful. Predicting can also be another strategy used when teaching this book. Students can predict how BaMusa will solve his problem and new ways they believe he will solve it after he is unsuccessful. Theme can also be used with this story since there is a straight forward theme that is revealed on the last page. Students can read the book up until the last page and then figure out the theme based on their reading and use the reading of the last page to check if they were on the right track.
 * Kayleigh Shaw**

__Book Title__: //The Quiltmaker's Gift// __Citation__: Brumbeau, J. (2000). //The Quiltmaker's Gift//. New York, NY: Orchard Books. __Reading Level__: DRA: 38; Guided Reading: P; Grade: 5.1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Description__: This original folktale tells the story of a wise quiltmaker, who designs the most beautiful quilts in the world. However. these quilts are never for sale. She gives them only to those who have nothing and therefore need them the most. When a rich, unhappy king insists that she makes him a quilt, she tells him that he must do something important before she will make him anything: give away all of his material possessions. After much contemplation and threats to the quiltmaker, the king agrees and gives them away, one at a time. As he does so, he discovers that true happiness is achieved as he sees the smiles on the recipients' faces. Finally, when the king has nothing, not even the lavish clothes characteristic of an ordinary king, the quiltmaker gives him the promised quilt. However, in the end he learns that the most important reward for his generosity were the smiles and appreciation from the people he helped. __Suggested Literacy Strateg__y: Because //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Quiltmaker's Gift //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> contains a clear setting, set of characters, problem, major event, and solution, the literacy strategy of summarizing would accompany this folk tale appropriately. The students can be directed to use a story map and note these story elements as they read or are read to, eventually being asked to provide a complete and accurate summary independently.
 * Gianna Seidler**

__Book__: //Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk//: An Irish Tale Told and Illustrated by Gerald McDermott __Citation__: McDermott, G. (1990). <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk. New York, NY: Viking. // __Reading Level__: DRA: 38, Guided Reading: O, Grade Level: 3.5 __Description__: Tim O’Toole and his wife are very poor, but when Tim goes out to find a job he discovers a group of leprechauns who give him gifts to make him rich. He thinks all of his problems will be solved. However, when he stays at the McGoons’ farm they steal his gifts and replace them with fake ones. The leprechauns help Tim O’Toole when they learn he has been tricked and the McGoons return the gifts. In the end, Tim and his family live comfortably in their cottage with their good fortune. __Suggested Literacy Strategies__: Predicting would be a good strategy to teach with this book because there is a pattern in what happens in the story and students should be able to pick up on it. Also, drawing conclusions could be taught using this folk tale because there is an important lesson in the book that students can learn after reading it. Students can put themselves in the author’s shoes and think about why the author wrote the book and what message he wanted to send to the readers.
 * Eri<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">n Jackson **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Tom Medvecky** __Title:__ Pedro and the Monkey __Citation:__ San Souci, R. (1996). Morrow Junior Publishers, NY __Description__: In this version of the classic Puss in boots story is about a man who is plagued by a clever monkey who keeps stealing his corn form the fields. Pedro sets a trap and captures the monkey, but he begs for his life and Pedro releases him. As a thank you, the monkey promised he would arrange Pedro to be wed to the rich landowners beautiful daughter. The rest of the story shows the monkey's adventure to try and __Suggested Literacy Strategy__**:** A good strategy for this book is predicting. There are many clues to lead the reader to think about what could happen next. The text is also set up so that there each page is like a mini cliffhanger making it easy to make predictions about the next section or paragraph.

__Title__: //Coyote Steals the Blanket// __Citation__: Stevens, J., (1993). //Coyote steals the blanket: A Ute tale//. New York: Holiday House. __Reading Level__: Grade Level – 3.8 __Description__: Coyote goes where he wants, does what he wants, and takes what he wants. He comes across a blanket that is lying on top of a rock. Even though Hummingbird warns him not to touch any of the blankets, he does what he wants and takes it and runs away with it. All of a sudden, a rock starts to roll and chase after him throughout the desert. Coyote encounters a number of different animals who try to help Coyote and stop the rock from chasing him. However, they are all unsuccessful. Hummingbird tells Coyote that the spirit of the desert is angry because he has taken something that does not belong to him, which is why the rock is chasing him. It wants the blanket back. In the end, the Coyote ends up giving back the blanket. __Literacy Strategy__: Theme would be a good strategy to use for this book since Coyote learns a very good lesson during his encounter with the chasing rock. The lesson that Coyote learns is to not take what does not belong to him, which is the main theme of the book.
 * Christina Marino**

Mama God, Papa God: A Caribbean tale By Richardo Keens-Douglas Illustrated by Stefan Czernecki Citation: Douglas-Keens, R. (1999). //Mama God, Papa God: A Caribbean tale.// New York: Crocodile Books. Grade Levels: K-2 Summary: This book is a Caribbean tale about creation. Papa God creates light and makes Earth for Mama God when he sees how beautiful she is. Papa God makes man because Mama God said she liked looking at him and she would like to have something like him on Earth. Papa God then told Mama God to made women. They made many men and women for Earth. Mama God made all of the people different and beautiful. Papa God put the people in different places with different languages. Suggested Literacy Strategy: In most folk tales I would suggest doing theme, because usually there is high moral content, however this book I would suggest having the students summarize because he or she will be able to sequence all of the events in the story and use transition words
 * Margaret Molloy**

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Title: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> __ The Hunter: A Chinese Folktale __ by Mary Casanova <span style="color: #292526; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**Citation:** Casanova, Mary. (2000). //The Hunter: A Chinese Folktale//. New York, NY: Antheneum Publishers.
 * Cynthia Antunes**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Reading Level: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> DRA:38 Guided Reading: P Grade Level: 3.1
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Description: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This book tells the story of a popular Chinese folktale. The folktale goes as follows: a village is experiencing a drought which leaves the village people hungry. Hai Li Bu a hunter goes out in search of food to bring back to the village. As he is hunting, he saves a snake which then takes Hai Li Bu to the ttom of the ocean. There, the snake introduces him to the Dragon King, which is the snake’s father. As a gift of gratitude, Hai Li Bu is given the power to speak and understand animals, but he cannot tell anyone about what has happened. When he returns to land, he hears the animals talking about a major flood. Hai Li Bu tries to warn the people but they do not believe him. So he has no choice but to tell the villagers how he knows the flood is coming. However, since he broke the one condition he is turned into stone! The illustrations are simple yet really great. This folktale is great for talking to students about “the good of the whole” rather than the individual and being a hero.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Suggested Comprehension Strategy: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The strategy that would be the best to use with this book is inferring. Inferring requires students to use the text, illustrations, and their own prior knowledge, which they can use when reading this folktale. The story is interesting and has lots of great opportunities to ask students to make their own inferences about what they think will happen next. For instance, when Hai Li Bu is trying to side between telling the truth about how he knows the flood is coming or just let the flood come, students can infer about what they think he will choose to do.