Books
The Annotated Brothers GrimmThis is a collection of Grimm’s fairy tales with annotations explaining the historical language and idioms used throughout the stories. The stories are separated into two categories: a large section that compiles tales for children, and a shorter section that puts together tales for adults. In the back of the book is a short biography of the Grimm Brothers and an essay on “The Magic of Fairy Tales.” Even though the book calls them Tales for children, the maturity of the stories, as well as the academic nature of the annoations are probably more appropriate for middle school students or high school students. This would be a great resource for english teachers who were trying to look at the historical context of certain words or phrases, or history teachers trying to liven up a discussion of Medieval Germany and language. This would also be a good ready reference book to have in the classroom for students to use for individual projects or papers.
Grimm, Jacob, and William Grimm, Maria Tatar, ed. The Annotated Brothers Grimm. New York : W.W. Norton, 2004. |
The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales
This is a collected edition of the tales, but at the beginning of each tale is an introduction and narration by Joseph Campbell, a well-respected folklorist. He explains the context of each tale and explains the the common tropes and literary significance of the story. This could be used by english teachers, history teachers or even mythology teachers in middle school or high school. Since the tales themselves are the original versions, it might be too mature for elementary students. These could be read individually by the student to stimulate discussion about both the story and the literary or folk significance of that story. It could be used for comparison to other tales of the time as well.
Grimm, Jacob, and William Grimm. The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales. New York: Pantheon, 1972. |
Grimm’s Fairy Tales
This is another collected version of Grimm Fairy Tales, but by another translator. Rather than translate the stories for an academic purpose, these stories were translated for the public to read and enjoy them. This was a collected edition that was produced for a major bookstore, so the average patron would connect with the language and feel comfortable reading the story. Teachers should have this copy of the book in addition to a more academic translation for easier consumption by the students. The reading level for this book is perfectly acceptable for a middle school student, but could still be enjoyed by a high school student. English teachers could assign this book simply as a reading assignment to prepare students to discuss the tales, or have them use it as a companion to another telling of the stories to look at differences in word use, story structure and differences in characterization.
Grimm, Jacob, and William Grimm. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Ann Arbor, MI : Borders Classics, 2003. |
Kinder- und HausmärchenThis is the original German translation of Grimm’s fairy tales. German teachers, or English as a second language teachers. Teachers could use this in companion to an English translations of the stories to either teach English-speaking students the German language, or teach English to German speaking students. Depending on the maturity of the students, this translation would be acceptable to use with as young as elementary school students, but would probably be most appropriate for middle school or high chool students. Teachers using this would obviously need to have a good understanding of German to be able to use this source.
Grimm, Jacob, and William Grimm. Kinder- und Hausmärchen. Berlin : F. Dümmler, 1870. |
Websites
National Geographic: Grimms’ Fairy Tales
This resource is an interactive telling of the 12 original Grimm Fairy Tales, compiled by the National Geographic. A few of the twelve tales include “Cinderella,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Little Briar Rose.” The tales presented are based on a 1914 translation of the Grimm tales and are available on nationalgeographic.com. Students can chose the “Tell Me a Story” link, which will prompt them to choose features of a story they would like to hear, simulating a storytelling experience. Students can also “take the secret path to the list of stories” to view the list of the twelve Grimm fairy tales. This resource is a fun and interactive way to expose middle school students to the Grimm tales. Clicking the title will take you to the site!
National Geographic, "Grimms’ Fairy Tales." Last modified 1999, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.html |