Publisher: NA (found on internet)
Stories Read: Little Red Riding Hood, The Fairies, Ricky and the Tuft, and Cinderella/The Little Glass Slipper
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Genre: Fairy Tales
Summary of The Fairies
There were once two daughters. First daughter was good and kind but disliked by her mother. The second was unkind and rude but she was much like her mother, therefore her mother loved her more. The kind daughter was asked to do all of the chores, such as cleaning the house and fetching water. One day when the first was fetching water an old lady appeared and asked for a drink. Because the girl was kind of respectful she gave the old woman the water. The old woman then revealed herself as a fairy and made it so that anytime the girl spoke gems and flowers came out of her mouth. The daughter then returned to her mother and told her what had happened. the mother then sent the second daughter to fetch water so that she too could help the old lady. However, instead of an old lady there was instead a woman of high rank that asked the daughter for a drink. Not knowing that it was the fairy the second daughter was unkind to the woman. In return the fairy then put a curse on her so that every time she spoke snakes and insects would come out of her mouth. A prince finds the first daughter crying in the fields alone and asks her if she is okay. He is extremely impressed when gems and flowers came from her mouth. The prince and the first daughter are wed. Abandoned by her mother and everyone else, the second daughter dies alone in the woods.
Personal Reaction
There were things I liked and things I disliked about Perrault's stories. I really liked the stories, but these stories always included some tragedy or negative connotation. I didn't like the ending to The Fairies at all. For one, the second daughter dies in the woods alone and doesn't actually learn anything, and for two, the first daughter only married the prince because he liked that gems and flowers came out of his mouth.
Potential Problems
The tragic endings and dramatic conflicts might be too much for sensitive readers.
Recommended to...
Children and adults that want or need to read stories that include the negative realities of life. For example, in the Fairies both daughters are abandoned by their mother.
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