Folklore:  Criteria and Book List

Folklore, the body of literature that has no known authors, has come to us through generations of storytellers.  Long before humans had created cave paintings or a writing system to record their thoughts, storytellers practiced their craft around the hearth fires and in cave dwellings.  Humans have an inherent need for stories; they need them to explain their world, the workings of nature, and the struggle between good and evil.  Folktales, myths, and legends were created to fulfill those needs.  The values, mores, and conventions of a cultural group can be observed through the screen of fiction; they are embodied in the characters that fill these stories.  Scroll down to see the Booklist for this genre.

The key criteria for the folklore selections featured in this collection stem from the recognized body of work acknowledged as outstanding by the community of readers; they represent the consensus of literary critics.  The language of the retelling retains the authentic flavor of the oral form characteristic of folklore.  Natural language rhythms reflective of the cultural origins of a folktale dignify the version chosen.  For example, The Jack Tales, retold by Richard Chase, retains the Appalachian dialect used by the people who shaped the tales.  Isaac Bashevis Singer's retelling of Jewish folklore in Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories is couched in the vernacular of its creators.  Doris Gates' retelling of Lord of the Sky: Zeus maintains the dignity of the Elysian fields in which the stories grew.

Readers familiar with children's literature will recognize many of the folklore titles and the retellers of the versions included in this collection.  Since there are numerous versions of the folklore, it is possible that your library has a different version.  Many of the activities can be adapted to your version.  

Recommended Placement Level: The following chart lists the titles by our level designations.  A column is provided for you to indicate placement or grade level based on your student population and your class for a given year.  You can print this page and work with your school librarian and the reading coordinator to identify books that are challenging for your students, easy for your students, or right on grade level.  We also suggest that you have several books available and let your students select a book based on their interest and/or favorite genre.  Oftentimes, your students will stretch to the level of the book because their interest is so high.  To confirm the selection, you might choose to have your student(s) read a page aloud.

Ethnic Group:  Books with Ethnic themes provide numerous opportunities for readers to learn more about themselves as well as children from other ethnic groups. Many of the titles were chosen because they reflect both the cultural traditions and contemporary experiences of the ethnic groups in our multicultural society. These titles are indicated as follows:  As-A for Asian American Af-A for African American; Hi-A for Hispanic American; Je-A for Jewish American; Na-A for Native American.