Folklore
Folktales or folklore are stories that have been passed down from generation to generation and show values of a people. They were used to teach children important lessons in life and prepare them for society. Later the stories were written down.
Folklore is the body of literature that has no known authors and has been told from one generation to the next, with each storyteller adding slight variations. It helps people to explain natural events and communicate cultural values. Folklore has many categories, each with its own characteristics. It includes nursery rhymes, folktales, fables, fairy tales, myths, legends, tall tales , proverbs, folksongs and much more. These tales depicting a culture’s customs, traditions, values and beliefs were passed down orally from one generation to the next. It is for this reason that they are included in the nonfiction section of the library under the Dewey classification 398.2. Folklore is important in the lives of our children. In the same way that folklore explained the world to early people, it helps young children understand their own world today. Similar reappearing themes (i.e. good vs. evil) and archetypes, like the fairy godmother and the wicked stepmother, are clearly visible in folktales of all people across time and place. Folklore provides a way of seeing and accepting another culture different from our own. Folklore is a form of therapy, with the old tales allowing wishes and fears to surface safely and be managed by children. Finally, folklore provides a framework for individual belief systems stating the abstract truths of our common human experience. (Yolen, J. 1981. Tough magic: Fantasy, faerie and folklore in the literature of childhood)
Folktales are stories that come from the oral tradition and have universal themes. They include fairy tales, talking beast and trickster tales, noodlehead tales and cumulative tales. Many of them begin “Once upon a time” and end with” “they lived happily ever after”. The use of the number three or seven appears quite often in these stories as well as repetitive phrases. In a folktale, the first paragraph introduces the setting, characters and conflict or problem. A small number of incidents lead to the climax. The ending of the story comes soon after the climax. Some examples are The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and Anansi stories.
Myth - a symbolic story created by ancient people to explain their world especially natural events like thunder and lightning. Myths help people understand the beliefs and everyday life of people described in them. Sometimes they are called pourquoi or "Why" stories. Myths once were used to answer difficult questions such as how the moon and stars were created, why seasons change, and why the leopard has spots. They also explained the relationships of human beings and god. Almost every culture in the world has its own set of myths.
Legend - an exaggerated story about a real person or event. An example would be the legend of Robin Hood or the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
See also Fairy tales, tall tales and fables.
Folklore on the Web - hundreds on online stories.