Category Archives: fairy tales

Hansel and Gretel in a Concentration Camp

Posted on February 11, 2019 by forstegrupp

Jane Yolen has written the novel Mapping the Bones about Jewish children surviving the terrors of occupied Poland and a concentration camp and she uses the structural framework of the fairy tale of “Hansel and Gretel.” In both stories, the … Continue reading →

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A book uniting two passions: fairy tales and knitting

Posted on January 30, 2019 by forstegrupp

Yesterday on the new non-fiction shelf of our local public library, I found a book with a pebbled blue cover and gold gilded lettering and design. It was clearly a knitting book as you can see from the front cover … Continue reading →

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Sometimes you forgot you already read a particular book

Posted on January 28, 2019 by forstegrupp

Leigh Bardugo‘s book The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (2017) contains her six modern fairy tales with twists on old storylines to shake up the staid perspectives and assumptions of traditional fairy tales. I read this book on … Continue reading →

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The Woodcarver: A Fairy Tale

Posted on November 3, 2016 by forstegrupp

Once upon a time, a youth was sent to make his fortune. It was past time, for he had reached the age of independence. His mother wrapped in a napkin two braided loaves of bread, a wheel of cheese, and … Continue reading →

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What is a definition of “fairy tale”?

Posted on November 2, 2016 by forstegrupp

You would think this a simple question, but I have looked in several books about fairy tales and not found a clear direct definition. The 2nd edition of The Harper Handbook to Literature (1997) which I saved from my graduate … Continue reading →

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Who is the astrologer in “Tebaldo”?

Posted on November 1, 2016 by forstegrupp

For the second year, I am teaching a senior elective in fairy tales. Recently, we read Giovan Francesco Straparola’s story “Tebaldo” (1550 CE). Like many fairy tales, this one begins with an intact nuclear family and everything is fine until … Continue reading →

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