Stories & Folktales

A mouse named Frederick; a fish named Swimmy; and elephant named Babar, and a lion who would be king. Watch the stories of these characters, told through puppetry. Then learn the stories of Cinderella, as well as American legends Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Pecos Bill.

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Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia - Frederick

In Performance: Leo Lionni's Frederick

While the family of field mice works hard to gather food for the long, cold winter, Frederick seems to be doing nothing!

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Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia - Inch by Inch

In Performance: Leo Lionni's Inch by Inch

How does a little inchworm survive in a garden full of hungry birds?

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In Performance: Leo Lionni's Swimmy

A tiny, fast-moving, black fish-that's Swimmy! He lives in the ocean with all his little red brothers and sisters. They are a happy school (that's a group) of fish.

Video Series

In Performance: Babar the Elephant

Malta’s St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity presents the interactive musical tale, The Story of Babar the Elephant.

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Miriam Lambert: Goldilocks & the Three Bears

Irish puppeteer Miriam Lambert makes the storybook Goldilocks and the Three Bears come alive.

Lesson

Masks and Aesop's Fables

This multi-media visual and language arts lesson offers intellectual, creative, and interpretive opportunities through use of books, music and the internet.

Lesson

Counting Crows

Students will learn the meaning of Aesop's fable, "The Crow and the Pitcher," blending math and art with literature and film.

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Cinderella Trilogy

Compare and contrast three variations of the Cinderella folktale: “Rhodopis,” the Egyptian version; “Yeh-Shen,” the Chinese version; and “The Hidden One,” the Native American version.

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Searching For Cinderella

There are more than 300 versions and variations of the tale known as "Cinderella."

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One Story, Many Tales

Through the study of various literary and fine arts versions of Cinderella, ESL students will practice their reading, writing, oral, and technology skills.

Lesson

Sundiata, Mali’s Lion King

This lesson introduces the legendary Malian king Sundiata Keita, known as the Lion King of Mali, by using elements of traditional Malian festivals.

Video Series

Sogolon Puppet Theater

Sogolon is the puppet show and theatrical company created by Yaya Coulibaly in order to perpetrate and promote the Mali puppet tradition. The group's core mission is to contribute to develop and promote the Bamanan-Somono-Bozo puppet show.

Lesson

Exploring American Tall Tales

Students will explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales while learning how these tales built the spirit of the American people.

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Finding Your Own Frog Prince

Use a traditional tale, “The Frog Prince” to create improvised scenes and then a book for a mini-musical

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Tall Tales Today

In this lesson, students are introduced to the genre of American tall tales and will create an original tall tale featuring a "larger-than life" main character.

Lesson

Writing Folktales

Students identify and analyze folktales. They learn the characteristics of folktales and use them to evaluate existing tales and to create original tales of their own.

Lesson

Moving Tales

Students practice using their bodies to communicate through movement, improvisation, and pantomime games. Groups then read and interpret an assigned Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale

Video

Shaanxi Folk Art Theater

This side by side video shows the story of the turtle and the crane as seen by the audience and behind the screen as the puppeteers bring the story to life.

Interactive