Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Folklore And Children’S Literature: A Content Analysis Of The De Grummond Children’S Literature Collection, Colleen E. Smith

SLIS Connecting

Folklore can be defined as “context, performance, attitude, cultural tastes, and the like” (Toelken, 1996, p.7). With folktale and fairy tales, these stories embody cultural values and morals, aiding in learning a lesson or to keep intact a cultural tradition. Many works of literature serve as models for studies in folklore, offering literary criticism, while allowing ancient traditions and modern traditions to be explored (Toelken, 1996, p. 391). Additionally, most, if not all, written folklore, folktales, and fairy tales were originally passed down verbally, from one generation to the next; these stories are part of oral histories (Toelken, 1996). Many …