German Folklore


Book Description

Germany is a land of rich traditions. Written for high school students and general readers, this book is an accessible introduction to German folklore. The volume defines and classifies different types of German folklore. It also provides numerous examples and texts, along with a generous selection of illustrations. It overviews current scholarship and criticism and discusses the presence of German folklore in literature and popular culture. The work closes with a bibliography of print and electronic sources suitable for student research.




The Annotated Brothers Grimm


Book Description

Containing 40 stories in new translations by Tatar this celebration of the richness and dramatic power of the legendary fables also features 150 illustrations, many of them in color, by legendary painters.




Craving Supernatural Creatures


Book Description

Analyzes the portrayal of German fairy-tale figures in contemporary North American media adaptations. Craving Supernatural Creatures: German Fairy-Tale Figures in American Pop Culture analyzes supernatural creatures in order to demonstrate how German fairy tales treat difference, alterity, and Otherness with terror, distance, and negativity, whereas contemporary North American popular culture adaptations navigate diversity by humanizing and redeeming such figures. This trend of transformation reflects a greater tolerance of other marginalized groups (in regard to race, ethnicity, ability, age, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, etc.) and acceptance of diversity in society today. The fairy-tale adaptations examined here are more than just twists on old stories—they serve as the looking glasses of significant cultural trends, customs, and social challenges. Whereas the fairy-tale adaptations that Claudia Schwabe analyzes suggest that Otherness can and should be fully embraced, they also highlight the gap that still exists between the representation and the reality of embracing diversity wholeheartedly in twenty-first-century America. The book's four chapters are structured around different supernatural creatures, beginning in chapter 1 with Schwabe's examination of the automaton, the golem, and the doppelganger, which emerged as popular figures in Germany in the early nineteenth century, and how media, such as Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow, dramatize, humanize, and infantilize these "uncanny" characters in multifaceted ways. Chapter 2 foregrounds the popular figures of the evil queen and witch in contemporary retellings of the Grimms' fairy tale "Snow White." Chapter 3 deconstructs the concept of the monstrous Other in fairy tales by scrutinizing the figure of the Big Bad Wolf in popular culture, including Once Upon a Timeand the Fables comic book series. In chapter 4, Schwabe explores the fairy-tale dwarf, claiming that adaptations today emphasize the diversity of dwarves' personalities and celebrate the potency of their physicality. Craving Supernatural Creaturesis a unique contribution to the field of fairy-tale studies and is essential reading for students, scholars, and pop-culture aficionados alike.




The Ice-maiden


Book Description




Original Bavarian Folktales: A Schönwerth Selection


Book Description

Approximately 150 fairy and folk tales from a three-volume scholarly work of the 1850s. Includes Introduction to the German and East Bavarian stories. Tales of giants, witches, death, other subjects grouped thematically.




Das Kalte Herz


Book Description

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.




The Seven Swabians, and Other German Folktales


Book Description

Using primary German-language sources, Altmann has gleaned a wonderful assortment of authentic tales to enchant and educate audiences of all ages. The stories are organized in four sections: Animal stories, Comic tales, Fairy tales, and Local legends. Background information on the stories, a description of German life during the 19th century, color photographs, a pronunciation guide for German terms, and traditional German recipes are included. All grade levels. Many people are familiar with the German tales of the Brothers Grimm, but usually in the sugar-coated versions of picture books and Hollywood cartoons. In this book you'll discover some other sides to German folklore. Using primary German-language sources, Altmann has gleaned a wonderful assortment of authentic tales to enchant and educate audiences of all ages. This collection includes many favorite German tales, such as Rapunzel, Snow White, Rumpelstilkskin, Hansel and Gretel, and The Bremen Town Musicians; as well as more obscure tales such as The Seven Swabians and The Master Thief. There are tales for all kinds of listeners and readers—more than 80 stories in all, including tales that may shock you or make your hair stand on end, as well as those that will intrigue or amuse. The stories are organized in four sections: Animal stories (Tiergeschichten, largely fables), Comic tales (Schwanke, which range from the silly to the outrageous), Fairy tales (Zaubermarchen, or wonder tales), Local legends (Sagen, which include stories of ghosts and goblins, and religious legends). Background information and tale type information on the stories, a description of German life during the 19th century, color photos, a pronunciation guide for German terms, and traditional German recipes make this a wonderful resource for introducing audiences to German culture and traditions.




Folktales and Fairy Tales [4 volumes]


Book Description

Encyclopedic in its coverage, this one-of-a-kind reference is ideal for students, scholars, and others who need reliable, up-to-date information on folk and fairy tales, past and present. Folktales and fairy tales have long played an important role in cultures around the world. They pass customs and lore from generation to generation, provide insights into the peoples who created them, and offer inspiration to creative artists working in media that now include television, film, manga, photography, and computer games. This second, expanded edition of an award-winning reference will help students and teachers as well as storytellers, writers, and creative artists delve into this enchanting world and keep pace with its past and its many new facets. Alphabetically organized and global in scope, the work is the only multivolume reference in English to offer encyclopedic coverage of this subject matter. The four-volume collection covers national, cultural, regional, and linguistic traditions from around the world as well as motifs, themes, characters, and tale types. Writers and illustrators are included as are filmmakers and composers—and, of course, the tales themselves. The expert entries within volumes 1 through 3 are based on the latest research and developments while the contents of volume 4 comprises tales and texts. While most books either present readers with tales from certain countries or cultures or with thematic entries, this encyclopedia stands alone in that it does both, making it a truly unique, one-stop resource.




Telling Tales


Book Description

Germany has had a profound influence on English stories for children. The Brothers Grimm, The Swiss Family Robinson and Johanna Spyri's Heidi quickly became classics but, as David Blamires clearly articulates in this volume, many other works have been fundamental in the development of English chilren's stories during the 19th Centuary and beyond. Telling Tales is the first comprehensive study of the impact of Germany on English children's books, covering the period from 1780 to the First World War. Beginning with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, moving through the classics and including many other collections of fairytales and legends (Musaus, Wilhelm Hauff, Bechstein, Brentano) Telling Tales covers a wealth of translated and adapted material in a large variety of forms, and pays detailed attention to the problems of translation and adaptation of texts for children. In addition, Telling Tales considers educational works (Campe and Salzmann), moral and religious tales (Carove, Schmid and Barth), historical tales, adventure stories and picture books (including Wilhelm Busch's Max and Moritz) together with an analysis of what British children learnt through textbooks about Germany as a country and its variegated history, particularly in times of war.




German Popular Stories


Book Description

GERMAN POPULAR STORIES BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM A reprint of the famous Brothers Grimm book of fairy tales, German Popular Stories (a.k.a. Children's and Household Tales or Kinder- und Hausmarchen). This book, published for the centenary of the 1812 Children's and Household Tales, 'radically changed the destiny of what we today call the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm'. The book features the 1868 book of Edgar Taylor's translations of the Brothers Grimm, the first translations of the tales into English, which included reprints of the first two editions of 1823 and 1826 of the Grimms' stories in one volume, plus the original notes by Taylor. The book is illustrated with remarkable drawings by one of the great artists of the Victorian era, George Cruikshank, with an introduction by John Ruskin. The wealth of additional material includes letters by Sir Walter Scott and the Grimms, a note on Cruikshank, extracts from Gammer Grethel, Taylor's follow-up Grimm book, and R. Meek's Introduction to the 1876 edition of Grimm's Goblins: Grimm's Household Stories. Many famous fairy tales are included here, making their first, influential appearance in English: 'The Fisherman and his Wife', 'Tom Thumb', 'The Elves and the Shoemaker', 'King Grisly-beard', 'The Juniper Tree', 'Hansel and Gretel', and 'Snow White'. Edited and introduced by renowned writer and authority on fairy tales, Jack Zipes, professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. In addition to his scholarly work, he is an active storyteller in public schools and has worked with children's theaters in Europe and the United States. Some of Jack Zipes' major publications include Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (1979), Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion (1983, rev. ed. 2006), Don't Bet On the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England (1986), The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World (1988), Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter (2000), Speaking Out: Storytelling and Creative Drama For Children (2004), Hans Christian Andersen: The Misunderstood Storyteller (2005), Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre (2006), and a guide to fairy tales cinema (2011). Jack Zipes has also translated The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1987) and edited The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales (2000), and The Great Fairy Tale Tradition (2001). Most recently he has translated and edited The Folk and Fairy Tales of Giuseppe Pitre (2008) and Lucky Hans and Other Merz Fairy Tales (2008) by Kurt Schwitters. Includes illustrations, bibliography, appendices and notes. ISBN 9781861713964. 432 pages. www.crmoon.com"