10.1.13

Writing Tip nº4: THE FAIRY-TALE SALAD


If you've been reading my latest posts about books, you would certainly have  noticed a common theme (imprint?): the fact that some characters of a fairy tale, in some way, land in another one and meet its protagonist, giving birth to new tales or even novels.

It's the case of Hansel and Gretel in Gidwitz's book 'A Tale Dark and Grimm', but also of 'Witch Hazel' who moves from the story of Snow White to Hansel and Gretel.

But he most famous example, I can think of, is certainly the story of the ogre 'Shrek': a worldwide known case of fairy-tale salad.

Chapter twenty of 'The Grammar of Fantasy' by Gianni Rodari talks about this possibility of mixing different fairy tales to create new adventures and new developments of old and well-known stories. 

It's interesting because young readers have to deeply know the characters' inner worlds and the landscapes they move in to do this experiment of literature.

It's a good excuse for an accurate text analysis.

So, let your children think about what could happen if Little Red Riding Hood met Tom Thumb in the wood and if Pinocchio arrived at Granny's house: the Wolf would get every single tooth of his mouth completely destroyed!


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