Why Folktales?

When looking at using multicultural literature in the classroom, there are many paths you can take. Fiction or nonfiction, modern or historical, chapter books or picture books. You can look at themes like friendship, bravery, love, or self-discovery and how different cultures deal with them. 

Why, then, did I choose to look at multicultural literature through the lens of folktales?

1. Folktales embody cultural values. They are used to instruct children about the right and wrong way to behave. The heroes and exemplify the characteristics a culture admires, while the villains or fools show what a culture scorns.

In the Classroom: Use folktales to teach children how to make inferences about cultural values based on plots and characters. 
For example, the Hawaiian folktale, Pig Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawaii, shows the cultural value of cleverness and quick thinking through how the main character escapes trouble by using magic to confuse his enemies.

2. Folktales have many similarities. Humans are humans, and despite external cultural adornments, they often value the same things. There are many stories that are found in multiple cultures, and many traits that are commonly portrayed as ideals.

In the Classroom: Compare folktales from different cultures, looking for commonalities. 
For example, The Talking Eggs, a creole folktale, shares a very similar plot line with the classic "Cinderella" story.

3. Folktales provide a window into another culture. Whether it is a modern or historical tale, multicultural folktales often are about people, and have some elements of what everyday life looks like for those people.

In the Classroom: Look at the lives of the people in folktales. Talk about the ways in which their lives differs from lives of your students. 
For example, Juan Bobo Goes to Work is a Puerto Rican folktale about a boy, perhaps only 11 or 12 years old, who has to go to work so his family has food to eat.

4. Folktales show what a people believe about the world. Folktales explain what people believe about how the world was created, if there are gods or spirits and how they interact with humans, and how animals or natural phenomena came to be.

In the Classroom: Have children extract from the story a list of beliefs the culture has about the world. 
For example, Storm Maker's Tipi shows people interacting with spirits, who sometimes seek to harm the humans and other times seek to help them.