Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends Challenge


By Janie Reinart


Fairy tales, fables, and legends. Oh, my. Have you ever tried to put a different spin on a well known story? I've found three different story versions based on the classic The Gingerbread Man.






The earliest known version of The Gingerbread Man in print is found in St. Nicholas Magazine in May 1875.

"I've run away from a little old woman,
A little old man, And I can run away 
from you, I can!"




I love Keila Dawson's take on the gingerbread story in The King Cake Baby.

"No, "mon ami"!" You can't catch me! I'm
the King Cake Baby!"





In Julia Donaldson's charming story The Paper Dolls, the refrain is:

" You can't get us. Oh no, no, no! We're holding hands and we won't let go. We're Ticky and Tacky and Jackie the Backie, and Jim with two noses, and Jo with the bow!" 






In The Horrible, Hungry Gingerbread Boy, Elisa Kleven turns the tables:

"I'm not your little ginger treat, 
and soon I'll be too big to eat!
I'm off to find more lunch, you see.
Run, run, run, but you can't catch me!"

Try your hand at writing fractured fairy tales. Here is a little exercise

Tara Lazar has a wonderful "how to" post. Take the challenge and spin a new tale. Post the title of your favorite fractured fairy tale.





27 comments:

  1. Thanks for a fun post and challenge, Janie! I adore fractured fairy tales and hopefully one day I'll write one that sings!

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    1. Kirsti me too! It's so much fun to twist a classic.

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  2. Fun! This is a format I have not yet tried. It's a great exercise, especially when you're struggling to come up with new ideas. I will definitely be giving this challenge a try.

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    1. Susie let us know how it goes. Metaphors be with you.

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  3. Sounds like a great idea! Thanks for posting this.

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  4. Hi Virginia, Thanks for stopping by. Have fun.

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  5. Little Red Writing is one of my all-time favorite fractured fairy tales. They're so fun to read, but I haven't yet tried writing one.

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  6. One of my favorites is Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella by Tony Johnston. Someday I will tackle writing and fracturing a fairy tale! Love them!

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    1. Cathy, don't know that one. Will check it out.

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  7. Great examples! I love so many fractured fairy tales. One I hold dear is the mash-up created in "Interrupting Chicken" by David Ezra Stein.

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    1. Jilanne,thank you. Will check that title too.

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  8. Thank you, Janie :) I've been trying my hand at writing a fractured fairy tale, but not making it-LOL

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  9. Charlotte the hardest part is getting it down the first time. The fun starts with the rewriting.

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  10. Thanks, Janie. I agree that the first line or two are the hardest. Not only fairy tales, but seems like everything I write is fractured!!!

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  11. Thanks for the reminder to try fractured fairy tales!

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    1. Tina do you have a favorite title? The King Cake Baby is mine❤

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  12. This is great, Janie! Love the challenge...I hope this will result in several ideas for Storystorm. :)

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  13. I love fractured fairy tales! I have a few ideas cooking for Storystorm!

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  14. Fun post Janie, thanks for the mention ma chérie! You gave me two more titles to read. One of my favorite fractured fairy tales is Godilicks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems.

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  15. Replies
    1. Alexandra
      I saw you put your name in the comments from the fractured fairy tales. You need to put your name in the comments of this registration post 😊

      http://www.reforemo.com/2017/02/reforemo-2017-registration-is-open.html

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