Cats in Folk and Fairy Tales
Program Ideas for Adopt-A-Cat Month
in June
Compiled by Elizabeth Miller
“… This animal wavers on the borderland between the natural and the supernatural…” – Carl Van Vechten
June is Adopt-A- Cat for the American Humane Society.
During this month libraries also have an opportunity to create programing that incorporates materials that
feature this wonderful animal.
Folk and fairy tales feature cats in all their mystery. This presentation explores only a few of the many resources
available to librarians.
Mortimer, Anne. Catopia: A Cat Compendium. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
The Lion and The Mouse The cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes.
Native American Proverb
Try pairing Aesop’s Fable of The Lion and The Mouse available online from Gutenberg.com and Jerry Pinkney’s (2009) The Lion & The Mouse.
Image Source for Slide: By Kevin Pluck (Flickr: The King.) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsQuote sourced from: Mortimer, Anne. Catopia: A Cat Compendium. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
Jerry Pinkney’s work is a word-less picture book retelling the folk tale of the lion and the mouse. This book is perfect for storytime and paring it with Aesop’s tale can help some younger children relate to the tale.
Aesop’s fables feature big cats in many of the tales. Using these for storytime coupled with a craft project would engage young readers. This story captures a story of kindness and friendship between a mouse and lion.
Puss in BootsTo assume a cat’s asleep is a grave mistake. He can close his eyes and keep both his ears awake - Aileen Fisher
Image Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29021/29021-h/29021-h.htm#The_Master_Cat_or_Puss_in_BootsQuote sourced from: Mortimer, Anne. Catopia: A Cat Compendium. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
Charles Perrault captured the folktale of Puss in Boots and there have been many retellings. This would be another folktale to include in a storytime program in June. This story is about a resourceful cat who uses all his cunning to help his master.
A Fractured Folktale
Puss in Boots by DreamWorks Animation could be paired with a storytime featuring Charles Perrault's telling of Puss in Boots. While this movie serves as a prequel to Shrek 2, it could be another way to introduce readers to fractured folk and fairy tales, which use familiar characters and themes.
After this slide a brief preview will play of this movie’s trailer.
The King of Cats
King o’ the Cats is a retelling of a British folktale. Peter Black is a young man who notices that the cats in his town are acting very suspicious. Arron Sheppard offers a free version of this text on his website: http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/folk.html
Image source for slide: By Creator/Contributor: Dielman, F. (Frederick), 1847-1935 (artist); L. Prang & Co. (publisher) (Flickr: The Widow) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThe_Widow_(Boston_Public_Library).jpg
Cats in Creation
Oloyou is a retelling of a Yoruba folktale from Cuba. This book is bilingual with English and Spanish text often side by side. It looks at the creation of a white cat, the only friend of the God-child that created her. Margarita Sada’s wonderful illustrations show the trials of this special friendship.
The Lucky Cat: Maneki Neko
There are many Japanese folktales that tell how the lucky cat came to be. Wendy Henrichs’ retelling of this story, in I am Tama, Lucky Cat, tells how a monk’s kindness earned him the gratitude and blessings of a lucky cat. In Koko Mishizuka’s retelling in The Beckoning Cat a poor shopkeepers kindness toward the lucky cat gains him wealth to care for his family and shop.
Cats are love on four legs – Richard Torregrossa
Quote sourced from: Mortimer, Anne. Catopia: A Cat Compendium. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
Another Cat Bringing Good Luck
This is a Palestinian tale about Sitti, a grandmother in the village, rescues a kitten and earns gifts from the cat kingdom. Like the story of the Maneki Neko, kindness towards someone in need is rewarded.
Kittens, Kittens, and More Kittens There is no more intrepid explorer than a kitten – Jules Champfleury
There are a variety of retellings of the nursery rhyme of the three kittens who lost their mittens. Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations make these cuddly kittens tumble of the books pages.Paul Galdone’s bright illustrations capture the readers attention. Both are great additions to story time
Image source for slide: By Pieter Lanser from The Netherlands (IMG_9051 Uploaded by oxyman) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A4_Kittens.jpg
This Danish folktale tells the story of a very hungry cat that eats all of his friend’s food and
his best friend the mouse. Mouse has to cut herself out
of the cat, but stays to help the cat heal since they are friends.
A Hungry CatA cat’s communicating ability is probably at its highest level of activity
around mealtime. – Jack Richter
Quote sourced from: Mortimer, Anne. Catopia: A Cat Compendium. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
The White Cat: A French Tale of Enchantment
The White Cat is a fairy tale about a princess enchanted by fairies and turned into a cat. The prince is able to break the curse and the white cat becomes a princess again. This story was originally written down by Marie Catherine D’Aulnoy
Image Sorce: Wikiart. The White Cat, Pierre Bonnard, 1894, oil on canvas, held by Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France. http://www.wikiart.org/en/pierre-bonnard/the-white-cat-1894
A Collection of Cat Myths Cats of Myth: Tales from Around the World compiled by Gerald and Loretta Hausman is a collection of mythologies that includes tales of cats from many different cultures.
These stories could be used at story time or for another program at a library in June.
From Norse Mythology the Goddess Freya’s Chariot is drawn by a pair of cats
Image Source: By Ludwig Pietsch (1824-1911) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFreyja_riding_with_her_cats_(1874).jpg
The Cheshire CatI wish I cold write as mysterious as a cat- Edgar Allan Poe
The Cheshire cat is one of the most memorable of the literary cats. He appears in wonderful detail in Lewis Carroll’s work Alice in Wonderland.
Using images and excerpts to create a display for Adopt-a-Cat month in June will draw in patrons of all ages.
Image Source for Slide: John Tenniel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACheshire_Cat_appearing_(detail).jpg
Cat Sock Puppets: Art & Craft Activity for Kids
There are many different art and craft activity ideas that can be incorporated in library programing and story time. Sock puppets are one way to engage children in story time.
I have included a brief video on how to create a sock puppet cat. This activity can be changed to meet individual program needs.
After this slide an instructional video will play showing you one way to create a cat sock puppet.
Image source for sock puppet: By Durova (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASockcat.jpg
Image source for slide: By Peter Forster [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACat_Briciola_with_pretty_and_different_colour_of_eyes.jpg
There are many more folk and fairy tales that include cats than the books listed here.
There stories are just some that could be included in story times and programming for Adopt-a-Cat month in June for your library or class room.
Final Thoughts
..\Desktop\Annotated Resources for Cats in Folk and Fairy Tales.pdf
Below is a link to a printable PDF of a list of annotated resources discussed in this presentation:
ResourcesAesop. (2006). The Aesop for children with pictures by Milo Winter. (pp. 24). Retrieved from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm#Page_23.
Bahous Allen, S. (1997). Sitti and the Cats. (N. Malick, Illustrator). Boulder, CO: Roberts Rinehart Publisher.
Cardenas, T. (2008). Oloyou. (E. Amado, Trans.). (M. Sada, Illustrator). Berkley, CA: Publishers Group West.
Carrol, L. (2014) Alice’s adventures in wonderland. (J. Tenniel, Illustrator). Kindle edition. Retrieved from www.amazon.com.
Galdone, P. (2011). Three little kittens: a folk tale classic. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt.
Hausman, L. (2000). Cats of Myth. (L. Baker, Illustrator). New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Henrichs, W. (2011). I am Tama, lucky cat. (Y. Jaeggi, Illustrator). Alanta, GA: Peachtree.
McDonald, M. R. (2001). Fat cat: a Danish folktale. (J. Paschkis, Illustrator). Little Rock: August House.
Mortimer, A. (2007). Catopia: A Cat Compendium. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Nikolajeva, M. (2009). Devils, Demons, Familars, Friends: Toward a Semiotics of Literary Cats. Marvel’s & Tales: Journa of Fairy-Tale Studies. 23(2), 248-267.
Nishizuka, K. (2009). The beckoning cat. (R. Litzinger, Illustrator). New York: Holiday House.
ResourcesPerrault, C. (1990) Puss in boots. (M. Arthur, Trans.). (F. Marcellino, Illustrator). New York: Farra, Straus and Giroux.
Perrault, C. (2009). The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault. Retrieved from www.gutenberg.org/files/29021/29021-h/29021-h.htm.
Pinkney, J. (2012). Puss in boots. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Pinkney, J. (2009). The lion & the mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Pinkney, J. (2010). Three little kittens. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Puss in Boots [Motion picture on DVD]. (2011). Dreamworks.
San Souci, R.D. (1990). The White Cat: an old French fairy tale. (G. Spirin, Illustrator). New York: Orchard Books.
Shepard, A. (2010). King o’ the Cats. (K. Sorra, Illustrator). New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers.
Zipes, J. (1989). Beauties, beasts, and enchantment: classic French fairy tales. New York: New American Library.
Please note all images of book covers sourced from www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com.
Top Related