One-Minute Favorite Fairy Tales
Author: Shari Lewis
Illustrator: Benton Mahan
Published: In 1985 by Doubleday & Company, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0385193221
Synopsis:
Do you find yourself too busy to sit down with your child at night because normal bedtime stories simply take too long to read? Are you looking for something quick and easy that the whole family can enjoy? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, you might want to try One-Minute Favorite Fairy Tales, by Shari Lewis. Within this book are 21 well known fairytales, all of which can be read aloud in about one minute. Each story is short and sweet and to the point. A very useful solution for families who run on a tight schedule.
My Reaction:
When I found this book the first thing I wanted to do was test the claim that these were "one-minute" fairy tales. I didn't believe you could really write a one minute version of classic stories like "Sleeping Beauty," and "Rapunzel," and if you did manage to, they certainly wouldn't be any good. So, I took up the challenge. I sat down and timed myself reading a variety of the stories. As it turns out, when the stories are read aloud, they are not quite as short as the title would lead you to believe, but they are pretty close. On average, each story took me about a minute and a half to read. Regardless of time, I had to admit these stories are truly concise. Which raises a second question, did Shari Lewis manage to shorten the stories without loosing their essence?
For the most part I think she did. Since the original versions of the stories tend to be fairly formulaic and proscriptive in nature, without any significant character or plot development, they are relatively easy to shorten without drastically altering the content. Shari Lewis simply includes the most important and crucial elements of the story. It's fun to see how thoroughly entertaining these bare bones can be without any decorative embellishments. This really demonstrates one delightful quality about fairy tales and folktales; the power of a good and simple plot line.
I think these adaptions of the stories would be particularly interesting if you had a chance to read them in tandem with other versions. I think children would especially enjoy making observations about the similarities and differences between them. They may even decided they want to try and write their own "One-minute" fairy tale. So I guess I have to concede, and give Shari Lewis credit for crafting nice and concise versions of these classic fairy tales.
For the most part I think she did. Since the original versions of the stories tend to be fairly formulaic and proscriptive in nature, without any significant character or plot development, they are relatively easy to shorten without drastically altering the content. Shari Lewis simply includes the most important and crucial elements of the story. It's fun to see how thoroughly entertaining these bare bones can be without any decorative embellishments. This really demonstrates one delightful quality about fairy tales and folktales; the power of a good and simple plot line.
I think these adaptions of the stories would be particularly interesting if you had a chance to read them in tandem with other versions. I think children would especially enjoy making observations about the similarities and differences between them. They may even decided they want to try and write their own "One-minute" fairy tale. So I guess I have to concede, and give Shari Lewis credit for crafting nice and concise versions of these classic fairy tales.
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