The folktale is a literary genre. While not discussed in this section of the unit, a fairytale is a subgenre of the folktale.
For primary teachers, folktales are a staple, because they contain interesting characters with problems that often need a solution. The ease of the read as well as not taking up a lot of time to share during class are benefits that many may find attractive. Some folktales have become classic favorites known to people around the world like the Hungarian folktale called, “Stone Soup” or the African “Anansi” tales. Usually the characters are flat but memorable. According to Atlanta’s August House Publishers, folktales often share a connection with the natural landscapes and settings of the region it represents like forests, fields, bodies of water, mountains, villages, or trails. The key is that these locations would more than likely be a recognizable or familiar part of a culture’s or region’s natural surroundings. In turn, it would make it easier for people to understand the story as a familiar setting. Thus, making the folktale that much more believable.
One characteristic is that repetition of lines or phrases is a common literary characteristic found in folktales. While folktales are very easy to follow with characters that one might consider basic or simple, the audience member of a folktales will be sure to come away with a moral lesson and or a problem that needed to be solved in the folktale. To bring more focus to the moral lesson is the tie that it will have to shared community values and teaching acceptable or expected behaviors.
