Children love stories and more than stories it is the folktales that connect to the children in a very different way. This is because folktales are region specific and can relate to the region where the child comes from. Meena Gurjari is one such folktale of Gujarat.
Why choose folktales for children?
While stories are all fine and dandy and innumerable, folktales have a different touch. Folktales are stories that emerge out of a daring action or a good deed in a place or region and then it becomes a folk tale. Simply put, they are tales that the folks talk about!
Why are folktales important for kids?
As folktales were passed down over generations, they modelled behaviours and helped reinforce expectations about how to live a meaningful life. Over time, folktales subtly incorporated character traits like caring, resourcefulness, trust, or courage into the fabric of the stories.
(Source: Augusthouse.com)
Folktale benefits to the children are that they –
- Add value to their lives
- Give more relatable aspects to their living conditions
- A regional perspective that connects
- A moral too that helps give valuable lessons
- An idea for storytelling
- Sharing with others who can also relate to the story
- Parents can have time with kids by storytelling of folktales. They can get inspiration here: https://fairytalez.com/region/indian/
- Opportunity to share family tales too as a connecting story with the folktale
Some recommended books in folktales for children are:
- Tinkle has FolkTales of South India.
- Amar Chitra Katha Folk tales Collection
- A Camel for Kelam
- Ruskin Bond’s Indian Folktales Retold
- Regional Folktales of India by Amar Chitra Katha
- 101 Folktales from India by Puffin
- Indian Folktales and Legends by Pratibha Nath
- Folktales of India by A.K Ramanujan
- Funny folktales by Harpercollins and Amar Chitra Katha
