Additional Information:
- Fairy tale
- Non-English author
Synopsis: "Thumbling," also known as "Tom Thumb," is the short story of a peasant family and their only son, Thumbling, who is the size of a thumb. Thumbling becomes very cunning and nimble as he grows older. One day, he navigates the horse drawn wagon by whispering into the horses ear. It appears that the wagon is moving under its own power, which draws the eye of two men walking in the woods. They offer Thumbling's father a large sum of money for Thumbling, knowing that they could make money later off the deal. Thumbling has tricks up his sleeve and agrees to the deal. Thumbling goes with the two men, but ends up hiding in a mousehole in order to escape. The next day, Thumbling sees two other thieves and agrees to steal for them from nearby royalty. Thumbling tricks the men and alerts the servant who chases them away. Thumbling sleeps in the straw from the barn that night, which proves catastrophic when he is unknowingly eaten by a cow. When Thumbling shouts from the cow's stomach, the owners believe it to be possessed and slaughter the cow. Thumbling, stuck in the cow's stomach, is then eaten by a wolf passing by. Thumbling tricks the wolf into bringing him back to his father's house. When his mother and father hear him shouting from inside the wolf, they kill the animal and find their son, vowing to never sell him again.
Book Notes: This is one of the many fairy tales collected by the Brother's Grimm. The entire book is a thick anthology full of folk tales from ancient Germany. If these stories are read aloud to children, it may be a good idea to find a picture book of the desired story, since there are no illustrations in this anthology. It is important to consider the context of the story as well. Some fairy tales can be very dark and violent, so they may be more appropriate for older elementary students.
Critique: "Thumbling" is a good fairy tale to read aloud, especially to younger students. While many fairy tales have dark, violent characteristics, "Thumbling" is appropriate for all ages. Because children love to hear fairy tales out loud, this would be a great story to read aloud for a mini lesson. It consists of a strong message, making it applicable to a lesson about theme.
Classroom Activities: As previously stated, this fairy tale is a great choice to teach about theme. There is an evident message throughout the story, which would be fun for children to analyze. "Thumbling" would also be an effective story to teach about plot and sequencing of events. There are many events that take place in the story, so students can practice putting them in order. Below are more classroom ideas.
- Fact Sheet: http://www.penguinreaders.com/pdf/downloads/pyr/factsheets/9780582428461.pdf
- Lesson Plans: http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/lesson_plans/1170/1_TomThumbStories.pdf
Additional Resources
- "Tom Thumb" retold by Eric Carle: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/tom-thumb-0
- Read Alouds: http://www.speakaboos.com/story/tom-thumb
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