Bibliographies on the Web - Folktales, Fairytales, Myths and More

Légende Dorée, Armand Point, c. 1899

Books, books and more books! They are the tools of our trade and we never seem to have enough. I know my shelves are bursting but in the words of the old folktale, there is always room for one more. My car should sport a bumper sticker that reads, "I brake for book sales!"

Whether you are a storyteller, librarian or educator, and the time comes to put together a new program or lesson plan,  it is always helpful to have bibliographies at our fingertips. Here are a few to help you scratch the research itch!

A Bibliography of Feminist Folktales
http://thslone.tripod.com/Feminist-folktales.html

A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, for K-2 http://anthropology.si.edu/outreach/Indbibl/index.html

Annotated Bibliography of Jewish Story Collections - An extensive PDF file of resources compiled by Penninah Schram. http://caje33.wikispaces.com/file/view/Schram_Biblio.pdf

Annotated Bibliography of Trolls
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/biblio_trolls.html

Applit - Resources for Readers and Teachers of Appalachian Literature for Children and Young Adults
http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/

CanTeach - Folktales/Mythology Bibliography of books from various cultures.
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/theme17.html

The Center for Children’s Book – Storytelling Resources – Birds, monsters, fools and more!
http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/storytellingbib.html

Children’s Literature Bibliography http://faculty.mville.edu/gangij/ecl_bibliography.pdf

Digital Storytelling Bibliography http://courseweb.lis.illinois.edu/~jevogel2/lis506/bibliography.html

Environmental Education Resources Library -  “To assist Wisconsin teachers in integrating environmental education into their classroom curricula…The bibliographies contain teaching activity guides, videos, books for youth, and reference materials. All materials included in the bibliographies can be found at the Resources Library.”
http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/library/bibs.htm

FEAST – Folklore, Education and Storytelling for Teachers – Family lore, children’s games, folktale collections and more.
http://bankstreet.edu/professional-development/projects/feast/bibliography/

Folk and Fairy Tales for Storytelling - Animal, environmental, Pourquoi, trickster tales and more.
http://www.wwu.edu/storytelling/documents/FolktaleAnthologiesTopical-Biblio.pdf

Fractured Fairy Tales
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/fft.html

Hmong Folktales and Folklore complied by Mark E. Pfeifer, PHD – You will not only find references to folktales but also to legends, music, myth and song. http://www.hmongstudies.org/HmongFolktalesandFolklore.html

Jewish Storytelling Coalition – Selected and annotated bibliography of current Jewish story collections.
http://www.jewishstorytelling.org/biblio.html

Sisters Choice ~ Active Heroines in Folktales - An index of books with annotations on strong women in folktales; a perfect place to start if you are developing a program around this theme. http://www.sisterschoice.com/heroines.html

Storytelling Bibliography – Story collections, flannel boards, puppetry, etc.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/t2l/bibl-s01.htm

Western Washington University – Bibliography Folk and Fairy Tales – From Africa to Southeast Asia, a wealth of resources from around the world. http://www.wwu.edu/storytelling/biblifolk.shtml

Storybug.net - You will find an additional list of annotated bibliographies on my Teacher’s Page at
http://www.storybug.net/teacher-webbiblio.html .

Karen Chace 2011  ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Beacons in the Night: Lighthouse Keepers, Legends and Lore

Aquinnah Lighthouse

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

(This is my personal photo)

I've always loved lighthouses and have been fortunate to visit a few here in New England and the Kilauea Lighthouse  on the island of Kauai. For many the position of lighthouse keeper carries a sense of romance and wonder with it but in fact, it was a dangerous and lonely life. Many lighthouse keepers were heroes as well, risking their lives to save others.

Men were not the only ones to tend the lighthouses, many women also took on the responsibility, at least here in the United States.
   

August 7 is National Lighthouse Day so I offer you some history, stories, curriculum and crafts to celebrate this special day, and to remember those who valiantly lit the way for sailors throughout the centuries.

LIGHTHOUSE FACTS

• The tallest lighthouse is Cape Hatteras, NC (196 ft. built in 1872).
• The most expensive lighthouse built in America is St. George Reef, off Crescent City, California.. It took ten years to construct (1882-1892) and cost $715,000.00.
• The Lighthouse Service was created in 1789 by the 9th Act of the first Congress.
• There were never more than 850 lighthouses in operation at once, although about 1,500 were constructed in this country over the years.
• The first fog signal in this country, a cannon, was at the Boston Lighthouse.  The 1st Order Fresnel lens was installed on Seguin Island, Maine in 1857. This extremely rare lens stands 12 feet tall and can be seen for 20+ nautical miles.
• Towers are given special (painted) patterns, diamond shapes, spirals, stripes, etc. or colors to distinguish them from each other.
• The most famous lighthouse in history is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built on the island of Pharos in Hellenistic Egypt.
• The oldest existing lighthouse in the world is La Torrede Hercules located in La Coruña, in Galicia, Spain. They say this lighthouse dates back to ca. 20BC

The information above was gathered from the following resources: http://www.seathelights.com/index.html

http://www.spanish-teaching.com/2007/1/the-oldest-lighthouse-in-the-world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1312

STORIES

Green Lantern – A Michigan Ghost Story
http://tinyurl.com/62ed64v

Mariner’s Museum – A valuable collection of resources outlining women’s experiences and contributions as sailors, lighthouse keepers, yachting, mermaid myths, etc., dating back to 1493. There is also an extensive bibliography. This site is full of information about women of the sea. It also includes three tales about three women who served in what was known then as a male occupation.

http://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/women/index.htm

The sites below offer snippets of stories and information that will help you research the tales to shed more light on the legends...pun intended.

Don’t Turn Off the Lights: Haunted Lighthouses  https://www.beachcombingmagazine.com/blogs/news/haunted-lighthouses

Legends and Hauntings of Oregon Coast Lighthouses – Historical background intertwined with short stories of ghostly specters.

https://beachconnection.net/news/lhou112606_01224.htm   

The Most Haunted Lighthouses of the Great Lakes Region
https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/the-most-haunted-lighthouses-of-the-great-lakes-region

 

CRAFTS

Build a Lighthouse
http://www.cheslights.org/cheskids/html/kidscraft.htm

Coloring Pages - Free to download.
http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/tags/lighthouses 

How To Make a Paper Lighthouse 
https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/crafts/paper-crafts/paper-lighthouses.htm

Puzzles, Mazes and Matchups 
http://www.cheslights.org/cheskids/pdf/lighthousekids.pd

CURRICULUM

Education World – Grades 3-5

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0075.shtml

Keeping the Lights for Kids by Elinor De Wire 
https://uslhs.org/sites/default/files/teaching_guides/abbie_burgess/Teaching%20Guide%2C%20Keep%20the%20Lights%20Burning%2C%20Abbie.pdf

Teacher’s Lighthouse Resources for grade K-4 – Offered by the United States Coast Guard offers a rich history of lighthouses from past to present. 
https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jul/01/2001772248/-1/-1/0/LIGHTHOUSECURRICULUM.PDF

United States Lighthouse Society – Curriculum materials for K-4, fun activities, crafts, and so much more.

https://uslhs.org/education/educational-materials   

Take a tour of lighthouses around the world.

30 Lighthouse You Have to Visit in Your Lifetime  
https://www.insider.com/beautiful-lighthouses-world-2017-8

Lighthouse of Australia  

https://lighthouses.org.au/nsw/  

Lighthouses of British Columbia 

https://www.lighthousefriends.com/pull-state.asp?state=BC

Lighthouse Directory - Information and links for more than 13,600 of the world's lighthouses. 
https://uslhs.org/resources/lighthouse-directories-organizations/directories 

Lighthouses of Greece 

http://www.faroi.com/

New England Lighthouses – A Virtual Guide – History, photos and more. 

http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/  

US Lighthouses 

https://www.us-lighthouses.com/    

ADDITIONAL READING

Barnes and Noble – A long list of children’s books and more focusing on lighthouses.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/LIGHTHOUSES/_/N-8qc   

Women Who Kept the Light by Mary Louise Gifford

https://tinyurl.com/xa5kbm6w 

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Communicating Completely with Championship Communication!

The Storyteller
by Jacques-Clement Wagrez, 1890

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of being interviewed on the radio by Dr. Bill Lampton, a well-known keynote speaker, presenter, author and owner of Championship Communication, along with his talented co-host, Kristina Rhoades.  Bill is such a skilled interviewer that it felt more like a conversation and the hour flew by!

Bill is a communications specialist, offering coaching to individuals and organizations. Through our cyber friendship we have found that his work and that of professional storytellers have many things in common.

With the generous and kind permission of storyteller Dan Keding I also told the story, The Two Warriors, during the interview. It is very unusal to tell without a physical audience present so I hope I did this thought-provoking story justice. You may find the story on his CD, Promises Kept, Promises Broken and also in the book, Healing Hearts - Communities.


You may listen to the interview here:
http://thecompletecommunicator.com/?p=2021

I often highlight Bill's insightful business articles in my newsletter, Catch the Storybug, in the Business Notes section. Recently, with his permission, I added his interview with Terry Brock to my workshop handout on Social Media. There is a plethora of information here from two outstanding leaders in the business field: Leverage Technology and Build Relationships: http://thecompletecommunicator.com/?p=1854

You may subscribe to Bill's free newsletters, and articles at http://www.commlampton.com. I also urge you to join him on his business Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/635hnpz . He always has something fresh and interesting to share!

Folktales, Fathers and Fun - Celebrate the Men In Your Life

A Letter From His Father
by Claude Andrew Bail

    


"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!"
                                     ~ Lydia M. Child

Father's Day is June 19 this year, a day when we honor and celebrate the men in our lives who sit through parent conferences, attend dance recitals, volunteer as baseball coaches, and walk us down the aisle. But others, who may not be our birth fathers, deserve to be celebrated as well; uncles, godfathers, fathers-in-law, any man who makes a positive difference in our lives through leading by example and supporting our goals.

It is almost six years since my own father passed away. While the special men in your life are still with you take a moment to honor them and say "thank you."

  

  

• Some history states that the holiday originated with Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, whose father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. 
• Other history states it was first observed in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. It was organized by Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton, who wanted to celebrate the lives of the 210 fathers who had been lost in the Monongah Mining disaster several months earlier in Monongah, West Virginia, on December 6, 1907.

• US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation.

• In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers.  In 1972 the day was made a permanent national holiday.
• Some observe the custom of wearing a red rose to indicate that one's father is living or a white rose to indicate that he is deceased.
  
  Information courtesy of:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Maria_Child
  https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day 

STORIES

Father Frost - Russia
http://russian-crafts.com/russian-folk-tales/father-frost-tale.html 

Father Grumbler – Andrew Lang/Brown Fairy Tale Book
https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/139/the-brown-fairy-book/4297/father-grumbler/

The Forest Bride – Finland    
https://americanliterature.com/author/parker-fillmore/fairy-tale/the-forest-bride

The Foster Father – Ukraine 
http://freebooksforkids.net/foster-father.html  (This immediately reminded me of the folktale, The Best Wish, found here: 
https://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Jugoslav_Folktale_11.html#gsc.tab=0 )

The Half Blanket – Israel   
Note: There are many variations of this folktale from around the world.
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/xavier-university-ateneo-de-cagayan/purposive-communication/the-half-blanket-the-half-blanket/59685193

Juan Wearing a Monkey Skin – Philippines 

http://tinyurl.com/68qjdh5

The Miller, His Son and Their Donkey 
http://www.taleswithmorals.com/aesop-fable-the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey.htm

My Father’s Wedding – Magyars    
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42981/42981-h/42981-h.htm#Page_86

One Man and His Precious Cow – Africa
https://allfolktales.com/wafrica/precious_cow.html   

The Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt 

http://tinyurl.com/3courp5

The Seventh Father of the House - Norway
https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0726.html#seventh    

The Strange Creature – Zimbabwe

https://spiritoftrees.org/the-strange-creature 

The Three Brothers – Germany      
https://www.worldoftales.com/fairy_tales/Brothers_Grimm/Margaret_Hunt/The_Three_Brothers.html#gsc.tab=0

The Ungrateful Child and the Father Who Went to School Again
https://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Ukrainian_folktale_22.html#gsc.tab=0

The White Tiger – Korea
https://storiestogrowby.org/story/white-tiger/  

 

CURRICULUM

5 Father’s Day Ideas for Elementary Children
https://www.hmhco.com/blog/5-classroom-activities-for-fathers-day

Education World – Lesson plans, books, songs, and activities for your students.
https://www.educationworld.com/holidays/archives/fathers_day.shtml

Preschool Father’s Day Theme – Lots of creative ideas here.
https://www.prekprintablefun.com/fathers-day.html

Teacher’s Pay Teachers – Free activities that are teacher tested.
https://tinyurl.com/bdzep4v5

CRAFTS 

Country Living.com – 31 East Father’s Day Crafts the Kids Can Make for Dad 
https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g32676534/fathers-day-crafts-kids/

DLTK.COM - Lots of things to make that special man smile on Father’s Day: Crafts, poems, printables, recipes and songs!
http://tinyurl.com/nrssk

Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/fathersday/

Father’s Day Crafts for Kids – So many fun and fresh ideas.
https://mr-mintz.com/collections/fathers-day?srsltid=AfmBOopAO0-a_y4nWhU55EAZgJ1QLhHnTFzVs4nOmzZSC6J0UrJnK2sU

RECIPES

Father’s Day Cooking Project for Kids
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/fathers-day-projects-kids

In the Kid’s Kitchen – Father’s Day Recipes Kids Can Make
https://www.inthekidskitchen.com/fathers-day-recipes-kids-can-make/ 

SOMETHING EXTRA

A Father’s Day Story - If you would like to read a short, humorous story about my father, you will find it here.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-father-always-took-great-pride-in.html

C is for Caring Fathers – A blog from the fabulous folktale researcher, Csenge.
https://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2016/04/c-is-for-caring-fathers.html

Mother’s Day and Memories - My blog post for Mother’s Day filled with stories and more.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/05/mothers-day-and-memories.html

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

 

Public Domain II - Folktales, Myths and Legends Oh My!

As promised, I have put together another list of public domain books from around the world.

The picture to the left portrays the third century Syrian Queen Zenobia by illustrator Warwick Goble. She is considered to be one of the most underrated heroines of ancient times.

Her pedigree comes from a long line of queens from Syrian & Abyssinian queens, including the well-known Queen of Sheba. After her husband’s death she led a revolt again the Roman Empire and added Egypt to her expanding empire as well.





She was said to be more beautiful than Cleopatra and was a scholar in her own right.  Besides her native tongue she was fluent in Greek, Aramaic, and Egyptian, with a working knowledge of Latin. She was renowned for hosting literary salons and surrounding herself with philosophers and poets, the most famous of these being
Cassius Longinus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenobia

In honor of this ancient Queen and her love of language and cultures, I give you folktales, fairy tales, epics and legends from many lands.

Australian Legendary Folktales - Collected by Katie Langloh Parker with an introduction by Andrew Lang. Stories of emus, bats, magpies and more. Learn about this lovely land down under. http://tinyurl.com/yackb55

Belgian Fairy Tales by William Elliot Griffis, 1919 - Step into this enchanted text filled with queens, ogres, pilgrims and faeries.

http://www.archive.org/details/belgianfairytale00grifiala

The Book of the Epic – The Worlds Great Epics Told in Story by H. A. Guerber, 1913. Visit France, Portugal, Netherlands, Japan and more through these epics from around the world. http://tinyurl.com/6edwz4f

Chinese Fables and Folk Stories – by Mary Hayes Davis, Chow-Leung. The Snail and the Bees, Woo Sing and the Mirror, Two Mother and a Child, are just a few of the tales found within the pages of this book from 1908.
http://tinyurl.com/yda28q4

Clever Stories from Many Nations by John Saxe, 1865. Interesting adaptation of stories, all told in rhyme.
http://www.archive.org/details/cleverstories00saxerich

The Folktales of the Magyars translated by Jones and Kroph, 1886. The Speaking Grapes, The Smiling Apple and the Tinkling Apricot is just one of many interesting tales from the people of Hungary.http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofmagya00joneuoft

Yule-tide stories - A collection of Scandinavian and North German popular tales and traditions, from the Swedish, Danish and German, 1910. This book can be downloaded to your computer or Kindle.  http://tinyurl.com/6k57ktf

Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend by Donald Alexander Mackenzie, 1917. Fairies, friends and foes fill this volume of stories from mythical Scotland.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/index.htm

And if you missed the first blog post of public domain story collections in May go to:

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/05/public-domain-folktales-myths-legends.html

Trolling for Tales - Fish Stories from Around the World



Fishing in Spring, the Pot de Clichy by
Vincent Van Gogh, 1887

"Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime."
                        ~ Chinese Proverb

Although the May weather in Massachusetts has been fickle, with the sun playing hide and seek on most days, I have faith that warmer weather is headed our way.

Soon it will be time to pack a picnic lunch, smooth on the sunscreen and break out the fishing poles. With that in mind, here are some fish tales to ensure your storytelling and classroom programs go swimmingly!


FISHING SUPERSTITIONS


From the island of Fiji

o If a man is hand cutting bait no other man may step over it the owner will be angry because the lure's (bait) are considered then to be infected.
o If a man steps over another's fishing line a poor catch will follow.

From the coastal village of Golspie in Scotland
 
o If a fisherman, when going to sea, seas a hare cross his path, he takes that as a sigo of misfortune.
o If you count boats when you are going out to fish, one of the is sure to be lost.
o It was lucky to set sail on a voyage on Sunday but also to sail the way of the sun.

From Kentucky, USA
o Fish bite best when dogwood is in bloom.
o When it thunders the time is favorable to fish for catfish.


FISH STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
A Fish Story - Australia
http://mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/171.htm
A Small Fish Story – Ireland
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=587
The Fish and the Ring – Germany
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/eft/eft36.htm
The Girl-Fish – Spain
http://www.classicreader.com/book/1044/22/
How People Learned to Fish – Native American
http://tinyurl.com/62swhvz

The Fish God of Hawaii – United States
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/hft/hft24.htm
The Golden Fish - India
http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=20
The Heron, the Fish and the Crayfish –Ukraine
http://tinyurl.com/6js3u88
The Old Man and the Fish – China
http://tinyurl.com/62buyb9

The Talking Fish – Armenia
http://tinyurl.com/6dxtmo8
That Pesky Fellow – Newfoundland
http://tinyurl.com/6gsw4jt
Why the Fish Has Scales – Philippines
http://folktales.webmanila.com/folktales/water/?fish-scales
Why the Fish Laughed – India
http://worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Indian_folktale_24.html

CRAFTS

Bathtub Fish - Recycle that empty milk jug!
http://tinyurl.com/6ys5fql
Enchanted Learning – Fish Crafts
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/fish/
DLTK – Additional crafts, coloring pages, matching games and more.
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/fish.html
Toy Fish Tank - http://tinyurl.com/5wdn8ot

CURRICULUM

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources – This curriculum was designed to complement a 2011 art contest. Although the contest has now passed, the curriculum information is still very useful.http://tinyurl.com/6dueswb

The Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Coloring Book – Children will have fun coloring while learning all about lives of these fish.
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/publications/salmnbk.pdf

What’s the Catch? Fish Contamination Educator Curriculum Guide – This is a pdf file "aligned with the CA Science and Social Science standards, National Science Standards, Ocean Literacy Principles and Education in the Environment Initiative Concepts for 4th-8th grades.”
http://tinyurl.com/633mgxk


SONGS

Little Fish
http://tinyurl.com/6hqedqw
I’m A Little Fish
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/songs/fish.htm
Ocean Songs
http://tinyurl.com/62cnxtu
Slippery Fish http://bussongs.com/songs/slippery_fish.php

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Storybug.net – The two links will lead you to previous blog posts with additional resources.Hot Fun in the City - http://tinyurl.com/6aq7apz
Mermaids – Sirens of the Sea – I know, mermaids are technically not fish but they do live in the sea! http://tinyurl.com/69gzfrb  





Karen Chace  2011 ©
This blog post was painstakingly researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my newsletter via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Dragons - Mythical, Mystical, Magical Creatures!

Dragon King’s Daughter
(Gohonzon #22, Eight Great Dragon Kings)

"Come not between the dragon and his wrath." ~ Shakespeare, King Lear

Dragons have filled our myths, legends, history and imaginations for centuries. The Scandinavians described swimming dragons and the Vikings placed dragons on the front of their ships to scare off the sea monsters. Their are myths containing dragons date back to 4000 B.C.

Marco Polo wrote of his travels to the province of Karajan and reported on huge serpents, which at the fore part have two short legs, each with three claws.

Records of the Greek historian Herodotus and the Jewish historian Josephus describe flying reptiles in ancient Egypt and Arabia, and in art, dragons appear on ancient pottery in China as late as 202 A.D.

o In some cultures dragons have major spiritual significance.
o In many Asian cultures dragons represented the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe.
o They are associated with wisdom and often said to be wiser than humans.
o They are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers.
o In some cultures they are also said to be capable of human speech

o European dragons are usually depicted as evil.
o Chinese dragons do not have wings but have very long tails. They are benevolent and can take on human form. The Imperial Dragon is the combination of four benevolent spiritual animals, the other three being the phoenix, the unicorn and the tortoise.
o Japanese dragons are water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water.
o Persians believed a dragon's baby would be the same color as the mother's eyes.
o Scottish dragons have two tails.

Courtesy of :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon
http://www.allaboutcreation.org/dragon-history.htm
http://www.genesispark.com/genpark/history/history.htm

STORIES

The Dragon - Italy
http://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Italian_folktale_22.html

The Dragon and the Prince - Serbia
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/sfs/sfs57.htm

The Dragon and His Grandmother - Germany
https://fairytalez.com/the-devil-and-his-grandmother/ 

The Dragon of Ghent - Belgium
http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/tl/tl08.htm

The Dragon of the North - Estonia
http://www.mythfolklore.net/3043mythfolklore/reading/estonia/pages/06.htm

The Four Dragons - Asia
http://worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Asian_Folktale_6.html

How the Dragon Came to Be - China
https://www.pitara.com/fiction-for-kids/folktales/how-the-dragon-came-to-be/

The Lambton Worm - England
http://tinyurl.com/3krfcz7

The Golden Dragon of the Boringue on page 188 and Turk, Turban, Tulip and Dragon, page 166 both in Belgian Fairy Tales by William Elliot Griffis, 1919. To read these tales and download the  book for free go to:
https://archive.org/stream/belgianfairytale00grifiala/belgianfairytale00grifiala_djvu.txt

The Serene Dragon - This incredible site is sure to slay you! Over 544 dragon tales listed by country and region, with origins, and articles; you will be breathing fire in no time at all. Unfortunately, the site is no longer online but you may still access the pages via the Wayback Machine at this link:
https://web.archive.org/web/20050205214117/http://www.theserenedragon.net/home.html

Story-Lovers.com – As always, Jackie Baldwin is ahead of the pack, or in this case, the dragon’s lair. Books, stories and more, all related to those amazing mythical creatures. Note: Our dear Jackie crossed over a few years ago but her incredible work lives on, accessible via the Wayback Machine here: http://web.archive.org/web/20100120170730/http://www.story-lovers.com/listsdragonstories.html

BOOKS

Bookroo – Dragon books for a variety of ages.
https://bookroo.com/explore/books/topics/dragons

CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activity Village – Lots of crafts and printables.
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/dragons_theme.htm

Chinese Dragon Puppet – Makes a great bookmark as well.
http://tinyurl.com/3ysk9ce

Dragon Coloring Pages 
http://www.coloring.ws/dragons1.htm

Survivor Dragon Island – From the California Summer Reading Collaborative Program http://tinyurl.com/6jsnved

CURRICULUM

Adventures with Dragons, Gods and Giants – A grade three unit connected to the Core Curriculum Standards.
https://studylib.net/doc/18517051/fantastic-adventures-with-dragons--gods--and   NEW

Dealing with Dragons
http://www.edhelper.com/books/Dealing_with_Dragons.htm

Komodo Dragons
http://www.edhelper.com/AnimalReadingComprehension_19_1.html

San Diego Zoo - The Lifestyle of the Komodo Dragon - For grades 4 – 6; facts, activities and more on this interesting and ancient creature.

https://sdzwildlifeexplorers.org/animals/komodo-dragon

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/komodo-dragon

Meet the new Komodo dragons at the San Diego Zoo
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/11/18/komodo-dragons-san-antonio

HISTORY

Draconian.com - The history of dragons in various cultures, short legends about dragons and more.
http://www.draconian.com/whatis/whatis.htm

SONGS AND FINGERPLAYS

Dragon Fingerplays
https://www.barbertonlibrary.org/dragonfingerplays

Dragon Storytime – Songs, fingerplays, and book suggestions from the Jacksonville Public Library
http://jplmainchildrens.blogspot.com/2011/09/dragon-storytime.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.