Extra Reading Diary: Europa's Fairy Book

Okay obviously I love this unit because it is more stories that are so familiar to me and that I really love. I really like reading different versions of stories that I know because it is so cool to see how the differ across different cultures. This week I read the Italian fairy tales and several of the stories were very similar to the stories in this unit, however they each had their own different details. It was so cool to be able to compare some of the Italian stories to the stories in this unit (Europa's Fairy Book).

The cool thing about reading this unit this week is that I got to read another version of Beauty and the Beast, one of my very favorite stories. This version of Beauty and the Beast was more similar to the story that I remember from my childhood, but still had some differences. It was really cool to compare it to the Italian version though. In this version the Beast is an actual furry beast unlike in the Italian story. In this version though the beast dies, and when Bella sees this she runs to him crying saying that she had come to love him. It is with her declaration of love that the beast comes alive and changes into a prince and they live happily ever after. I loved this version of the story, because Bella fell in love with the Beast of her own volition. In the Italian story I did not like how the monster persuaded him to marry him so that he could be lifted from the curse. I liked the idea of Bella and the Beast actually making an honest connection.

Cinderella the Movie

I also really liked the story The Cinder-Maid. Obviously this story is a version of Cinderella. I really loved this version. It was very similar to the story of Cinderella that I know which includes the step sisters cutting off their toes or heels to try to fit into the slipper. I liked how this version of the story didn't include a fairy god-mother really, but instead the hazelnut tree and the birds in it helped to get Cinderella ready for the ball. I also really liked how this story featured three different balls. It was cool to see the repetition and progression of the story that some of the childhood versions of this fairy tale leave out.