STABLS4thgrade2014-15

Lightly illustrated Aesop's fables to print

Pourquoi means "Why?" in French. Pourquoi stories have been around as folktales for many years dating back to our Native Americans. Mrs. Jepsen's third grade class worked hard to create their own, original Pourquoi tales. Each story was written by a group of students and answers the wonderings of "why" or "how" questions about animals.

Native American mythology has a very rich cultural history of its own. In the telling of tales, many things can be taught or learned. This is one of the ways that many tribes kept their cultures alive; it was not just a collection of stories, but of their beliefs, their ways, and their lives.

Many trickster tales are also pourquoi stories, giving us explanations for certain animals' appearances and occurrences in our world. Trickster tales provide comic relief but also explain how humans came to have the knowledge they possess. Many people around the world find the trickster intriguing.

Join us for some really Tall Tales. We've got giant mosquitoes, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Brer Rabbit, and folklore stories that will make you laugh so hard you'll bust a gusset! After you've read a few, e-mail us one of your favorite tall tales.

Harriet Stowe gives birth to daughter Georgiana May. Her story collection The Mayflower is published. During an anti-slavery sermon preached by the Rev. George E. Adams, Stowe envisions the plot of a novel depicting the cruelty of slavery. She rushes home after church and scribbles down all that she has pictured.