Folklore: The Talking Eggs

The Talking Eggs is a Creole American folklore tale which was "first collected by Alcée Fortier and was published in Memoirs of the American Folklore Society in 1895." (http://afropedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Talking_Eggs) This book is categorized as folklore as it's origin has been traced and has been passed down for centuries. The tale was made into a book by Robert D. San Souci and illustrated by Jerry Pinkey. This book is a classic tale of rags to riches, synonymous to the more familiar Cinderella. Two sisters live with their mother. One sister, Blanche, was cruel, like her mother, and the other, Rose, was sweet and kind. Rose meets an old woman in the woods and through a series of events ends up coming home with beautiful lavish things after showing kindness to the old woman. Blanche and mother seek to find good fortune of their own and leave Rose behind once they do.

This tale follows the second element of social justice: Respect for Others. This book teaches children that being kind is rewarded. Blanche and the mother are nasty towards Rose and want nothing more than to leave her in the dust when they become rich. This can draw parallels to being kind to others from different cultures or backgrounds, but also kindness on a more general scale as well.

I would use this book in my class to point out personality traits that are deemed acceptable and not. Using books like this to teach children models of behavior is so important in early childhood. When a child can recognize positive and negative behavior, they can become self-aware as they grow and mature.