Fairyland Index

Fairies dance in the moonlight.

       In a charming  play  of  Peter  Pan ,  when  Peter  advances  to  the  footlights  and  says  appealingly, ''Do  you  believe  in  fairies?''  grown  people  as well  as  children  cry,  ''Yes!  Yes!''  and  mean  it, too.  For  the  moment  they  do  believe  in  fairies - the  little  beings  are  too  beautiful,  too delightful  not  to  be  real.  To  children  at  certain  stages  of  their  experience  they  are  the most  enticing,  the  most  important  inhabitants of  the  earth.  Every  flower  cup  may  be  a fairy's bedroom;  every  mushroom  is  a  fairy's dining-table.  The  gauzy-winged  butterflies  are the  fairies'  airships,  and  very  often  in  the woods  and  fields  of  a  summer's  morning  may be  seen  the  rings  where  their  tiny  feet  have danced  all  night.  True,  the  most  watchful child  has  never  caught  a  glimpse  of  one,  but almost  every  child  has  felt  many  a  time  that he  might  have  seen  one  had  he  turned  about just  a  little  more  quickly.  As  the  little  girl  in the  song  says:

I  know  whenever  fairies  pass,

Because  they  lightly  bend  the  grass;

I  never  see  them,  so  I  think,

They  must  go  by  just  when  I  wink.

       Fairies  do  not  like  the  cold,  so  they  are  not  to be  found  in  the  fields  in  the  winter,  but  there is  one  place  where  they  can  always  be  found, and  ready  indeed  are  they  at  all  times  to come  out  and  play  with  the  delighted  children. From  between  the  covers  of  the  favorite  fairy tale  book  they  glide,  and  with  a  wave  of  their wands  carry  the  children  with  them  to  wonderful  countries  - that  never  were  on  land  or sea.  There  is  Cinderella's  fairy  godmother; she  does  not  look  much  like  a  fairy,  but  what a  powerful  one  she  is,  with  her  wand  that  can turn  pumpkins  into  chariots!  And  Jack's fairy  that  he  met  at  the  top  of  the  beanstalk; the  beautiful  lady  with  the  star-tipped  wand; what  could  he  ever  have  done  without  her advice?  Sometimes  the  fairies  in  these  wonderful  tales  carry  away  a  child  from  its  wicked selves;  sometimes  they  bear  away  to  their fairy  home  some  man  who  deserves  punishment,  and  there  make  his  life  a  burden  to him;  or  they  make  it  possible  for  a  poor  little girl  who  is  out  tending  the  goats,  and  never has  enough  to  eat,  to  spread  for  herself  each day  a  fairy  table  with  everything  on  it  that she  likes  the  most.  One  thing  may  be  depended  on, the  true  fairies  are  always  found assisting  the  good  people,  and  no  one  who  is cruel  or  cross  or  greedy  ever  need  look  for any  help  from  them.  If  the  moral  of  these tales  be  very  obvious,  the  children  do  not mind;  that  is  the  way,  it  seems  to  them,  that the  world  should  be  managed.

       Fairies  may  be  of  almost  any  size  or  appearance;  indeed,  they  can  look  like  anything they  choose,  changing  between  one  moment and  the  next.  A  favorite  device  of  a  fairy who  wants  to  find  out  about  the  worthiness  or unworthiness  of  a  person  is  to  appear  as  a poor  old  woman  seeking  aid,  and  then,  when she  has  found  out  all  she  wants  to  know,  to throw  off  her  disguise.  The  Irish,  who  seem to  know  the  most  about  fairies,  declare  that they  prefer  to  appear  as  tiny  men  and  women, the  men  in  charming  attire  of: green  jacket,  red  cap and  white  owl's  feather; the  little  ladies  in  gauzy  gowns  and  bonnets made  of  flower  petals.  Long  after  children have  ceased  to  believe  that  there  actually  are fairies  they  love  to  read  of  their  marvelous doings  and  to  satisfy  their  inborn  sense  of justice  by  gloating  over  the  way  the  fairies always  reward  the  good  and  punish  the  evil in  the  end.

       Should  Fairy  Tales  Be  Told?  There  are people  who  do  not  believe  in  telling  fairy stories  to  children,  but  the  weight  of  opinion is  all  in  the  other  direction.  Educators  hold that,  besides  giving  pleasure,  such  stories  perform  a  real  service  in  stimulating  the  imagination.

Fairies For Coloring:

• Snow White coloring pages at our blog here
• Little Red Riding Hood coloring pages here 
• Cinderella coloring pages on this blog
  

Fairies and Fairylands for Crafting:

• 12 Magic Changeling Paper Dolls
• Fairy Fall Feast on this journal lesson
• How to make an enchanted fairy doll...
• Craft a doll' fairy wand for play...
• Foxglove Fairy Caps For Fun!
• Fairy Friends paper cuts

Short Fairy Stories:

• Raggedy Ann and The Fairies' Gift by Johnny Gruelle 
• The Fairy Queen by 9 year old Margaret Matthews

Classic Fairy Tales:

• Cinderella - ''There was once a rich man whose wife lay sick, and when she felt her end drawing near she called to her only daughter to come near her bed, and said...
• The Sleeping Beauty - ''In times past there lived a King and Queen, who said to each other every day of their lives, "Would that we had a child!" and yet they had none...

Fairly Good Fairy Tunes for Kids:

• ''Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo'' from Disney's Cinderella - Also known as ''The Magic Song''
• ''Let Me Be Your Wings'' from Thumbelina
• ''Fly to Your Heart'' Tinkerbell Tribute by Disney

Read Aloud About Fairies for Young Students:

• ''Mister Fairy!'' read aloud at Vooks
• ''Thumbelina'' read aloud at Little Cozy Nook
• ''The Cloud Fairy's Friend'' read aloud at Toadstool and Fairy Dust
• ''A Birthday Fairy Tale'' read aloud by Bedtime Stories with Dessi!
• ''Lola the Lollipop Fairy'' read aloud by ABC Read to ME
• ''Camilla the Cupcake Fairy'' read aloud by The Storytime Channel
• ''How to Trick The Tooth Fairy'' read aloud by KidTimeStoryTime

Fairy Poems:

• Grandmother's Garden by Marjorie Barrows
• The Elf and The Dormouse illustrated poem
• A Winter Artist by Clara R. Bete 
  

Who Was Mother Goose?

The original Mother Goose was often pictured wearing the Welsh national costume.

"No, no, my melodies will never die,

While nurses sing and babies cry."

      When the visitor goes to Boston, besides the Bunker Hill monument, Paul Revere's church, Faneuil Hall, the old State House, and Copp's Hill cemetery, there is the old Granary Burying-ground to be visited, where the bodies of some of the most noted residents of old colonial Boston are buried. Not least among these is the one especially pointed out by the caretaker, which lies under a modest limestone slab of about four feet high, surrounded and supported by a wooden frame to prevent it from crumbling entirely away, the grave of the namesake and friend for all times of every little child, the happy songstress of happy songstresses, the much beloved and discussed Mother Goose.

       According to old records now extant both in Suffolk County, England, as well as in Boston, the family original name was not Goose but Vergoose or Vertigoose. In those early days before the beginning of the eighteenth century, people were very careless both about keeping records and about the spelling of their names. Many did not know how to spell, while those who did know, generally did not care; as long as the spelling indicated the right person that was all that was necessary. So we find the family name spelled Vergoose, as from the Anglo-Saxon, or Vertigoose, from the Norman French, which means green goose, a goose under four months old.

       Also on both sides of the ocean, we find from the records as early as the first half of the seventeenth century, that the family was well-to-do, and lived on Newbury Street in Boston. In 1690, the wife of Isaac Vergoose died and left him with ten children. Within two years he was married again to Elizabeth Foster, who, some writers tell us, was the future Mother Goose.

       Later Elizabeth Foster became the mother of six more children. Some authors aver that it was because of this fact that we are indebted for the rhyme of

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,

Who had so many children she didn't know what to do."

       In the historic town hall of Boston are many of the old city registers. In one of these is to be found the record of the wedding, performed by the celebrated Cotton Mather, of "Thomas Fleet of Shopshire, a suburb of London, now residing in Pudding Lane of this city" and Elizabeth Goose, daughter of Elizabeth Vergoose --widow of the deceased Isaac Vertigoose. The writer before referred to goes on to tell us that because of the constant chanting of rhymes to her grandchildren, the bustling old lady became very irritating to Thomas Fleet, who was a "man fond of quiet. " At first he endeavored to laugh her down, quizzing the melodies in order to put a quietus on the pester. As this had no effect, like others of our thrifty ancestors, the pensive man decided to coin money from a resource so near at hand, so he took down these verses as they were recited and in 1719 published a book called Songs for the Nursery, or Mother Goose. The songs were sold from the Pudding Lane shop for two coppers apiece.

       In 1833 "Reliable life of the Goose family, never before published" printed in Boston, reiterated that the first edition of Mother Goose's Melodies was published in 1719, by Thomas Fleet in Pudding Lane, Boston ; that the title was an ebullition of spite against his mother-in-law. This story was again renewed in i860 by Fleet's great-grandson, when he affirmed that a friend, Edward L. Crown in shield, had seen mutilated pieces of a copy of the 1719 edition in the Boston Library.

       A thorough search for this book has been made time and time again by the Boston Historical Society and by interested individuals, not only in all the Boston libraries, but in many other private collections; they have failed to bring to light this supposed copy and no record of it appears on any catalogue. Upon searching the reprints made in 1890, of the Prefaces, Proverbs, and Poems as contained in Poor Richard's Almanac by Benjamin Franklin, we find nothing that suggests a single one of these melodies nor any of the characters therein. Yet surely Franklin would have had a copy if any one did, had the book been in print. Bibliomaniacs have explored every clue and have failed to find trace of even the mutilated copy. It is very doubtful whether in 1719 a book of trivial rhymes would have been allowed to be published. At that date the little children were given the Bible to read.

       What we do find on authentic authority is that in 1697, in Paris, Charles Perrault published Conies du Terns' Passe, on the frontispiece of which is an old woman spinning and telling tales to a man, a girl, a boy, and a cat. On a placard near by is written "Contes de ma Mere l'Oye."

       Later in 1729, in London, a man by the name of Robert Sambers edited a translation of this book issued by J. Rivington. In 1795 the seventh edition of it was printed by J. Rivington, bookseller and stationer, No. 56 Pearl Street. The English version was printed on one side and the French on the opposite page. Copies of both of these books are in London Libraries to-day. This same Robert Sambers is recorded in Allibone as having translated a work of the same sort from the French in 17 19, but no copy of this volume exists. It may be, however, that this idea of the Fleet edition sprang from one of these copies, or still more likely from an edition of Daniel Henchman, the well known publisher and bookseller, which is now among the Hancock papers in the Library of the New England Historic Geneological Society. Among other items will be found "July 13, 1719, Thomas Fleet credited by printing one hundred primers--£250."

       In 1 719 Henchman issued a pamphlet or sheet called Verses for Children. Fleet was engaged in printing the primer for Henchman. Some of these copies are extant. If Fleet had printed any copies for himself it is probable that they would still exist also, but none have been found. In fact, there is evidence that Fleet did not live on Pudding Street until 1731.

       The French edition of 1697 was dedicated to Comtesse de Murat and the English of 1729 to the Right Honorable, the Lady Mary Montagu, daughter of John, Duke of Montagu. The tales such as Little Red Riding-Hood, The Fairy (the sisters who dropped diamonds and toads from their mouths), Blue Beard, the Sleeping Beauty, Puss-in-Boots, Cinderella, Requet with the Tuft, and Little Thumb; eight in all--were in the 1697 edition.

"When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing."

       As to the Melodies, John Newberry, the famous publisher of St. Paul's Church Yard in London, whose life has been most interestingly told by Charles Welsh in London, 1885, was the first English printer to preface story books for children. We find that in 1 765 he published Little-Goody-Two-Shoes, a story generally ascribed to Oliver Goldsmith, who was a constant writer for Newbery.

       In Welsh's Life of Goldsmith, volume II, pp. 71. he writes that "Miss Hawkins says, 'I little thought that I should have to boast that Mr. Goldsmith taught me Jack and Jill by two bits of paper on his fingers.' " If one reads on a bit further in the same volume, he will find that on January 29, 1768, after the production of the Good Natured Man, Mr. Goldsmith went to dine with a friend. "To impress them more forcibly of his magnanimity, he sang lustily for them his favorite song about an old woman tossed in a blanket seventeen times as high as the moon, and was altogether very loud and noisy."

       In 1842, James O'Halliwell, the great Shakespearian authority, made a careful study of the nursery rhymes of England, collected principally from oral tradition. He writes that, "these traditional nonsense scraps have come down in England to us in such numbers that in the short space of three years, he had collected considerably more than a thousand. "

       Now then, if Thomas Fleet did not collect and publish these rhymes in 1719, how did they come to America? Soon after the Revolution, in 1787, Isaiah Thomas who had married one of the granddaughters of Fleet, took up the business of publishing children's books and copied many of the Newbery prints, as well as the Nursery Rhymes. A very beautiful copy is to be found in the Boston Library to-day. It is dated, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1787. This book is page for page a duplication from the Newbery edition. The cuts are reproduced, but are a good imitation of the original. Toward the end of the book they vary slightly as if the copier was tired of his work and wished to finish in the quickest manner possible. If there had been in existence a 1719 edition at that time, undoubtedly Thomas would have copied his grandfather's book, or at least mentioned it, rather than the one from England, against which land such a strong feeling still existed. Upon comparing the two volumes, we find that Thomas slightly altered the publisher's notes also.

       So until more is known of the bibliography of the "1719 edition," I fear that we must accept the following as the facts: that Mother Goose originated in France between 1650 and 1697, was translated into English by Robert Sambers in 1729, and did not reach America until 1785 when Isaiah Thomas gave us a reproduction of Newberry. As the different editions of Newberry have been added to and changed, so has the Thomas edition. Until to-day we have many different versions of the same, including some very modern rhymes that have absolutely nothing to do with the original American volume of Isaiah Thomas, which must be acceded to be the first American publication of Mother Goose. Lawrence Elmendorf.  

• Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies Coloring Collection
• 1904 Facsimile of earliest American compilation, John Newberry's Mother Goose's Melody, 1791 edition
• "Who was Mother goose?"
• The Real Mother Goose
• At Project Gutenberg:
  • The Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault translated by Charles Welsh
  • The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright
  • The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (Anonymous)
  • Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum
• Mother Goose public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• Mother Goose Clip Art Public domain illustrations of Mother Goose rhymes
• Collection of Mother Goose verses
• Verses with artwork and audio recordings
• Play and education with Mother Goose nursery rhymes
• Earliest extant evidence of an American Mother Goose in 1691

Crayon Methods and Applications Index

Crayola for educators.

      Temporary dependence upon scaffolding tools such as coloring sheets, does not predetermine the student's dependency upon their use, nor does it imply that other creative processes can not or will not be used within the educational environment. As long as professional art educators are employed, additional scaffolding methods and tools will inevitably replace coloring sheets.

      There are many circumstances, however unfortunate, that dictate a child's exposure to art be limited. In cases such as these, parents and classroom teachers may introduce coloring sheets to a young and/or inexperienced student in order to achieve basic goals similar to those I have written about at my Color The Bible Blog.

      In the future, I will include lesson plans especially adapted for the use of coloring pages on this blog. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my resources visit, you may also visit Art Education Daily to read more articles and lesson plans about art education.

Read more about the importance of coloring activities:

• Importance of Coloring Activities for your Children
• Why Color?
• Pinchers Not Grippers! 

Read more about performance-based learning:

• What is Performance-Based Learning and Assessment, and Why is it Important?
• The Importance of Primary Education
• Research in Brain Function and Learning
• Ten Kindergarten Readiness Skills Your Child Needs

 Coloring Pages at Thrifty Scissors: Read Terms of Use Here

• Snow White Coloring Pages
• Little Red Riding Hood Coloring Pages
• Cinderella Coloring Pages  
• Buffalo Bill's Coloring Pages 
• Buster Brown Coloring Pages
• Thanksgiving Day Coloring Pages: pilgrims * turkey * the Karo corn maiden *
• Color and shade vintage racing cars and antique automobiles
• Coloring pages by Walter Crane: "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" *  "The Woodcutter's Song" *
• Coloring pages by Kate Greenway: bird in a meadow *
• Coloring pages of animals, birds and amphibians: Elephant * Owl *

Art Techniques for The Use of Crayons:

• How to Make Crayon Monoprints
• Working With Melted Crayons
• Learning to Color With Block Crayons
• The most popular crayon etching technique used in elementary schools today 
• Examples of parrots colored using a crayon resist technique
• How Crayons Art Made 
• Colorful Crayon Resist Llamas

 More Coloring Page Collections:

• My largest collection of coloring pages at Crayon Palace
• Christmas Coloring Pages at my family blog, belsnickle.blogspot.com
• Selection of Easter, Spring and Fashion related coloring pages at Easter Egg Crafts
• A large selection of Bible related coloring pages at "Color The Bible"
• Unique Coloring Pages for Kids

"Little Red Riding Hood" at Thrifty Scissors

Visit the Thrifty Scissors Today! Pin this image
only please.

      Little Red Riding Hood, or Little Red Ridinghood, also known as Little Red Cap or simply Red Riding Hood, is a French and later European fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings. The story was first published by Charles Perrault. Little Red Riding Hood is number 333 in the Aarne-Thompson classification system for folktales. Read more . . .

      The coloring pages below are based upon a very old European fairy tale version of "Little Red Riding Hood." I have redrawn and resized them for printing and coloring. Teachers and homeschoolers may print unlimited copies of these particular images for their classroom activities.

Little Red Riding Hood gives her mother hugs and kisses before starting her
 long journey through the woods to visit her elderly grandmother. See, her mother has
made up a basket of food for her to take.

Color this picture of Little Red Riding Hood walking through the woods.

Above is a coloring page of Little Red Riding Hood knocking at her
grandmother's cottage door.

Color this picture of Little Red Riding Hood asking the wolf, who is in
disguise, "Grandmother, what big eyes you have?"

More Excellent Links to Little Red Riding Hood:

• Little Red Riding Hood: Book and Movie Adaptations 
• The Future of Children's Books: Little Red Riding Hood
• Whatever Happened to the Big Bad Wolf?
• Illustrated Children's Books of Little Red Riding Hood
• Follow my "Fairy Tale Theme Board for Early Learning Centers"

       "Ms. Booksy puts her spin on the classic Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale story, complete with a big bad wolf, a little old grandma, Twinkies, hot sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, and more! What story do you want to hear next? Let us know in the comments below! And subscribe so you'll never miss a Cool School class every Friday!" from coolschool

Teachers may print out this picture puzzle of Little Red Riding Hood.
Spin it around and try to find the Big Bad Wolf hiding somewhere in the woods.

Improvised Masquerade Costumes

A tiny belle of 1830.

      With so many children, the idea of "dressing up" even of having or of going to a masquerade party, is likely to be a thing of shot notice. Often the jolliest parties of all are those got upon a day's notice.

      The costume part of the program is, of course, the most delightful part of it--unless you don't happen to have one, or find, to your dismay, that you've outgrown yours. If there is plenty of time, there is no trouble, but many a youngster has cried herself to sleep over having to decline an invitation to a Halloween party because the necessary costume was lacking.

      For that matter, a creditable costume can be improvised out of material at hand, and the youngster sent away, happy in her disquise.

      Her older sister's red party cloak, with its full hood pulled down over her face turns her into a quaint Little Red Riding-Hood as ever graced the pages of a beloved old fairy-tale book. Give her a little arm, apparently filled with the goodies she was to take to her grandmother when she set out upon that memorable walk. If the party chances to be a birthday party, the basket may contain real goodies, to be presented to the little hostess.

With A Kimono and Sash

      A fascinating Pierrot costume may be made of the small boy's white pajamas, if you sew great fluffy choux of scarlet or of blue or yellow mosquito netting (or the finer net) down the front. Make a "sugar-loaf cap," stuff it full of tissue paper, so that it will keep its shape, and sew another ruff upon the tip end of it. If you've time sew bands of color about the sleeves and trousers and the funny loose jacket.

Turned into a Japanese
Maiden

      With a figured kimono and a sash, and attractive little Japanese lady may be evolved in short order. If the kimono is her own, so much the better; if it's a grown-up kimono, turn up the hem until it is the right length, and baste the new hem in place over a wadding of cotton. Treat the sleeves in the same way. The body part may be drawn in as you please under the "obi," which is nothing in the world but her own sash tied in Japanese fashion. Twist her curls high on her head and stick through them tiny Japanese fans, or the tiny lanterns made to dangle at the end of a long stick. let her carry a folding fan, of course.

      For a very tiny boy, a pretty variation of the Pierrot costume consists of a funny, full affair, all in one piece-sleeves and trouser-legs as funny and full as the rest, but gathered in at wrists and ankles by hands and bows of bright ribbon. Big stars, cut from paper the color of the ribbon, are pasted onto the costume. 

To Make The Pierrot Buff

      The famous Pierrot's ruff is made of netting cut about twelve inches wide and gathered in the center. Make it as full as you can, pushing the gathers together until they are tight upon the thread. Then the ruff becomes as fluffy a thing as you want.

      A short red or yellow skirt, with a bolero borrowed from your store, will be needed to make your gipsy costume. If you've a scarf (those gay, embroidered piano scarfs are splendid for the purpose and a Roman sash is most effective), tie it around her waist, pulling it a little low and knotting the ends at the left side in front. Heap all the strings of beads and bracelets you can upon her, and if you've a bright silk handkerchief, cover her hair with it. The best way to do that is to lay it on flat, turning back the hem a couple of inches or so across her forehead and fastening at each side with a big round broach.

A gypsy, Little Red Riding Hood and a Quaint
little Quaker Lady

      For a little Irish lass a skirt of bright green with a full white blouse, open at the throat in a sort of V, may be run up in a little while. Tie a red bandana about her waist, and another about the throat, fasenting the knot to the end of the V.

      The "Old Virginia girl" and 1830 costumes are easily made of flowered cretonnes or of the crepe papers that come in such variety.

      Those crepe papers by the way make stunning costumes if you've time to devote the best part of a day to the making. The prettiest flower costumes topped off with a big flower for a hat; Mother Goose and her tribe of nursery fold: night and morning and twilight; witches and elves: children of other nations--there is no end to the costumes which can be made of them. If you make the paper costume upon a foundation of muslin, or. at least sew it upon a belt of strong muslin, with bands outlining the neck and ending the sleeves, there's little danger of the dress sagging or worse still, of pulling apart.

More Related Content:

• 25 Cutest Girl's Halloween Costumes
• How to assemble a half mask for a masquerade
• Paper masks at Crayon Palace