Guess I’ll write this up as an actual nomination…
福娘童話集
(Lucky Princess Fairly Tale Collection)
Focusing specifically on the まいにちの昔話 section, though really we could do anything.
Summary
It’s a website intended for Japanese kids featuring literally thousands of Japanese fairy tales, foreign fairy tales, Aesop’s fables, folk tales, Edo-period comic stories and ghost stories.
Availability
Website: 福娘童話集 -世界と日本の童話・昔話集-
Personal Opinion
It’ll teach us a whole lot about Japanese culture. Plus, it’s intended for Japanese kids who are still learning Japanese.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- Quite literally years worth of material available. Honestly, we could even just break it up, do a couple between other books, or spin off a new group from the start, or something.
- Each story is quite short (about 50 lines for fairy tales, 30 for short stories and 15 for Aesop’s fables)
- Almost every story is accompanied by an audio version. Sometimes pictures.
- 100% free
Cons
- Has website only, no physical book for those who like to have a physical book
- Language is very literary style, using some forms you’ll literally only ever see in fairy tales.
- No furigana, but easy to copy-and-paste words to a dictionary
- I keep wanting to write “Fairy Tail” every. single. time.
Example Stories
Japanese fairy tale: ツルの恩返し (The Grateful Crane)
Foreign fairy tale: コアラの尻尾が短い理由 (Why the Koala has a short tail - Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime story)
Japanese folktale: トラとキツネ (The Tiger and the Fox)
Aesop’s fable: キツネとブドウのふさ (The Fox and the Grapes)
Edo short story: うどん (Udon)
Ghost story: 白ヘビのたたり (Curse of the White Snake)
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- No effort at all
- Minimal effort
- Just right
- Challenging
- Impossible, even with everyone’s help
- I don’t know (please click this if you’re not voting seriously)