Traditional Literature

What is it?

Definition

stories that were passed down through oral storytelling from generation to generation.

Formsmyths, fables, epics, ballads, legends, tall tales, fairy tales, trickster tales, folktales, etc.

Plot• stems from a culture’s historical events, religion, and tradition.

•familiar tales vary by culture.

Charactersprincesses, gods,

beasts, heroes, animals, witches, trolls, ogres, damsels, etc.

Settings“Once upon a time,” the underworld, enchanted forests, everyday places, etc.

Lyonesse: The Well Between the Worlds

Author: Sam Llewellyn Lexile: 720

Eleven-year-old Idris lives in Lyonesse, the noble island where King Arthur once resided with Merlin and his Knights of the Round Table. Yet thousands of years after the great king walked this country, it has become a place of shadows, where men hunt and capture the monsters that dwell in the dark depths of the sea. Under the reign of a corrupt ruler, Lyonesse is slowly drowning — and now the fate of the land and all it citizens depends on Idris.

The Adventures of Ulysses

Author: Bernard EvslinLexile: 860

As commander of the Greek forces, Ulysses conquers Troy. And then he and his men embark upon a glorious journey home, unaware that they have angered the gods. Their journey will last for ten long years, and will be riddled with more perils than the imagination can conceive. They encounter the Cyclops, a huge, one-eyed monster, who makesmeals of men. Then Circe, the beautiful sorceress, who turns men into pigs. And Scylla and Charybdis, nightmarish creatures, who will crush anyone who dares cross their path.

The White Giraffe

Author: Lauren St. John Lexile: 940

The night Martine Allen turns eleven years old is the night her life changes completely. Martine’s parents are killed in a fire, so she must leave her home to live on an African wildlife reserve with a grandmother she never even knew she had. When Martine arrives, she hears tales of a mythical animal living there — a white giraffe. They sayno one has ever seen the animal, but it does leave behind footprints. Her grandmother insists that the white giraffe is just a legend, but then, one stormy night, Martine looks out her bedroom window straight into the eyes of the tall silvery animal. Could it be just Martine’s imagination, or is the white giraffe real? And if so, why is everyone keeping its existence a secret?

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Author: J. K. RowlingLexile: 1290

This wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.

Rapunzel: The One with All the Hair

Author: Wendy MassLexile: 810

Rapunzel is having the ultimate bad day. She's been stolen from home by an evil witch, locked in an incredibly high tower, and doesn't even have a decent brush for her hair. Prince Benjamin is in a pretty uncomfortable situation himself. His father wants him to be more kingly, his mother wants him never to leaveher sight, and his cousin wants to get him into as much trouble as possible. Plus, there's the little matter of prearranged marriages...

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

Author: Vivian Vande VeldeLexile: 890

Have you ever wondered just what was going on when that odd little man with the long name stepped up and volunteered to spin straw into gold for the miller's daughter? If you stop and think about it, there are some very peculiar and rather hard-to-explain components to the story. Vivian Vande Velde has wondered too, andshe's come up with these six alternative versions of the old legend. Told with a modern-day cynical wit, these new versions of the classic tale don't always end up happily ever after. Sometimes funny and sometimes dark, these stories promise to change the way you look at fairy tales forever.

The Lost Hero

Author: Rick RiordanLexile: 660

Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself.

Dragonology

Author: Ernest DrakeLexile: 1220

Do you believe in dragons? Now, for the first time, the long-lost research of renowned nineteenth century dragonologist Dr. Ernest Drake is presented in all its eccentric glory, happily bridging the gap between dragon legend and fact. The meticulous Dr. Drake assigns Latinnames to various dragon species, ruminates on why dragons are able to speak, speculates on how they could fly, and explains the true purpose of their notorious hoarding habits.

The Goose Girl

Author: Shannon HaleLexile: 560

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani'sjourney to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny.

Oh My Gods: A Look-it-Up Guide

to the Gods of Olympus

Author: Megan E. BryantLexile: 960

Characters' "first-person" profiles take the form of blogs, personal ads, and journal entries. Need a guard dog? Check the entry for Cerberus. Looking for love? So is Aphrodite! Myths are told in plain language while photos and illustrations add visual support and humor. Reality Checks throughout connect ancient mythology to the "real world," from comic book characters to constellations.

The Alchemist:A Fable About Following

Your Dream

Author: Paulo CoelhoLexile: 910

Santiago is a shepherd boy who dreams that a treasure awaits him beside the Egyptian pyramids. After a long, uneventful journey he finds that real riches are waiting for him in an unexpected place.Santiago's journey teaches us about the wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the signs along life's path, and following our dreams.

Just Ella

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix Lexile: 850

It's a familiar story: In spite of the obstacles put in her way by her wicked stepmother, Ella goes to the ball, sweeps Prince Charming off his feet, and is chosen to be his bride. Now she's comfortably ensconced in the palace, awaiting marriage to the man of her dreams. It's happily ever after time, right?Wrong! Life for fifteen-year-old Ella has become an endless round of lessons and restrictions; even worse, Prince Charming turns out to be more like Prince Boring. Why can't she talk with him the way she can with Jed, her earnest young tutor?

A Templar’s Apprentice

Author: Kat BlackLexile: 700

Scotland. 1307…Thirteen-year-old Tormod MacLeod is different. He knows things before they happen. Even his own brother treats him differently, and all Tormod can do is bide his time until he's old enough to leave the village and make something of himself. His chance comes sooner than expected when a Templar knight asks him to deliver a secret message. But Tormod's effortsend up endangering both their lives. What follows is a desperate journey to escape the army of King Philippe le Bel of France. If he is to survive, Tormod must learn to harness the powers within.

Goddess of Yesterday

Goddess of Yesterday Anaxandra is taken from her birth island at age 6 by King

Nicander to be a companion to his crippled daughter, Princess Callisto. Six years later, her new island is sacked by pirates and she is the sole survivor. Alone with only her Medusa figurine, she reinvents herself as Princess Callisto when Menelaus, great king of Sparta, lands with his men. He takes her back to Sparta with him where Helen, his beautiful wife, does not believe that the red-headed child is Princess Callisto. Although fearful of the half-mortal, half-goddess Helen, Anaxandra is able to stay out of harm's way until the Trojan princes Paris and Aeneas arrive. Paris and Helen's fascination with each other soon turns to passion and plunges Sparta and Troy into war. Can Anaxandra find the courage to reinvent herself once again, appease the gods, and save herself? Author: Caroline B. Cooney

Lexile: 730

The Red Pyramid

Author: Rick RiordanLexile: 650

Since their mothers death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a research experiment at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them — Set — has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe — a quest thatbrings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

Briar Rose

Author: Jane YolenLexile: 820

This rewriting of the old German folktale, "Sleeping Beauty", turns the tale into a story about the ramifications of the Holocaust.