The Big Bad Wolf
Should kids' stories be all hugs and rainbows, or can they have villains?
Once upon a time, there lived a little boy named Gregory. Every morning, he had to take the sheep out to graze in the hills near his village by the Castle of Bayuela. Watching sheep eat grass by yourself isn’t much fun, and one day, when Gregory was very bored, he had an idea. He began to shout, “WOLF! WOLF! HELP ME SOMEBODY! THERE’S A WOLF! WOLF!” …
A Story with a Purpose
When our kids were very little, they liked to tell stories, which is a polite Southern way of saying they told lies. We tried explaining the importance of trust, but such abstract concepts don’t mean a lot to preschoolers. So, we told a story instead.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf has been used by parents for literally thousands of years to explain to young children the importance of honesty, trust, and what can happen when that trust is gone.
My wife is from Spain, and her grandfather Gregorio actually watched sheep as a boy. The sheep’s milk was used to make Manchego cheese, and back when Gregorio was a boy, wolves did occasionally still come down out of the mountains looking for a meal.
Our personalized version of the story really helped bring it to life. Not only did the boy get a real name and a location, but whenever we visited my wife’s family, we would point to the hills in the distance and say, “That’s where it happened!”
Are consequences too much for kids today?
Lots of children’s stories have The Big Bad Wolf. It’s probably one of the few real fears from our distant past that our children still understand today, and the Wolf is used in many stories to teach consequences for irresponsible behavior.
The old fairytales were very gory. In the original version of the Little Mermaid told by Hans Christian Andersen about 200 years ago, the little mermaid doesn’t lose her voice, as she does in Disney’s version. In the original, she lost her tongue.
I’m not advocating for gore, but I think we’ve spent too much time in the past 50 years trying to sanitize all of the consequences out of kids’ stories. The Wolf is there to represent consequences, and consequences are a very real part of life.
Free Printables!
This week’s printable is about Little Red Riding Hood. It has the full text of the adaption that’s in Jubilant Reader, and I’ve included all-new original illustrations just for this newsletter! It also has 16 additional pages of activities!
Full disclosure, this is a kid-friendly version for today’s audiences. Nobody dies, and although the wolf does get away, the wolf remains a threat to remind us of the dangers of strangers. You can also find last week’s Mother’s Day printable HERE!
Coming Up
In just a few weeks, we’ll be going to Spain to see my wife’s family for the summer. We’ll be seeing the windmills of Don Quixote, a building built by “caveman” long before the pyramids, and lots of castles and cathedrals. Also, my wife and I will be hiking about 100 miles for the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, and if you want to follow along, I’ll be posting frequently on TikTok.
Follow Our Friend Rachael
Our friend Rachael is a second-generation homeschooler, and she uses Jubilant Reader with her kids. She has a great newsletter. You can find it here!