Mighty Mikko: A Book of Finnish Fairy Tales and Folk Tales

Fillmore, Parker, 1878-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2

Word count: 263K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Mighty Mikko: A Book of Finnish Fairy Tales and Folk Tales by Parker FillmoreAuthor: Fillmore, Parker, 1878-1944,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 23, 2011

Editor's review

Mighty Mikko is Parker Fillmore's selected collection of Finnish fairy tales and folk tales, a public-domain children's literature resource. The folk narratives centered on Mikko and other characters retain the repetitive structures and sharp good-versus-evil contrasts of oral tales, offering both the whimsical imagination of Nordic folk literature and easy reading aloud and retelling. As a story collection for young readers, it suits family reading or classroom storytelling, and can also be sampled by readers interested in comparative folk-tale studies. Note that these stories come from early collection and editing, and some plots bear period marks; adult guides can discuss with children to help them understand story logic, rather than equate the rewards and punishments directly with real-world values.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers who like folk tales and Nordic fairy tales
Parents and teachers needing materials for family reading or classroom storytelling
Introductory readers interested in Finnish folk literature and tale types
People looking for short English readings suitable for segmented reading aloud

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern long-form fantasy novels and complex world-building
Researchers seeking scholarly annotations and textual criticism
Young children sensitive to reward-and-punishment plots in early folk tales

Reading tips

Choose one or two stories to read aloud each time, and have the child retell the main plot afterward
During family reading, discuss whether characters' choices and endings are reasonable
Readers interested in tale types can note recurring motifs while reading
English readers can start with short pieces and build common story expressions before reading the whole book

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What age of children is this book suitable for?

The language and length suit independent reading from roughly upper elementary grades; younger children are better served by parents reading aloud and discussing together. Specific suitability also depends on the child's English level and tolerance for conflict in folk tales.

Are the stories original Finnish fairy tales?

It is a selected collection of Finnish fairy tales and folk tales, drawn from oral folk narratives and edited into English. Readers may regard it as a folk-tale reader rather than an original fairy-tale collection by a single author.

Can it be used as classroom storytelling material?

Yes; most stories are short with clear structure, suitable for classroom telling or role-reading. Teachers can preselect plots and use discussion to guide students in understanding choices and consequences in the stories.

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About the author

Fillmore, Parker, 1878-1944 Author

Parker Fillmore (1878–1944) was an author best known for collecting and retelling folk and fairy tales; public information about him is limited, and many details of his life remain unknown. Seven of his works are held in this collection, mostly fairy tales and folk tales from Central Eastern and Northern Europe: he compiled a book of Czechoslovak fairy tales and selections of Yugoslav and Finnish folk tales, and wrote storybooks for young readers such as The Laughing Prince and Mighty Mikko. He also produced non-folkloric works including The Rosie World and The Hickory Limb. His method was to retell oral tales in clear, fluent English, preserving their humor and local color so that these legends were accessible to English-language readers, giving him a place of some influence in the field of fairy-tale compilation.