Robin Hood Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 As I am searching for literature for my 4th graders, The Canterbury Tales keeps coming up. I know some fine people who refuse to have their children read these but I don't know why. Any review I read sounds fine, so I am curious what the downside is. Any reviews from you would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Some of the Canterbury Tales are pretty racy! But of course the children's editions don't include those particular stories. And some of the tales are pretty gross--a 9yo boy couldn't come up with any worse fart jokes than Chaucer did. So it really depends on which story and what selection you're reading. I'd advise you to check out the book you want from the library and read it before deciding what you want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 is that if you find an age appropriate version, you should be fine. I haven't looked for one so I can't point you anywhere. I remember from reading them in high school that they are rather bawdy, so I definitely wouldn't read the versions not specific for younger children at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie in CA Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 We love this. I have a very nice illustrated hardcover one that I will keep forever. It contains The Nun's Priest Tale, The Pardoner's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, and Franklin's Tale. The illustrations are by Trina Hyman. ISBN 0-688-06201-6 Laurie in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted July 8, 2008 Author Share Posted July 8, 2008 We love this. I have a very nice illustrated hardcover one that I willkeep forever. It contains The Nun's Priest Tale, The Pardoner's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, and Franklin's Tale. The illustrations are by Trina Hyman. ISBN 0-688-06201-6 Laurie in CA Foe what age group is this and does it contain the bawdy, "smelly" scenes the previous posts mention? As people describe TCT, for some reason I always think of Blazing Saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedarmom Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 We read children's versions when my ds was younger. This year he read some of the tales from the original version. I think that was at the top of his favorites. Some are really quite funny. I am glad we had read them earlier and he was familiar with the stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbelle7 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 We love this. I have a very nice illustrated hardcover one that I willkeep forever. It contains The Nun's Priest Tale, The Pardoner's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, and Franklin's Tale. The illustrations are by Trina Hyman. ISBN 0-688-06201-6 Laurie in CA We have this version too and I love it!! TOG sells it on their website and suggests it for jr. high age kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaby Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 My oldest has read it and it just skipped over places about drunkards, etc. He did this voluntarily and I'm so glad but he loved some of the humorous stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie in CA Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Foe what age group is this and does it contain the bawdy, "smelly" scenes the previous posts mention? As people describe TCT, for some reason I always think of Blazing Saddles. Hmmm, well your daughters are only 9, and the reading level is above that. Also, I'm sure they would not "get" the humor at their age either. I don't remember the tales being gross but it has been awhile since I read them. I did laugh quite a bit when I read them. Here is a excerpt from a Nun's Priest's Tale: "Chauntecleer beat his wings, so charmed by this flattery that he never suspected treachery. Lords, there's many a false flatterer in your courts, and many a hypocrite who pleases you more than those who tell you the truth. Read Ecclesiastes in the Bible, lords, and beware of treachery." (Barbara Cohen, Canterbury Tales, p. 28) "When the Greeks won Troy, and Pyrrhus, with his sword drawn, seized King Priam by the beard and slew him, we're told that the Trojan ladies cried and wept. That was nothing compared to the noise the hens made in the coop when they saw Chauntecleer carried off. Above all, Dame Pertelote shrieked louder than Hasdrubal's wife. Her husband lost his life when the Romans burned Carthage, and she ran on purpose into the fire and burned herself. O woeful hens, you had as much right to cry as the senators' wives whose husbands died when Nero burned Rome. Though they hadn't done anything wrong, Nero killed them." (Barbara Cohen, Canterbury Tales, p. 29) '"O dear, Chauntecleer!" exclaimed the fox, "I've done you wrong. I scared you when I seized you and carried you out of the yard. But sir, I didn't intend any harm. Come down, and I'll tell you what I really meant. I'll tell you the truth, God help me!" '"No," said Chauntecleer. "I curse us both, myself first. May my blood and my bones be doomed if you fool me more than once. You won't flatter me again into singing with my eyes shut. God will never prosper a creature who stubbornly shuts his eyes when he should see."' '"No," said the fox. "Rather let God give bad luck to a creature who's so lacking in self-control that he chatters when he should keep his mouth shut."' "That's what happen when you're careless and believe in flattery. Those of you who think this tale is foolishness because it is about a fox, a cock, and a hen, make sure you understand the moral. Take the grain, and let the chaff remain. Good God, if it is your will, make us all good too, and bring us to heaven! Amen. (Barbara Cohen, Canterbury Tales, p. 31) Maybe this will give you a little taste of the reading level. Try checking this out at the library. Laurie in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hmmm, well your daughters are only 9, and the reading level is above that. Also, I'm sure they would not "get" the humor at their age either. Maybe this will give you a little taste of the reading level. Try checking this out at the library. Laurie in CA :iagree: I was reading the Barbara Cohen version to my kids (dd aged 6 and ds aged 10) today, and I'd agree that a lot goes over their heads. Which is a good thing! And they do enjoy the stories and pictures. However, there are some things that require explanation which you might or might not be comfortable discussing with your kids. For example, in the Wife of Bath's Tale, a young man from King Arthur's court "was riding by a river. He saw a maiden walking all alone. In spite of all she could do, he forced himself upon her." I explained this to the kids by saying that the knight hugged and kissed the maiden when she didn't want to be hugged and kissed, but the penalty of death for his behavior then seemed pretty harsh to them! Basically, there is a lot of "adult" behavior in the Tales, but if you are comfortable glossing over a few things, the Cohen version has good stories, nicely adapted. Just as an example of the "crude humor," here is a paragraph from The Pardoner's Tale: "O cursed greed, cause of our first fall, origin of our dammation, until Christ redeemed us with his blood! All the world was corrupted because of overeating. In the Bible I read that while Adam controlled his appetite, he was in Paradise, but when he ate the forbidden fruit, he was immediately cast out into the world of sorrow and pain. If people knew how many sicknesses result from stuffing themselves, they'd be more careful about what they ate. It's a foul thing when a man drinks so much white and red wine that he turns his throat into a toilet. O stomach! O belly! O stinking bag, full of dung and corruption! At both your ends is a filthy sound. What hard work and great expense it is to support you! These cooks, how they pound and strain and grind to satisfy you! They make delicious sauces out of leaf spices, bark, and roots to tempt the appetite. But it's certain that he who resorts to such delicacies is dead even while he lives in his vices." Of course, my ds found this passage hillarious. (Perfect 10 year old boy humor!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 There's a Geraldine McCaughrean edition that's beautifully illustrated, but even some of those tales are a little bawdy and so you might want to pre-read and then select just some of them to read aloud, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Funny, but lately I've been listening to the Canterbury Tales read aloud in the original Middle English, often while driving around in car with the 4 year-old, and something will come up and I'll bust out laughing...and I'll think...this is over his head, right? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 LOL, well.... let's just hope that he doesn't start spouting quips from the story lines while in line at the grocery.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I think it's the Summoner's Tale that has the friar who shares his..erm, gaseous emissions...with 10 other friars equally? The entire story is one big fart joke and insult to friars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted July 9, 2008 Author Share Posted July 9, 2008 Thank yo to all. Now I just need to decide which of the two recommendations to get. Both look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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