momto2Cs Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I checked our library and there are so many versions out there! I would like to find a child-friendly one for my 2nd grader this fall. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbelle7 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I checked our library and there are so many versions out there! I would like to find a child-friendly one for my 2nd grader this fall. Thanks! We have this version and I really like it. I used it for middle school aged kids though, so you may want to see if your library has this one and pre-read it first. The illustrations are really gorgeous though! Canterbury Tales Author: Cohen, Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfside Academy Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I'm going to use the Puffin Classics version by Geraldine McCaughrean. It has condensed versions of the tales and the language doesn't seem too difficult. I have a paperback copy so there are no illustrations. This version was actually recommended somewhere...I just can't remember where. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Here's what we used for my DS5 and DD8 and they both loved it. It had beautiful illustrations as well. The Canterbury tales. Selected and adapted by A. Kent Hieatt and Constance Hieatt. Illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. With an introd. by Mark Van Doren.by Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400., Hieatt, A. Kent, 1921-, Hieatt, Constance B. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris in Wis Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 But I think it's now out of print. Cohen's would be our second choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted August 16, 2008 Author Share Posted August 16, 2008 Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to your recommended versions on hold at the library and thumb through them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Here was an earlier thread on Canturbury Tales, just in case you're interested... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.E. Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 An easy to find classic among children’s books & a delightful story from Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” - that would be just right for a young child such as your 2nd grader - is a lovely & enchanting picture book, beautifully illustrated by artist Barbara Cooney, called “Chanticleer and The Fox.” In the children's storybook Chanticleer and the Fox, Barbara Cooney retells The Nun's Priest's Tale, from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, using her own illustrations. Published in 1958, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for children’s book illustration in 1959. Cooney’s rich illustrations draw children into the heart of Medieval England, the actual setting of The Canterbury Tales. The story of the rooster Chanticleer, living on a little farm in the Middle Ages, will capture children’s interest from the beginning & they will recall Chanticleer long after first encountering him. How well I remember Chanticleer from my own childhood! Highly recommend this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 🧟♀️ Zombie Thread 🧟♀️ “2nd grader” has long-since graduated high school by now… 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffeineandbooks Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 But clearly a relevant post - not one about hairstyles or bed wetting! Thanks, @M.E.. I often scroll through old threads for ideas and I agree that Chanticleer and the Fox is a worthy addition for younger students. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eilonwy Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 My kids really enjoyed a comic-strip style version by Marcia Williams that we read last year. I’m currently making my way through Peter Ackroyd’s prose translation, though this is definitely not appropriate for elementary children! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 1 hour ago, caffeineandbooks said: But clearly a relevant post - not one about hairstyles or bed wetting! It is - just wanted to alert other posters that OP likely wasn’t going to respond to follow-up questions. I only realized just before posting my own response to her. I search through & read old posts all the time, as well. Have even mistakenly revived the zombie myself 😉 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboo Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 2 hours ago, Eilonwy said: My kids really enjoyed a comic-strip style version by Marcia Williams that we read last year. I’m currently making my way through Peter Ackroyd’s prose translation, though this is definitely not appropriate for elementary children! I thought Wiliams's was pretty good but gosh, it was pretty inappropriate as well. For example, the butt-kissing scene in The Miller's Tale shows up. In fairness, an appropriate version of Chaucer would have to leave out a lot of the stories. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eilonwy Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 (edited) 17 hours ago, jboo said: I thought Wiliams's was pretty good but gosh, it was pretty inappropriate as well. For example, the butt-kissing scene in The Miller's Tale shows up. In fairness, an appropriate version of Chaucer would have to leave out a lot of the stories. True, the butt-kissing scene is in there…I was wondering if I should include a warning about that. It didn’t seem like my kids thought about it all that much, though, just to the potty humour extent of being super gross. In terms of language, Ackroyd’s version is less appropriate, but like you noted, quite a few of the stories have questionable scenes. Edited September 5, 2021 by Eilonwy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 (edited) The Barbara Cohen edition (mentioned above), contains 4 tales + the prologue & "apology" (Chaucer's epilogue). There appears to be nothing bawdy. A lot of pains towards accuracy of the times in the color illustrations. The retelling is very straightforward prose and abridged, at an upper elementary level.Longman Classics stage 2 version by Michael West contains 7 tales + Prologue. It is simple language/short sentences, geared for mid-elementary (gr. 3-5 reading level). No bawdy tales/scenes. I read this one aloud to DSs when young elementary ages, and it worked great. I don't recall any illustrations, however, if that is needed. The Tenggren edition (mentioned above), while out of print, is a hardback book still available used for $15-20. It has 11 tales + the prologue. None are the "bawdy" tales/scenes. It is a prose, abridge retelling (by A. Kent & Constance Hieatt), with language that echoes the original text, but at an upper elementary/lower middle school level. The focus of the text is on the "high ideals", and any bawdiness or s*xuality is de-emphasized. I've only skimmed the MacCaughrean edition, but am disappointed in what I see so far -- very abbreviated and feels very choppy. The prologue of each tale runs straight into the tale, and then the epilogue runs straight into the end of the tale, so it feels very rushed in addition to choppy. Maybe when I have more time to read it will be better...??? I also see this Usborne Classics Retold version at Amazon -- 12 tales plus prologue & epilogue. A prose, abridged retelling (by Sarah Coutauld), with language at upper elementary/lower middle school school levels. The bawdy "Miller's Tale" IS included. I can't tell from the sample pages how the bawdy scenes are handled. Very contemporary feel of the text from the sample page or two that I read, rather than a Medieval feel or high ideals feel. Not familiar with the Marcia Williams comic strip style version of Canterbury Tales -- however, we did enjoy her versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey when DSs were very young elementary ages... I don't recall any crudities in her version of those Ancient Greek epics, and DSs enjoyed her sense of humor quite a bit. But -- that doesn't help you for Canterbury Tales... 😉 Edited September 5, 2021 by Lori D. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboo Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 8 hours ago, Eilonwy said: True, the butt-kissing scene is in there…I was wondering if I should include a warning about that. It didn’t seem like my kids thought about it all that much, though, just to the potty humour extent of being super gross. In terms of language, Ackroyd’s version is less appropriate, but like you noted, quite a few of the stories have questionable scenes. I will add that my 3rd & 5th grade kids really liked it. Despite having been the one to check it out of the library, I was the third to read it. Oops. I'm more Victorian than most, though, so definitely YMMV. Oh, well, giving them the perception of classics as the place to get transgressive material does seem like it has advantages. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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