fairy tales for non white children

[InARut]

This is the first time I've posted here -please excuse if I use the wrong terminology, feel free to correct me. I am white, DD is not (don't want to say much more than she has brown skin and long black hair, dark brown eyes.) She adores fairy tales -snow white, sleeping beauty. The other day she was listening to sleeping beauty in the car and started talking about 2 boys she saw in a film - one with brown skin and black hair and eyes, the other with blond hair, very white skin and blue eyes - saying how she liked the boy with the blond hair best because of his 'shimmering' skin and blue eyes. Now this was obviously a phrase she heard from either her sleeping beauty cd or another such but it worries me a bit as it's not the first time she's expressed a preference for 'blondness', for want of a better term. I am not blonde btw but black haired with very white skin/green eyes and although I realise to a certain extent she wants to have skin like me and kids are allowed prefernces, the words to the fairy tales she listens to have been bothering me for a while - they do stress the beauty of white skin and I would love to find some fairy tales that talk about the beauty of skin/hair/eyes that is not white/blond/blue.

Does anybody know of any fairy type tales specifically? FWIW we have the pocahontas/esmarelda type disney things and have multicultural books which she shows little interest in. I think she loves the romance/magic and costumes of the fairy tales most

I live in Nigeria and there are lots of African fairy/traditional story books in the shops here. If anyone wants me to have a look at them and report back, I'd be happy to do that. I'm coming to the UK at the end of June so could bring books back with me then.

maybe you should try and import them suedonim!

we need all the help we can get in the battle against Barbie

ooo....another one feeling a spending spree coming on...

we have a pop up arabian nights....not sure what pops up tho'

pollywobble

I quote: 'the lady called, 'Mas'ud, Mas'ud!' and a black slave jumped from the tree to the ground, rushed to her, and, raising her legs, went between her thighs and made love to her'

could be a very interesting pop up book!

...i may keep it to read when i am all alone...

Did you see on the 'you've been fired' bit of The Apprentice the lady who was producing greetings cards with non-white people on. When I went to America I stocked up on these.

Have you any good birthday cards in Nigeria Suedonim?

"I would be interested to see how a kids' version of the Arabian Nights deals with the prologue, which is very rude, all about black slaves dressing up as girls so they can 'mount' the white slaves when no one is looking!"

harpo, Well DD has been asking me a few questions about how babies are made lately - could kill 2 birds with one stone (fairy tale plus sex educ at same time) But luckily she can't read properly yet so I could keep that bit for myself (unless there are pics!)

Barefoot Books are good.

There are very few locally-produced cards, afaik, SavoyCabbage (can't get Savoy cabbage out here, either! ). Sometimes there are a few from South Africa and some hand-made ones from Tanzania. One shop sells abstract batik print cards but they're more general purpose than celebratory. The same shop sells great locally made cushion covers - maybe I should suggest they use the prints to make cards?

An import/export business, Harpo? The bureaucracy here is a nightmare - the children would be grown up before they got the books, lol!!

We've got Nick Sharratt's other fairy tale trio collection, which my kids adore (DS2 loves the flaps) but I'd never seen his Goldilocks story. That's part of a collection too so I've got to get that & some of the Jump at the Sun books ........ & Cleversticks ..... must look at those Jane Ray books ....... someone stop this thread before I run out of money!

I mean DD2. I'm too excited to think straight.

Ahhhhhh but cultural so therefore necessary...that's what I am telling myself anyway. The Nick Sharrat Goldilocks book does come on it's own as well as in that collection. I can't do links like you fancy-pants people!

am approaching a similar situ with dd1, these referrals have been great

I found it quite hard to find a baby doll that was mixed race looking as they all seem to be either very dark or white so I am going to take this opportunity to rant on about that now! Toys r us have some that have darker skin than the white babies but have the all important brown eyes and there is a lovely doll called 'Baby Stella' in what they call beige by Manhattan Toys. You can get them from e-bay.

If only I could do those links!

ELC used to have an ethnic baby that looked mixed race. I bought it for DD1 & she still plays with it because it can go in the bath, unlike her other dolls.

Lilydolls come in lots of different colours and are beautiful dolls (rag rather than plastic)

here

www.lilydolls.co.uk/

Not so good in the bath though.

Yes I have got one of those too. Have just realised I must be a shopaholic!

Baby Stella

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www.amazon.co.uk/Rapunzel-Fairytale-Classics-John-Kurtz/dp/078685653X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid =1213735975&sr=8-5

Am trying hard to put a link to Rapunzel, but it might go horribly wrong.

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