Pre-Primary

“Cinderella” is one of the most popular fairy-tales ever told. Though different versions of the story can be found in almost all parts of the world, the original story is believed to have been written by Charles Perrault (also the author of “Sleeping Beauty” and “Little Red Riding Hood”) in the seventeenth century.

An all time classic, Heidi is as popular today as it was when first published towards the end of the nineteenth century. Heidi is a heart-warming story of a little orphan girl who is sent away to live with her grandfather in the Alps. She falls in love with the mountains and through her simplicity and goodness, she is able to change the lives and attitudes of everyone she comes in contact with; including her solemn, no-nonsense grandfather, Peter, the goatherd and his blind grandmother.

Jack and the Beanstalk is a popular English fairytale, which has been around for a few thousand years. Many versions of this story has been told over the years but the most popular version, on which, this story is based, was written by Joseph Jacobs, published in 1890 in his book English Fairy Tales. The tale has a universal appeal. People of different ages and cultures can relate to the story.

“Puss in Boots” is the story of one of the cleverest cats in the history of fairy-tales. Though different versions of the story can be found in almost all parts of the world, the current version of the tale was written by Charles Perrault in 1697 and was based on an Italian folk-tale. Perrault is also the author of such all-time favourites such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, etc.

One of the most popular stories from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, is an all-time favourite among children. Originally written in German, by the the Grimm brothers – Jacob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Carl Grimm, the earliest known translation into English was made by Margaret Hunt in 1884.

One of the best loved books of Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is acknowledged as one of the greatest pieces of American fiction and is as popular today as it was when first published in 1876. Set in St. Petersburg, Missouri, Tom Sawyer is an exuberant tale of youthful adventures, and recounts the escapades of Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was listed as the UK’s “best-loved novel”, by BBC. It is definitely one of Conan Doyle’s finest detective novels and a great introduction to the master detective, Sherlock Holmes.

‘The Ugly Duckling’, a popular fairy-tale, was written by Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published in 1843 as a part of a collection of stories titled New Fairy Tales and became instantly popular. It is a heart-warming story about a little duckling born in a farmyard whom no one loves because he is ugly.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a popular American children’s novel written by L. Frank Baum. The book, more commonly known in its shorter form, as The Wizard of Oz, was first published on May 17, 1900, and became an instant hit among the readers. The story is about Dorothy, a young orphan girl who lives with her uncle and aunt in the dull, grey city of Kansas, in the middle of a prairie. For miles around, she can see nothing but grassland. Dorothy’s only joy in life is her dog. Toto. She plays with him, all day long.