Childrens literature for the multicultural classroom - Essay Example

Aesop has been a mystery in the historical world, but much is known about the spread and conversion of his stories. Current literary scholarship has recognised fables as a major genre of Western literature. In the distant past fables went beyond the limitations of the classroom and the kindergarten. Their audiences have included children and adults. Yet fables are still an important genre of children’s literature. Their stories go back, repeatedly, to important events in childhood— acquiring reading and writing skills and learning to follow a moral direction; besides their particular advises or home-grown morals, the fables impart principles of verbal action, concepts of readership, and insights of authorship.

This essay talks about Aesop and his fables, as well as his contribution to children’s literature and relevance to the contemporary multicultural classroom. Aesop is believed to have been a creative writer of fables, wherein animals are bestowed with human language and characteristics, for the goal of showing a moral message. He was a well-known storyteller. As other fables were created and brought together, the talent of Aesop became tied to them. Even though several scholars believe that he is only a mythical or imaginary character, the following claims are most frequently recognised as historically factual in the ancient documents referring to Aesop: he was born in Thrace; he became a slave; he was poet Sappho’s contemporary in the 6th century B.C.; and he was well-known as a creator and narrator of tales.

Aesop desired to see the Greek city, Delphi, late in his life. After giving his promise to go back to Babylon, he travelled to other cities and gave lectures of his education and knowledge. In Delphi, the people enjoyed hearing his stories in the beginning, but they did not give him anything. After Aesop mocked the citizens of Delphi by saying that they