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Thumbling

From Grimm's Fairy Stories, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

This story comes from Grimm's Fairy Stories, collected by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and first published in the early nineteenth century. The Grimms gathered traditional German folktales and wrote them down so they would not be lost. "Thumbling" is a tale of cleverness, courage, and the unbreakable bond between parent and child. Though Thumbling is no bigger than a thumb, he uses his wits to escape danger again and again, and his love for his parents always brings him home. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised.

Band
Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11
Length
long · about 878 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures
Source
Grimm's Fairy Stories, Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
First published
see the About page in the reader
Regions
Canada · United States

Included formats

  • · Web reader and PDF
  • · EPUB for e-readers
  • · Home-print sheet
  • · Folded booklet
  • · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
  • · Worksheet
  • · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
  • · Read-aloud script
  • · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Lesson at a glance

Reading
about 10 minutes at this band
Pause questions
2
Words to Know
8
Quick Check
10 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk
2 questions for afterwards
Worksheet
questions, an activity and a drawing prompt

About 40 minutes with one story, all of it.

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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The same story

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Yellow band

Thumbling

Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

medium · 571 words · also in Purple, Green

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