Sixth Grade
Worksheets
The Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm
Reading Comprehension for February 24
You are surely familiar with the tales of Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Rumpelstiltskin. They are part of a collection known as Grimm's Fairy Tales. These stories and others like them were collected - not created - by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm.
The Grimm brothers were born in Hanau, Germany. Jacob was born in 1785. Wilhelm greeted the world a year later on February 24, 1786. They were the oldest surviving children in the Grimm family. Of nine children born, only six lived. While Wilhelm was usually in poor health, he was nonetheless more lively and outgoing than his older brother Jacob. Their father, a town clerk, died when the boys were young. Their mother struggled to raise her children alone. With the help of an aunt, the boys were able to study law at a university.
Literature appealed to both of them. Wilhelm was the literary critic of the two. Jacob preferred to study the origin of words. As a philologist, he studied literature and his native German language. Both men served as librarians and professors at one time or another as they continued their scholarly work. They also involved themselves in the politics of the day. Wilhelm married a childhood friend named Dorothea in 1825, while Jacob remained single. He became the uncle of Wilhelm's three sons.
