The Rabbit in the Moon: Folktales from China and Japan

The curriculum unit itself has been thoroughly described in previous critiques and it is therefore not necessary to repeat that description.
Overall, this is a good unit that can be adapted for the preschool age group. Before using this unit with preschool children, however, they should be reminded that some stories are fiction and that the characters that the author includes in the stories may be from his or her imagination. Using The Three Little Pigs, for example, pigs do not talk or build houses and the wolf does not climb down the chimney. For children who may not have a firm grasp on the difference between fantasy and reality, this may help them to understand the folktales without being frightened.
The first story, The Rabbit in the Moon, is short and can easily be read aloud to the preschool children. The rabbit throws himself into the fire at the end of the story and is rewarded for his self-sacrifice with his image being on the moon for all to see each night. While this imagery may be frightening for some, a discussion about how we give of ourselves for others will help the children understand the concept of selflessness. In addition, the discussion could include the comparison with the “man in the moon” and how we explain things that we don’t understand. A follow up activity would be to look at an image of the moon and encourage the children to draw what they see.
The second story, How the World was Made, would be more difficult to incorporate for the preschool age group and I would not include it in the unit.
The third lesson includes two stories, The Old Woman and the Tiger and The Monkey and the Pheasant. Both stories are written in play form and have several characters that are inanimate objects that come to life to help the main character. The preschool children could choose characters and wear signs displaying a picture of their character. The narrator could direct the children as she read the story to repeat various lines from their characters and to respond with the sound effects. The second story, The Monkey and the Pheasant is similar to The Little Red Hen. The two stories should be compared to show the universality in themes.
The fourth story, The Funny Little Woman, is easily adapted using the book of the same name from the library. It leads nicely to a discussion of your reaction to problem.
Lesson five is The Grateful Snake. This story is rather long and without supplementary slides to hold the younger children’s attention. I would not include this in the unit.
The final lesson included two stories, The Boy Who Drew Cats and The Golden Axe. The Boy Who Drew Cats also has a picture book at the library. I was not able to review the book and cannot speak to the graphic nature of the scene when the boy awakens to find “that all the floor of the temple was covered with blood” and “the mouths of all the cats…were red and wet with blood.”
Even though The Golden Axe is a little long and has no accompany visuals I would use the story in the unit. I would encourage the children to close their eyes and imagine the pictures in their mind as I read the story to them. Afterward I would ask them to draw a picture of a part of the story that appealed to them. We would then determine which happened first, next, and last creating a timeline of the story using their drawings.