Charles Perrault Google Doodle Marks 17th Century Fairy Tale Author’s 388th Birthday

The Google Doodle team has been busy this week, today posting its third Google Doodle since Saturday.

Today’s Doodle honors the 17th century French author Charles Perrault on his 388th birthday — and includes not just one, but a series of three Doodles to represent classics like “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Puss in Boots” — all penned by Perrault.

[blockquote cite = “Google Doodle Blog”]Perrault’s stories set the standard for the modern fairy tale. Perrault borrowed basic plots and the familiar opening, “Once upon a time” (“Il était une fois”), from traditional stories told aloud, while modernizing them with both fashionable embellishments and the very act of putting them into writing.[/blockquote]

Designed by Sophie Diao, the Doodles are artful recreations of famous scenes from each of the stories and have been posted across Google’s international home pages. Each Doodle leads to a search for “Charles Perrault.”

Here are the three Doodles shared on the Google Doodle Blog:

According to Google, Perrault, a member of Louis XIV’s French court, did not begin writing his famous stories until after he retired, late in his sixties.