Product Description

A one volume collection of 160 tales from over 40 cultures and traditions, containing both classics and lesser known tales.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163652 in Books
• Published on: 1988-08-12
• Released on: 1988-08-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 498 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780394751887
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Storytelling, the oral tradition that springs directly from folk archives, is well served in this one-volume collection culled from Pantheon's folklore series. The 160 tales are grouped thematically in 13 chapterse.g. "The Very Young and the Very Old," "Fooling the Devil"taken from a variety of culturesEskimo, Irish, American Indian, Afro-American, Chinese, etc. Folklorists of many eras are represented in both familiar and less-common tales, carefully selected by Yolen, whose insightful introduction sets the parameters of choice. Her professional experience (she is the author of more than 80 books, many of them tales for children), assures us that storytelling, defined as "a personal art that makes public what is private and makes private what is public," is enjoying revival across the North American continent. The organization of this collection makes accessible, for telling and listening, illuminating glimpses of the world's cultures.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA Most of the 160 tales in this collection have been garnered from the "Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library." With an emphasis on stories from the oral tradition, the stories are grouped thematically: fooling the devil, shape shifters, the not-quite-human, numbskulls and noodleheads, true loves and false, likely and unlikely heroes, and death and the world's end, for example. Selections include tales from the American Indians, the brothers Grimm, Italo Calvino's Italian folktales, as well as stories from Iceland, Afghanistan, Scotland, and many other countries. Yolen provides each section with a relevant introduction, often including historical and literary factors, thus alerting readers as to what to look for. Sure to be a popular reference for junior high units on folktales. Mary Wadsworth Sucher, Baltimore County Reading Services
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Most of the great human themes, from storytelling itself through love, wisdom, and death, are covered in this dazzling collection of tales, peopled by characters both human (heroes and fools) and inhuman (devils and ghosts). The retellings are vigorous and vernacular, the thematic organization is satisfying. Of 160 narratives from over 40 cultures, a healthy majority are little-known treasures, from our own as well as from distant traditions. Several world folktale collections have appeared recently; this compares favorably with them in selectivity and style. Further, adequate notes are the backbone of such a compilation, and Yolen's are concise, scholarly, and unpedantic. A resource for the serious student, this outstanding collection is a delight for all readers. Patricia Dooley, formerly with English Dept., Drexel Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

If you like folktales, you'll want this book
Not only is this collection marvelously diverse, but it's also incredibly easy to read. Though the tales still retain the feel of original storytelling, they do not have the awkward idiosyncracies you find in other texts with obscure (to the US) tales which have been litreally translated or transcribed. If you're tired of seeing the same tales in every book you find, get this one. It's a wonderful resource and just plain fun to own.

I adored it.
I teach elementary school, and I originally got this book because I was instructing other teachers on how to incorporate multicultural folklore into their classrooms. However, this book ended up spending most of its time by my bedside. It is SO GOOD. I came across it by accident, but I totally love it, just as much as I love my anthology of original Grimm's fairy tales. If you have any interest in the nuances of folktales, and if you love looking for similarities between cultures, start here. It's amazing.

Wonderful Collection
This is a great collection of folktales from all over the world. I used it for a school report and have not been able to put it down since.