by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University, Denton
At the 2015 Tucson Festival of Books, I attended a thought-provoking interview with illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline and author-illustrator Eugene Yelchin. The moderator asked them questions about how their experiences as Russian-born artists had influenced their work. Continue reading
Come in, come in. Come in through this door, are you new?
Juan Bobo Goes to Work: A Puerto Rican Tale or Juan Bobo busca trabajo
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
The stories of Juan Bobo have a long history in the oral tradition of Puerto Rico. Similar to the English folklore character Lazy or Foolish Jack, Juan Bobo, or “Simple John,” bumbles through life from misunderstanding to misunderstanding. Sometimes he’s a trickster, sometimes a town fool, but all the time, Juan Bobo is good for a laugh. This character has starred in many books, is featured in school curricula, newspaper serials, puppet plays, and even an animated cartoon. Continue reading
Pretty Salma: An African Little Red Riding Hood Story
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
In 2008, the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) selected Pretty Salma: An African Little Red Riding Hood Story for inclusion on the Outstanding International Books (OIB) for children and young adults. This book was recommended for grades K-2. The book jacket notes Pretty Salma is set in West Africa and a brief glossary with two Ghanaian words accompanies the book’s dedication “For Salma.” Continue reading
When Animals Were People: A Huichol Indian Tale/Cuando los animales eran personas: Un cuento huichol
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
In When Animals Were People: A Huichol Indian Tale/Cuando los animales eran personas: Un cuento huichol Bonnie Larson retells a story told to her by the book’s illustrator Modesto Rivera Lemus. The biographical information at the back of this English/Spanish bilingual book rightly identifies Mr. Lemus as the “narrator” of this story. This collaboration between the narrator, reteller, and illustrator results in a story and book richly textured with Huichol culture.
The book opens with a prologue that explains the time in Huichol history, when after a great flood had destroyed most of the animals and plants on earth, Continue reading
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
As Rachel Young, former Art of Storytelling student learned, Hungarian folktales often begin with these lines: “Once there was, or once there wasn’t…” This introduction could easily be applied to a retelling of Climbing Rosa. Retold by Shelley Fowles, this story is about a girl who is an expert at climbing because she is forced by her stepmother and stepsister to sleep on the roof of their house. This skill gives her an advantage when the king has had enough of his son’s reading, reading, reading and holds a contest in which the prize is none other than the prince himself. Continue reading
My Village: Rhymes from around the World
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
In addition to informational books and Web sites, school and public librarians and classroom teachers who are looking to provide children with global perspectives often turn to traditional literature. The fairy and folktales, myths, and fables of a people provide “insights into the underlying values and beliefs of particular cultural groups” (Short, Lynch-Brown, and Tomlinson 108). These stories that have their origin in the oral tradition carry cultural markers that offer readers and story listeners opportunities to learn about and compare other worldviews to their own. Continue reading
by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
“…Myth might be defined simply as ‘other people’s religion,’…”
Joseph Campbell
While folktales and fables are traditional literature of a secular nature, myths are sacred narratives. To people within a particular religious group, myths are true accounts of past events. Myths explain how the world came to be and how people’s behavior, societal customs, and institutional norms were formed. The main characters in myths are usually gods or heroes with supernatural powers and the humans with whom they interact. “…Myth might be defined simply as ‘other people’s religion,’ to which an equivalent definition of religion would be ‘misunderstood mythology,’ the misunderstanding consisting in the interpretation of mythic metaphors as references to hard fact” (Campbell 27). Continue reading
by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
Fables are another form of traditional literature. They are short stories written in prose or verse. The main characters are most often anthropomorphized animals whose behaviors demonstrate moral lessons. Fable tellers and writers end their stories with a maxim, or a statement that encapsulates the moral. The most famous fables in Western culture are attributed to a Greek named Aesop. Continue reading
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
The week’s selection The Parade: A Stampede of Stories about Ananse, The Trickster Spider was selected for grades three through five on the 2012 USBBY Outstanding International Books list. This collection was written by KP Kojo, the pen name of Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who was born and raised in Ghana, the original homeland of Ananse (sometimes spelled Anansi or called Kwaku Ananse or Anancy). Many U.S. children are familiar with picture book versions of Anansi stories. Authors such as Verna Aardema, Eric Kimmel, and Gerald McDermott (who also illustrates), have retold these stories for a young readership; they are all cultural outsiders to West Africa. Illustrators of these titles include Lisa Desimini and Janet Stevens, who are also cultural outsiders. Continue reading
