Retells in verse the tale of the extraordinary cowboy who was raised by coyotes, married Sluefoot Sue, and rode the wild rapscallion mustang stallion named Widowmaker.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Tailypo: A Newfangled Tall Tale
On a farm in the Texas Hill Country, a young boy confronts a strange critter that tries to steal his family’s last meal. A variation on the folktale about a monster that leaves its tail behind in the cabin of an African American boy.
Clever Beatrice: An Upper Peninsula Conte
A small, but clever young girl outwits a rich giant and wins all his gold.
Sindbad’s Secret
Sindbad the Sailor has escaped death many times and is planning to live the rest of his life on dry land. But the sea beckons, and he sets out for one final adventure. As he sails from a beautiful far-off land where people drink scented tea, a storm destroys the ship. Sindbad finds refuge on an island, but it holds little safety for him. Ivory traders make him their slave. It seems that he will live out his days in servitude. But the power of love, and his compassion for a baby elephant, give him the strength he needs for survival. His voyage offers him the answer to life’s greatest secret, and finally he can rest. Ludmila Zeman has retold these beloved adventures from the Thousand and One Nights in her gorgeous trilogy, Sindbad, Sindbad in the Land of the Giants, and Sindbad’s Secret, incorporating design details and maps that place the stories into their historical context.
Naty’s Parade
Naty is excited to be dancing in the fiesta parade, until she gets lost in the city streets and cannot find the parade again.
Chinye: A West African Folk Tale
Poor Chinye! Back and forth through the dark forest she goes, fetching and carrying for her cruel stepmother and lazy stepsister. Terror lurks behind every tree, and ghostly figures cross her path–but strange powers are watching over her, and waiting somewhere in the moonlight is a hut piled high with magic gourds.
Where Are You Going, Manyoni?
A child living near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe encounters several wild animals on her way to school.
How Giraffe Got Such A Long Neck– And Why Rhino Is So Grumpy
During a terrible drought in which there is nothing to eat, Man prepares a magic herb that results in Giraffe’s long neck so he can reach the high leaves on the trees and a grumpy Rhino, who arrives too late for the magic.
This Is the Tree
A lyrical description of the ancient baobab tree and how it provides shelter and nourishment to wildlife of the African plain.
Five Nice Mice
Five nice mice are sitting in the garden one night when Baba hears faint music in the distance. What can this wonderful sound be? They decide to go and find out, and they discover a fabulous frog concert. But mice aren’t allowed in. So they return home and decide to form an orchestra of their own—no frogs allowed. They practice and practice, and finally put on a great show. When all the cheers die down, the mice are shocked to see an audience full of frogs! It turns out that you can’t keep good music to yourself after all.