Folklore and Fairy Tales

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a deliciously inventive Cuban version of the beloved Martina folktale, complete with a dash of café cubano.

Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn t know coffee beans about love and marriage. That s where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her something really useful: un consejo increible, some shocking advice.

You want me to do what? Martina gasps.

At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela s unorthodox suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails The Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. Soon, only the gardener Pérez, a tiny brown mouse, is left. But what will happen when Martina offers him café Cubano?

After reading this sweet and witty retelling of the Cuban folktale, you ll never look at a cockroach the same way again.

Priceless Gifts

There is an old saying that good things come in small packages. In this story from Italy, storytellers Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss show us that good things also come in furry packages. When a merchant finds himself in a land that is overrun by rats, he realizes that he has the most priceless gift in this country, namely his ship’s cats.

Where the Giant Sleeps

Do ogres snore? Do pirates have blankies? Do fairies suck their thumbs? We may never know the answers to these questions. But if we’re lucky–and very observant–we might be able to catch a glimpse of some fantastic creatures, all fast asleep. In soothing rhyme, bestselling author Mem Fox explores the sleeping habits of our favorite inhabitants from the world of fairy tales. Vladimir Radunsky fills a dreamy, picturesque landscape with surprising and fun details. Fairies, wizards, goblins, and even children all find peace under the same bright moon.

Doctor All-Knowing

Desperate to provide enough food for himself and his daughter, a poor man sets himself up as Doctor All-Knowing and is soon called upon by a rich man to find a thief.

 

The Ghost’s Child

This fable of a young woman and a wild boy is a haunting meditation on the nature of love and loss. Maddy, an old lady now, arrives home one day to find a peculiar boy waiting for her. Over tea, she tells him the story of her life long ago, when she wished for her days to be as romantic and mysterious as a fairy tale. It was then that she fell painfully in love with a free spirit named Feather, who put aside his wild ways to live with her in a little cottage, conceived with her a child never to be born, and disappeared–leaving an inconsolable Maddy to follow after him on a fantastical journey across the sea. In a tale shortlisted for a 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize, Sonya Hartnett explores the mysteries of the heart, the sustaining power of memory and the ultimate consolation that comes to souls who live fully and fearlessly.

The Bird Who Cleans The World: And Other Mayan Fables

A collection of Jakaltek Mayan folktales, first told to the author by his mother and the elders of his Guatemalan village. They deal with the themes of creation, nature, mutual respect, and ethnic relations and conflicts. Told for the first time in English and illustrated with Mayan images, these stories and fables speak eloquently of an ancient culture, at once preserving its history and recreating its tradition.

The Snow Queen

When Kay is lured from his home by the beautiful, cruel Snow Queen, his friend Gerda sets out on an epic journey to rescue him. As she searches, she encounters a series of strangers to whom she relays her plight. Charmed by her story and her innocence, each of them helps Gerda, so that at last she is able to find the Snow Queen’s icy palace. But at the end of her epic journey, will Gerda manage to set Kay free?

Cinderella

Cinderella’s evil stepmother makes her cook and clean and dust and sweep until her arms ache and her head spins. But with a tap of her fairy godmother’s wand, the kind, mistreated beauty becomes a shimmering vision worthy of a prince.

The Girl Who Drew A Phoenix

One day a young girl named Feng Huang finds a phoenix feather that has fallen from the sky. When she tries to draw the magical bird and share her inspiration, no one is able to tell what it is. Luckily for Feng Huang, the Queen Phoenix sees her troubles and swoops down from the heavens to offer her help. A phoenix’s powers are not easily revealed, however, and Feng Huang embarks on a journey of thought, wonder, and self-discovery. Wisdom, Clear Sight, Equality, Generosity, and Right Judgment are worthy qualities indeed, but Feng Huang finds that they are only truly powerful when shared. Brilliant sweeps of plumage and flourishes of sparkles and stars accentuate award-winning artist Demi’s interpretation of one of the most intriguing and elegant creatures of ancient myth.