On Christmas Eve Pancho rescues a star from a cactus and receives the gift of happiness.
Folklore and Fairy Tales
Trick of the Tale: A Collection of Trickster Tales
An illustrated collection of tales featuring notable trickster characters such as Raven and Hare, from the folk traditions of many countries.
The Iroko-Man: A Yoruba Folktale
When the terrifying Iroko-man tries to take a woodcarver’s first-born child as partial payment for bringing fertility to his village, the father must find a clever solution.
Why Snails Have Shells: Minority and Han Folktales of China
Twenty traditional tales from ethnic groups in China, such as Mongol, Tibetan, Yao, Han, and Miao, are presented.
Napi
Napí is a young Mazateca girl who lives with her family in a village on the bank of a river in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Each afternoon the family sits beneath the shade of a huge ceiba tree and listens to the grandfather’s stories. As Napí listens, she imagines different colors — orange, purple, violet, and green. When night comes, the trees fill with white herons settling on their branches. The ceiba tree sends Napí dreams every night, and in her favorite one, she becomes a heron, gliding freely along the river. Domi’s vibrant palette and magical illustrations perfectly complement this imaginative story.
Crazy Jack
Once there was a boy named Jack who traded away a cow for a handful of beans. But Jack was no fool, he was haunted since the day his father climbed up into the clouds and vanished. When the beans provide a way for Jack to pursue his father, he enters the Giant’s world, where he discovers the terrifying ends of greed and desire. In Donna Jo Napoli’s transforming novel, Jack’s search for his father yields not gold, but sustenance, love, and the means to build a life.From the Paperback edition.
Necklace of Stars
Miguel was not lonely so much as he was curious. And, when he asked his father to tell him about the city beyond the mountains, he didn’t know what would happen. Now by the shore of the Emerald Lake he must choose between his world and another. High in the Andes, surrounded by giants, Miguel learns that even a boy can stand tall enough to reach the stars. Veronika Martenova Charles crafts a mystic tale, mixing dreams with reality, humility with grandeur, folk lore with history, and presents it with the clarity of a crisp mountain breeze.
To Capture The Wind
In a risky plan to free her kidnapped lover, Oonagh cleverly solves the evil pirate king’s riddles, unites the princess Ethne with her lover, and invents sails.
Tales from within the Clouds: Nakhi Stories of China
South of the clouds, in the land of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, dwell the descendants of a once pastoral people, the Nakhi. In ancient times, family names were passed from mother to child, there were no marriages, and women alone raised children. In the Nakhi language, there is no word for “father.” Today there are still Nakhi who follow these traditions, and Nakhi folktales reflect these beliefs. In the legends presented here we are introduced to a fantastic cast of characters: plants, insects, animals – all of them female! (Nakhi people, Naxi language)
Mediopollito: Cuento Tradicional en Espanol e Ingles/Half-Chicken: A Folktale in Spanish and English
Have you ever seen a weather vane? Do you know why there is a little rooster on the top, spinning around to tell us which way the wind is blowing? Here is the answer in this old, old story about a very special chicken. With only one eye, one leg, and one wing, Half-Chicken sets off to see the world. His adventures take him far and wide, until at last he’s carried straight to the top in this lively, humorous retelling, in Spanish and English, of a traditional folktale.