Princess Hsi-Ling Chi has heard tales of a sleeping dragon and ancient gods residing in the Holy Mountains beyond her father’s palace. But when she emerges from the gates for the first time, she is not afraid. She has a magical thread unraveled from a tiny cocoon that dropped into the Empress’s teacup, and she knows it will lead her back to the palace garden. She is very far from home when she notices that the thread has broken, and that she is lost.
Life was peaceful on the small Philippine island of Luzon. The men fished, the women cooked, the children played games, and the birds sang. Everyone knew it was time for bed when they heard the birds’ good-night song. Then Tuko arrived. Tuko, the gecko, bellowed his name five times every time he ate—day or night. Everyone was miserable from lack of sleep. That is, until Haribon the eagle devised a plan to trick Tuko into leaving for good.
Once upon a time no creatures on Earth died. But they had baby after baby, and before long the world grew crowded. Death decided to solve the problem by challenging everyone to a skip-rope contest — as an immortal, Death won every time, and one by one everyone succumbed to her dare. Soon, every living being knew Death. This intriguing fable is based on Francisco Toledo’s series of engravings of Death, a dominant figure in Mexican culture. Toledo, the heir to the great generation of Mexican artists that included Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, has imaginatively explored this integral part of life, and his entrancing images are matched by poetic text from his wife Natalia.
This illustrated book takes readers on a journey across six continents, with entertaining folktales from eighty different storytelling traditions. An excellent introduction to foreign countries, these beautifully told stories are perfect for reading aloud and encouraging children to learn about different cultures and other parts of the world.
In this witty book based on an African folk tale, Thulani prefers sitting in the sun to doing his chores. Tired of milking the cow, he trades her in for a goat. When the goat gets into the corn seed, he trades it for a sheep. Sick of shearing, he buys some geese, which then get exchanged for some sunflower seeds. With each trade, his hard-working wife gets more and more exasperated.
When a little girl in a red cap puts her picnic basket over her arm and sets off through the woods to grandmother’s house, one of the best-loved fairy tales of all time unfolds.
Although this is based on the Grimm Brothers’ The Fisherman and His Wife, the author shifts the setting to Aztec society and reshapes the story so that the fisherman’s good wishes come from a wise old sea turtle. Shortly after he frees the sea turtle from his net, the modest fisherman first asks for four fish–a huge bounty as he usually only catches two–but his wife has other ideas. Her greed forces the fisherman to ask for a stone house and riches and the kingship of the Aztec people. But when she asks to become a god, neither she nor her husband is prepared for how the sea turtle will respond to the wish.
The first night I went to work at the shelter, the attendant said, “You know they will not rest.” I stood in the doorway of the dormitory crowded with children. In the dark, the nightmares would come, but rest would not. Empowering Mexico’s vulnerable street children is no easy task when the dangers they face are real and many. But there is incredible strength in an unfinished story, especially if that story has a small hero who can overcome great odds. Night after night, Tales of the Monkey King, begun at dark and never finished until the next day, were precisely what the children needed. The brave little monkey, who fought against unspeakable odds but was never conquered, had come from far away to become their hero. Through him, many found the strength and courage they needed to face their living nightmares and cheat the King of Death. Stunning paintings by Brian Deines underscore the message and speak to the hero in everyone.
When the siblings happen upon the gingerbread house of a wicked witch, they unwittingly stumble into one of the most enduring fairy tales of all time. As the witch tries to fatten poor Hansel, and Gretel cunningly outsmarts her.
Lisbeth Zerger, winner of the 1990 Hans Christian Andersen Medal, brings her distinctive talent to the timeless story of two innocent children who lose their way in the dark forest. Ms. Zwerger’s illustrations winningly portray the haunting witch, the daring escape, and the welcome return to their loving father.
An original fairy tale of a humble princess whose love for nature’s beauty restores a kingdom. Once there was a kingdom full of laughter, happiness, trees, and birdsong. But when the queen dies, the land becomes quiet and barren, and everyone is filled with sadness. Can Serenity, the youngest of three princesses, bring hope and life back to her kingdom with a single apple pip — a precious seed left to her by her mother? This original fairy tale is brought to life and exquisitely illustrated by the internationally renowned Jane Ray.