United States

Materials from United States of America

The Phoenix Dance

A journey through madness and mania On the island of Faranor in the kingdom of Windward, twelve princesses dance their shoes to shreds each night. No one knows why. Not the king or queen. Not the knights, lords, or ladies-in-waiting. When the queen blames the royal shoemaker, his apprentice, Phoenix Dance, puts her life at risk to solve the mystery. She braves magic spells, dragons, evil wizards, and the treachery of the princesses themselves. As Phoenix faces these dangers, she finds herself caught in the dangerous dance inside herself – a dance of darkness and light, a dance that presents her with the greatest challenge of her life. This captivating companion to Aria of the Seaweaves a retelling of Grimm’s fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses with the story of a young woman’s inward journey toward an understanding of a scary, unpredictable part of her own nature.

The Bourbon Street Musicians

In this rollicking retelling of “The Bremen Town Musicians,” a creaky old jack mule, a droopy hound dog, a ragged rooster, and a bony cat, all unwanted and no longer loved, set out for Bourbon Street in New Orleans to play bebop and make their fortune. Presently they encounter a band of thieves in a shack by a bayou, and though things don’t turn out quite as expected, they end up mighty fine just the same. A bluesy dialect that begs to be read aloud, vivid imagery, and distinctively comic illustrations infuse the adventures of these four determined friends with the flavor of rural Louisiana and the rhythm of New Orleans jazz. Glossary.

Jacques and De Beanstalk

I don know fo sure if dat story is true, But down where de Cajuns live on de bayou, When dey tell dem stories, dey shore like to talk About dat boy Jacques and his magic beanstalk. You know the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk, but you’ve never heard it like this before. Told in Cajun dialect with a distinct bayou flair, this book is perfect for reading aloud. There is even a glossary and pronunciation guide to help! The creators of Petite Rouge (which Publishers Weekly called a sassy, spicy outing) once again deliver a hilarious twist on a well-known fairy tale.

Tomfoolery: Trickery And Foolery With Words

Alvin Schwartz and Glen Rounds team up once again to preserve the heritage of American folklore in this hilarious compilation of word tricks and verbal hocus-pocus. The compilation of funny folklore has lots of riddles with ridiculous answers, very tall talk and an endless array of tales.

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.