folktales

Mary’s Penny: A Feminist Folk Tale

| Tasha

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Mary’s Penny by Tanya Landman, illustrated by Richard Holland

A feminist retelling of a classic folk tale, this book combines a stylish modern feel with the classic feel and tone of a folk tale.  A farmer needs to decide which of his children he will leave his farm to.  Will it be the brawny Franz or the beefy Hans?  He doesn’t even consider his daughter Mary because she is a girl, though Mary does have something her brothers lack: brains.  The farmer gives each of his sons a single penny.  Their challenge is to purchase something with their one penny that will fill the entire house.  Franz heads to the market and purchases lots and lots of straw, but he cannot manage to fill the entire house.  Hans heads to the market and purchases lots and lots of feathers.  Though he fills the house further than his brother, he too fails.  Now the farmer is in despair until Mary asks to try.  And you will just have to read the book to find out how Mary spends her penny and fills the entire house.

Landman’s text here sets just the right tone.  She plays with the repetition and rhythm of the traditional folk tale, yet injects a modern sensibility about the role of women in society.  Thanks to the traditional features of the book, it is a pleasure to read aloud.  Holland too plays with the traditional and modern.  In his case, he uses sleek modern lines and modern illustration techniques yet still manages to have something vintage in them.  The illustrations have lots of white space and textures and patterns that make them very interesting and unique.  They also have a flatness that hearkens back to traditional folk art. 

A skillful combining of the traditional and the modern, this book should not languish on your folk tale shelves.  Get it into the hands of parents and teachers.  It would also make a great choice when librarians visit elementary classrooms, because its modern edge will draw slightly older children into the story.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Dust Devil

| Tasha

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Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

This companion book for the wonderful Swamp Angel is filled with the same tall tale antics of the first.  Swamp Angel grew too big for the state of Tennessee, so she had to move to the wide open spaces of Montana.  Unfortunately, the sun woke her too early so she plucked some mountains and placed them around to create some shade, making the buttes of Montana.  But her biggest problem was finding a horse that she could ride.  They were too small to carry her.  Then a huge storm came across the state, kicking up dust and sucking the roof off of her barn.  Swamp Angel jumped onto the storm and rode it until it turned into a horse that could strike lightning with its hooves.  When Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes enter the state, Swamp Angel and her horse, Dust Devil, have to combine their strength and size as well as a secret weapon to bring them to justice.  A wild stampede of a story, this is a tale worthy to follow in the huge footsteps of the original.

Isaacs has a wonderful time with the language of tall tales, using words that dance and whirl, immediately placing readers on familiar ground but amping it up to a new level.  Her description of the jail is worthy of note as a great example of her word play: “single-starred, double-barred, triple-guard jail.”  Isaacs’ story is completely jam-packed with Angel being a tall tale heroine.  She exemplifies everything readers want in adventure.  Isaac also adds a punch of humor to the book from the rollicking words she chooses to the villains themselves.  Backward Bart speaks his sentences in reverse-word order, which will have children listening very closely to be the first to decipher what he is saying. 

Zelinsky’s illustrations are done in oils on cedar, aspen and maple veneers.  This gives the illustrations a great framed effect that is rustic and perfectly suited to the story.  Zelinsky enjoys playing with perspective in his illustrations, offering views that intensify the size of Angel and Dust Devil.  The illustrations have a timelessness that is very appealing.

Swamp Angel is a girl who will give Paul Bunyan a run for his money, just as Dust Devil stands up well to Babe, the Blue Ox.  This brand new tall tale heroine stands tall among giants.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Schwartz & Wade Books.

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Trickster

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Trickster: Native American Tales, a Graphic Collection edited by Matt Dembicki

21 trickster tales are given the graphic treatment in this spectacular graphic novel.  With great attention to authenticity, Dembicki paired Native American storytellers with graphic artists to create this collection.  Readers will enjoy the diverse types of art within the book, moving from more painterly to cartoony and everything in between.  The text of each story is also quite individual, reflecting that storyteller’s cadence and style.  The collection as a whole is a celebration of Native American culture but also of tricksters and the great stories that revolve around them. 

Turning pages in this book is rather like an exploration.  One never knows what is behind the next page.  Dembicki has created a book that works as a collection but also allows each story to stand on its own with its own distinct feel.  There is an art at work in the selection, placement and creation of the book itself and of each and every story.  I love the sense one gets of an entire community of people creating this book, this celebration of story.

Use this to introduce children to Native American stories or to the idea of the trickster in folklore.  It is a powerful example of modern media meeting timeless tales that will resonate with children and adults alike.

Highly recommended, this graphic novel should find a place in most public libraries.  I would hesitate to catalog it as folktale, and allow the graphic novel reader to realize the depth of what a graphic novel can truly be.  Appropriate for ages 7-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Nebeel’s New Pants: an Eid Tale

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Nabeel’s New Pants: an Eid Tale retold by Fawzia Gilani-Williams, illustrated by Proiti Roy

Nabeel had a busy day selling shoes, now he was ready to buy his family gifts for Eid.  He purchased a burqa for his wife, a dupatta for his mother, and bangles for his daughter.  On his way out, the shopkeeper recommended that Nabeel buy himself some new pants since his were worn and patched.  Nabeel agreed, but the only pants there were 4 fingers too long.  Once he got home, Nabeel gave his wife her gift but she was too busy to shorten his pants for him.  His mother was given her gift, but she was also too busy to shorten his pants before Eid.  Mariam, his daughter also was too busy.  So Nabeel went home and shortened the pants himself, 4 fingers.  His wife found time too to shorten the pants 4 fingers.  His mother came over and also shortened them 4 fingers.  Finally, his daughter too shortened the pants.  Now what was Nabeel to wear to Eid?

With the feel of a classic tale, this book offers a universal style of folktale with plenty of repetition and cumulative action.  Children of all cultures will immediately feel at home here.  Gilani-Williams has kept the text tight and focused, making a great read aloud Muslim story.  Even when the humor is unfolding, the text keeps a straight tone that adds even more humor.  Roy’s illustrations have a classic feel to them merged with a cartoon style. 

A clearly Muslim tale with a universal feel, this book is perfect for any public library collection.  It will fit in well with story times or units about clothing or celebrations.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Marshall Cavendish.

The King and the Seed

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The King and the Seed by Eric Maddern, illustrated by Paul Hess

King Karnak has no heir and is coming to the end of his reign.  So he puts out a call for anyone who wants to be king to come and join in a competition.  Knights come from across the land, ready for the battle to begin.  But the king surprises them all by handing each one of them a seed and asking them to bring it back in six months to show what they have grown.  A boy, Jack, who came only to witness the competition, gets a seed for himself.  Jack tries and tries to make his seed grow, but nothing works and six months later he heads back to the castle.  There he finds the knights with armloads of plants, huge flowers, all different from one another.  Jack doesn’t want to admit his defeat to the king, so what’s a boy to do?

Maddern’s storytelling has a great flair, filled with small touches and humor that really bring the story to life.  The book has a strong message that is not overdone.  It also has a classic folk tale format that is mixed with a modern storytelling style, creating a very engaging book.  Hess’ illustrations are bright-colored and offer interesting perspectives on the action.  They will work well with a group.

Ideal for reading aloud, this book is a great modern folktale that emphasizes the importance of honesty.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Mitten

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The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

This is a retelling of Ukrainian folktale made popular by Jan Brett whose beloved version is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.   A little boy heads out to play in his new hat, scarf and mittens that his grandmother has knitted for him.  While playing, he loses one of his mittens.  The mitten is found by a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, and a bear who manage to squeeze into the mitten and be nice and warm.  But when a mouse comes by and begs to join them too, it is too much for even grandmother’s strong knitting.  The mitten explodes with a satisfying burst. The boy and his grandmother find the scraps in the snow and the grandmother knits him another mitten.

Aylesworth changes the tone and style here with great skill, creating an American folktale feel that is filled with charm.  McClintock’s art is perfectly matched here with her vintage feel.  The bright red mitten is changed from the original white, adding a punch of color on each page.  Her art and Aylesworth’s writing both evoke folktales, cold snow, warm firesides and the smell of damp wool mittens. 

This is a retelling that is equal to the original, which is astounding.  Because the text and art is reworked, it was able to take on the same story with a very different style and do it successfully.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

One Fine Trade

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One Fine Trade retold by Bobbi Miller, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

A retelling of the classic folktale style of trading for something worse and then reversing the trading to finally get what you set out for.  In this version, Georgy Piney Woods is a peddler.  His daughter asks him to trade her horse so that she can get a silver dollar to buy her wedding dress.  So he trades the horse for a cow, the cow for a dog, the dog for a stick.  Sounds worse and worse, doesn’t it?  But never fear, a solution, unexpected and wonderfully complex, is on its way.  I wouldn’t want to spoil the tale and tell you the ending though!

Miller excels at writing in a traditional way.  Her words evoke a history of folktales without effort.  It is filled with great folksy sayings like “How-do!” And the text is made for reading aloud with its partial sentences that really read like someone is speaking.  Miller has also added lovely descriptive passages about the land Georgy is passing through on his travels.  Daisies are a-dancing, gators are a-splashing, and catbirds are a-mewing.  Hillenbrand takes these passages and brings the entire story to life.  His art is friendly and folksy, with an angular horse, deep darkness of swampland, and one amazingly large stick.  Each character he draws has its own feel and style, which is quite a challenger in a book with such a series of people appearing.

A great read-aloud version of the folktale and well worth trading a horse for!  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Fuse #8 and Shari Lyle-Soffe.

Mandela’s Favorite Folktales

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To celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday, there is a new audio book of his favorite African folktales.  Featured on NPR’s Morning Edition this morning, you can hear tempting fragments of songs and the voices of popular American actors reading the tales.  The collection sounds like a great way to bring African folktales into libraries and homes.  The audiobooks raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Artists for a New South Africa.  The official website is here with more story excerpts to sample.

Folklore Retold

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Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora.

Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora.

I have to applaud Rachel Isadora’s efforts to recreate well-known European folk tales and set them in Africa filled with African characters. I have recently read her Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel which are clever, simply written and lovely.  Isadora doesn’t try to change the core of the story, leaving that just the same.  But the setting is changed and every element of the illustrations reflect their new setting in all of its colorful glory.

Isadora has done much more than insert people of color into these stories.  She has managed to distill the stories to their essence, offering very simple version of the stories that read aloud very well.  Her illustrations are collages of paper that are brilliantly colored and will project wonderfully to a crowd.  With people of color or not, these stories are some of the most child-friendly versions I have seen.  Isadora also has created two of the most fearsome witches I have seen in a long time.  Truly terrifying with their green eyes or skin and wild hair, these women are fearsome in a wonderful, shivery way.

Highly recommended for reading to classrooms of children who have missed the basic folklore, these books are beautiful, great to read aloud and have a unique cultural story to tell.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.