Books in Story Cove series

From Story Cove's extensive collection, this Australian tale will teach readers the importance of teamwork.Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail is an Australian folktale about two friends, Tree Kangaroo and Koala. Long ago they were very close, but their friendship soured after the events that transpired during a long drought in Australia. Tree Kangaroo was a hard worker and resourceful while Koala was lazy and selfish. Tree Kangaroo had the idea of digging a hole for water in a dry stream bed. Tree Kangaroo started to dig, but Koala kept making excuses about why he couldn't help dig the hole. Finally, Tree Kangaroo ends up digging the entire hole and when he finally finds water, Koala jumps in a drinks all of it. Emblazoned with anger at Koala's selfish acts, Tree Kangaroo grabs Koala by his long, furry tail and pulls so hard that it breaks off at the base. Now Koala is left with a short, stumpy tail. The Australian folktale is complete with an appendix of fun facts. August House Publishers offers an animated version of Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail as well as free lesson plans!

A timeless trickster tale from Africa about silly spider, Anansì.Anansí and the Sky Kingdom is another folktale from West Africa about the trickster spider Anansí. This timeless story is written by the award-winning creative team of Bobby and Sherry Norfolk. In this folktale, the world is dark and King Lion asks for someone to go to the King of the Sky to ask for light. Many animals try but all of them fail to bring light to the world. Finally, Anansí offers to take on the task after all of the other animals have failed. He uses his courageous wit and trickster skills to successfully bring light to the world and all of the animals rejoice. These trickster legends from Africa teach readers the importance of citizenship, courage and resourcefulness.While author, Bobby Norfolk was visiting the town of Kumasi in Ghana in the summer of 1993, a woman told him, "At four-thirty every afternoon, we try to gather together and have Anansi time." Norfolk attended the afternoon break and heard elders tell stories of Anansi, the tireless trickster of Ghanian tradition. Anansi Appears in these stories in his most playful and creative guises. The Norfolks' adaptations brim with action, energy, and humor.

A timeless trickster tale from Africa about silly spider, Anansì.This story provides another classic African folktale about the trickster spider Anansí. First off, it is a custom that whenever a guest arrives at mealtime that the host share his or her food with the guest, whether the visitor is invited or shows up uninvited. In this folktale, Anansí learns that Turtle is coming over and that he must share his dinner with Turtle. Being the trickster that he is, Anansí figures out a way to trick Turtle so that he can keep all of the food for himself. Of course, when Turtle realizes what Anansí has done, he is determined to teach Anansí a lesson. While author, Bobby Norfolk was visiting the town of Kumasi in Ghana in the summer of 1993, a woman told him, "At four-thirty every afternoon, we try to gather together and have Anansi time." Norfolk attended the afternoon break and heard elders tell stories of Anansi, the tireless trickster of Ghanian tradition. Anansi appears in these stories in his most playful and creative guises. The Norfolks' adaptations brim with action, energy, and humor.

Anansi, a trickster spider, gets a little too greedy in this West African folktale.Anansí Goes to Lunch is another story from the series of West African folktales about Anansi, the trickster spider. In this story, Anansí is invited to three different parties but realizes that it is not possible to attend all three of the lunches at the same time. He decides to tie a rope around his waist and then gives each of his hosts an end of the rope to tug. He then asks them to tug the rope when the food is ready so that he can make it to each party when lunch is served. But Anansí receives a surprise when all three lunches are ready at once and each of his friends tugs the rope at the same time. He gets caught in the middle when the rope pulls him in opposite directions and his waist is squeezed tightly in three places. Afterwards he waits for his waist to expand but it never does and that is why spiders now have such small waists. This trickster tale from Africa teaches readers the importance of citizenship, resourcefulness and responsibility.

Donkey learns the price of being greedy and discovers that the truth will always come out in the end. The Well of Truth is a humorous Egyptian folktale told by Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton about three great friends, Goat, Rooster, and Donkey. All three friends love the sweet taste of clover. One day, they decide to try their hand at farming, and they plant an entire field of clover. They patiently tend to the field and wait for the crop to grow large enough to harvest. Unfortunately, Donkey becomes impatient and one night sneaks out into the field to taste the clover. However, he can't stop at just a taste and eventually eats the entire field. The friends wake up to find the field wiped out and accuse Donkey, who of course denies eating the clover. They all agree to go to the Well of Truth to find out who actually ate the clover, and the Donkey's guilt is exposed. This Egyptian story shows that selfishness and greed are futile; readers will learn the importance of sharing and fairness.

Meet a baker who is so stingy that he wants to charge people just for smelling his baked goods. The Stolen Smell is a timeless story from Peru, told by Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton. This folktale tells the story of a greedy baker who becomes so angered over a neighbor's happiness from smelling the fresh aromas of his bakery that he demands that his neighbor pay him a “smelling fee” for enjoying the delightful smell of baking bread. The poor neighbor is confused and does not have very much money so the baker takes him to court where the baker learns a very valuable life lesson from a wise judge. Readers will also learn lessons of fairness, sharing and responsibility. Authors, Mitch and Martha explain that the motif of this story - payment for the mell of food with the sound of money - is a common one in world folktale. A Brazilian version can be found in Stories from the Americas by Frank Henius.

Three inspiring fables from Greek storyteller, Aesop.In this collection of three lesser known Aesop Fables, you will learn why bats fly at night, why you should pick your friends carefully, and why even a tiny ant could be your guardian angel.When most people think of Aesop's Fables they think of classic stories like “The Tortoise and the Hare” or “The Country Mouse and the City Mouse”. But there is a wide range of lesser known fables credited to Aesop including the three stories in the The Bear, the Bat, and the Dove retold by Rob Cleveland. “The Bear and the Two Travelers” tells a story of loyalty and trust as a bear threatens the lives of two friends. “Why Bat Flies at Night” tells the story of a bat that must choose a side in the battle between the birds of the sky and the land animals. Finally, “The Ant and the Dove” tells the story about a brave ant that repays a dove for saving his life when a bird catcher is about to trap the dove. This trilogy of Greek folktales teaches readers about the importance of courage and fairness.

3 lazy sons are about to discover that hard work presents a golden outcome.Growing Gold provides a touching story about a struggling farmer and his wife who work very hard each day in order to grow their food and support their family. Unfortunately, their three sons are very lazy and do not help their parents at all. The boys just sit and dream about gold all day as the parents struggle. Frustrated, the clever mother devises a plan to get her sons to appreciate the value and reward of hard work. She tells her sons about the gold buried under the ground in their fields and that they must work the fields in order to pull the gold up from the ground. Her story works as her sons learn about the value of hard work when they are rewarded with a field of gold.This Indian folktale about a mother and son will teach readers about the importance of resourcefulness, respect and responsibility. August House Publishers provides an animated version of Growing Gold as well as free lesson plans!

Rooster learns that he needs a lot of help from his friends to get cleaned up in time for Heron's party. Then the real fun begins.Rooster's Night Out is a humorous chain story from Cuba that is retold by the award-winning creative team of Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton. It is a story about a vain rooster who sets out for a party after carefully grooming his feathers. On the way to the dance, he accidentally splatters juice from a tomato on his feathers. The rooster of course wants to get his feathers cleaned in time to go to the dance at Heron's party that night, but he finds that he needs a lot of help from his friends to get cleaned up. Fortunately, he finally receives the help he needs when the sun comes to his aid. As a sign of gratitude, Rooster agrees to crow every morning to wake the sun up. This rooster folktale from Cuba will wake you up! Readers will learn about the importance of courage, fairness and resourcefulness.

This whimsically drawn story is based on an old Swedish folktale, in which a farmer and his wife match wits with a large, mean-spirited ogre.The Ogre Bully is a Swedish folktale that is told by A.B. Hoffmire about a greedy ogre that appears at a young farmer's fields. The Ogre claims the young farmer's fields and steals his crops, leaving the young farmer nothing to eat or sell. Facing the possibility of a complete financial collapse, the farmer and his wife come up with an ingenious plan to fool the Ogre and regain their fields and crops. In the end, through perseverance, they are able to outwit the Ogre and avoid a disaster. This ogre story is a great opportunity to teach children about the consequences of bullying. In the case of encountering an ogre bully, kids will learn to practice courage and resourcefulness. Author Note: "I always enjoy a good story, and 'The Gullible Troll' is a very good story (from the excellent book, Swedish Folktales and Legends). My version of the story, 'The Ogre Bull' loosely adapts the original to a children's book format, and I added my own illustrations.

Selected as One of the New York Public Library's 100 Best Children's Books for Reading and SharingThe exuberance of childhood often centers around food, so it's no wonder that food rhymes endure from one generation to the next. Here, Lillian Morrison has gathered some of the wittiest and best-loved chants, street cries, and mock blessings for the enjoyment of young and old alike. Nancy Dunaway's pen-and-ink illustrations bounce with enthusiasm as children attend festive parties, visit Mexican villages, and journey to the moon. In Morrison and Dunaway's jointly created universe, fruits flirt, dogs fish... and all the world is an apple pie. These stories are perfect for young foodies. Readers will learn the importance of caring and resourcefulness.