Books in Folktales from Around the World series

Welcome the second book in the Folktales of the World series! Engaging, inspirational, and above all entertaining, these legends come from Native American peoples across the U.S. Richly illustrated with original art, they capture a wide range of belief systems and wisdom from the Cherokee, Cheyenne, Hopi, Lenape, Maidu, Seminole, Seneca, and other tribes. The beautifully retold tales, all with informative introductions, range from creation myths to animal fables to stirring accounts of bravery and sacrifice. Find out how stories first came to be, and how the People came to the upper world. Meet Rabbit, the clever and irresistible Creek trickster. See how the buffalo saved the Lakota people, and why the Pawnee continue to do the Bear Dance to this very day.Stefano Vitale’s art showcases a stunning array of animal figures, masks, totems, and Navajo-style rug patterns, all done in nature’s palette of brilliant turquoises, earth browns, shimmering sun-yellow, vivid fire-orange, and the deep blues of a dark night.

For millennia, Somalia has been crossed and recrossed by camel caravans of merchants, bringing with them stories such as "The Good Prince," in which a kindhearted prince conquers the evil magic of a beautiful sorceress, and "The Ogress and the Snake," a Somali Hansel and Gretel story about five little girls, abandoned in the desert, who take refuge in the house of a man-eating ogress. Elizabeth Laird heard many of these tales in Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia's Somali region. She gathers together the finest of them in The Ogress and the Snake and Other Stories from Somalia. The stories abound with colorful characters — Deya Ali, the greedy trickster fox; Kabaalaf the shopkeeper, crooked as a jug-handle, who meets his match in the slippery Hirsi; and the miraculous (and bodyless) Head, whose magic powers conjure up a talking camel and bring him a princess. These and the other magical tales in this delightful collection are the perfect introduction to a fascinating and little-known country.

Why do snakes eat frogs? What makes a man-eating ghoul become a vegetarian? How can a woman make a bored prince smile? And what’s a king to do when a princess refuses to marry him? The answers are found in this engaging compilation of Palestinian folk tales, cleverly retold by Sonia Nimr. The charismatic women, genial tricksters, mischievous animals, and other colorful characters who appear in the stories are imbued with a wry sense of humor, delighting readers young and old alike. Hannah Shaw’s deft illustrations are the perfect complement to Nimr’s upbeat storytelling.

Secret serpents, devilish demons, mysterious magicians — the folk tales of Iraq are filled with otherworldly creatures, enchantment, and earthy humor. During her time spent in the Middle East, award-winning novelist Elizabeth Laird gathered together the very best Iraqi stories, ranging from thieving porcupines who get their come-uppance to the hilarious tale of the chaos caused by a handsome stranger who knocks at a house harboring a marriageable daughter. Meticulously researched, these stories reveal the true, traditional heart of Iraq, far removed from today's news headlines.

Secret serpents, devilish demons, mysterious magicians ? the folk tales of Iraq teem with otherworldly creatures, magic and earthy humour. Award-winning novelist Elizabeth Laird has gathered together the very best Iraqi stories during her time in the Middle East ? stories ranging from thieving porcupines who get their come-uppance to the hilarious tale of the chaos caused by a handsome stranger who knocks at a house inside which lurks a marriageable daughter. Meticulously researched and elegantly retold, the stories reveal the true, traditional heart of Iraq, far removed from today's news headlines.

Why do snakes eat frogs? What makes a man-eating ghoul become a vegetarian? How can a woman make a bored prince smile? And what’s a king to do when a princess refuses to marry him? The answers are found in this engaging compilation of Palestinian folk tales, cleverly retold by Sonia Nimr. The charismatic women, genial tricksters, mischievous animals, and other colorful characters who appear in the stories are imbued with a wry sense of humor, delighting readers young and old alike. Hannah Shaw’s deft illustrations are the perfect complement to Nimr’s upbeat storytelling.