Books in Story Cove series

Winner of the Storytelling World Honor AwardThis humorous folktale from Vietnam, retold by Rob Cleveland, tells the story of Tiger, who was once the proudest animal of the jungle. He was even prouder than the peacock. Of course what Tiger was most proud of was his beautiful golden coat. But unfortunately for Tiger, he did not have wisdom and was jealous that only Man seemed to possess it. So Tiger approached Man and demanded that he give Tiger his wisdom. Man then uses his wisdom to outsmart Tiger when he finds himself tied to a tree with a rope. While trying to escape, Tiger burns his coat on the rope, leaving permanent stripes on his beautiful golden coat. This wisdom story will teach readers the importance of courage, caring and resourcefulness. This award-winning story is a "pourquoi" tale from Vietnam. Pourquoi tales are origin stories that explain why an animal or plant looks or acts the way it does. This is one of many stories told across Asia that deal with the origin of the tiger's stripes. Rob Cleveland is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia and is the author of several Story Cove books.

In this Middle Eastern folktale, three brothers must come together to save a sick princess. The Magic Apple is a timeless folktale from the Middle East that is wonderfully told by Rob Cleveland. The story tells the story of three brothers who embark on separate journeys to fulfill their father's dying wish for them to find happiness and riches. While on their separate journeys, the brothers travel to distant lands and find curious treasures. After one year, the three brothers return to share their discoveries with one another. After meeting, they find out that a princess needs their help so they set out to rescue her and they use what they found to save the princess's life. This Jewish folktale from the middle east will teach readers the importance caring, courage and fairness.

This trickster monkey from Africa will teach readers the importance of sharing and trustworthiness. The Clever Monkey is a classic folktale from West Africa told by Rob Cleveland. One day two greedy jungle cats discover a large piece of cheese. They want to share the piece of cheese but cannot decide how they can divide it fairly. A very clever little monkey loves cheese as well and when he sees the two cats arguing over the cheese, he uses this opportunity to trick the jungle cats into allowing him to eat practically all of the cheese. Unfortunately for the two cats, they never realize that they were completely tricked by a very clever monkey. This story comes from Africa. Variants of it ban be found among Brer Rabbit tales, with Brer Rabbit in the role of the monkey and Brer Fox in the role of the lion. There is a similar story in Native American folklore entitled, "How Rabbit Fooled Wolf." Rob Cleveland is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia and is the author of several Story Cove books.

A little bit of generosity goes a long way. This timeless story from India is about a poor boy's dream of having his own drum. His mother is very poor and cannot afford to buy her son the one thing in the world that he really wants. The poor boy's dream takes him on one of the most unlikely journeys and ultimately leads to attaining his dream. The folktale begins with his mother bringing home a magical stick that was given to her by a strange, little old man. The boy takes the stick with him on his journey and along the way he finds people in need of help. He offers them what little he has and they of course repay him with whatever they have in return. By the end of the story, his series of good deeds leads him to a traditional wedding ceremony where he saves the wedding day for the bride and groom when he presents them with a horse. In return, for his good deed, he receives a drum like the one he was dreaming of at the beginning of the story. This magical Indian story about a poor boy and his drum will teach readers the importance of caring, fairness and responsibility.

A foolish lion and a clever monkey provide laughs and lessons in this African folktale. Our friend the very clever monkey is up to his old tricks in this humorous African folktale. The Clever Monkey Rides Again, as told by Rob Cleveland, takes place long ago in the African jungle where a terrible bully lion roamed. The lion played all sorts of mean tricks and childish pranks on all of the animals. They were too afraid of the lion to stand up to his bullying. That is, until our friend the clever monkey hears the nuisance and starts to laugh. He uses his trickery to embarrass the lion and his humiliation leads him to run away, never to return to that part of the jungle again. Readers will learn the importance of courage and resourcefulness, while also learning about the consequences of bullying. This story comes from Africa. Variants of it can be found among Brer Rabbit tales, with Brer Rabbit in the role of the monkey and Brer Fox in the role of the lion. There is a similar story in Native American folklore entitled, "How Rabbit Fooled Wolf." Rob Cleveland is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia and is the author of several Story Cove books.

This classic fable from Russia tells the story of two frog sisters with completely different personalities. One frog is known for being adventurous and impulsive, while the other one is lazy and cautious. A Tale of Two Frogs, written by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, tells the story of how the two frog sisters literally get in over their heads when they fall into a pail of milk and are trapped. They fall into a precarious predicament and must find a way to save themselves. The lazy and cautious frog practically gives up right away while the adventurous and impulsive frog never gives up. In the end they manage to put their noodles together and persevere. These brave frogs inspire readers to be resourceful and courageous.

Why does the sun go up in the morning and down at night? The Archer and the Sun is an ancient story from China. It tells the legend of a time when there were many suns in the sky and it was miserably hot. The people got together to come up with a solution to make their living conditions more hospitable. They decided to call upon the best archer in the land to come and shoot down all of the suns except for one. As a result, the remaining sun naturally became afraid of the archer and hid behind a mountain, leaving the world cold and dark. Then the people had to devise a plan to get the sun to come back from hiding and after several failed attempts, they found a solution. This Chinese folktale will teach readers about the importance of citizenship, resourcefulness and sharing. This story ends with a section of facts about the Archer and the Sun, exploring Chinese traditions and myths such as why roosters crow in the morning and what the year of the rooster means as well as general "did you know" facts.Rob Cleveland is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also an actor and comedian who can be seen in the films Drumline and That Darn Cat.

When the head of a Buddhist monastery decides to pick a successor, he sends the young monks out to accomplish one task. The Cleverest Thief is a timeless folktale from India, retold by T. V. Padma, which takes place in a Buddhist monastery. In the story, the head of the monastery falls ill and must choose a successor. To do so, he sends out the young monks and instructs them to steal something, but they must steal it in such a way that no one will know that they have stolen it. The young monks don't question their leader. In the end, only one monk learns the truth of the saying, “To thine own self be true.” This Buddhist story will teach readers the importance of responsibility, trustworthiness and resourcefulness. Padma Venkatraman is a writer and a scientist who lives south of Providence, Rhode Island. She is the author of Growing Gold (A folktale from India also in the Story Cove series), Mathematwist (a collection of mathematical folktales), and Climbing the Stairs (a young adult novel published by Penguin).

A timeless trickster tale from Africa about silly spider, Anansì.Did you ever wonder why spiders have no hair? After reading Anansí and the Pot of Beans, you too will know the answer. This classic folktale from Africa, written by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk, tells the story of when Anansí goes to help his grandmother. Upon arrival he finds her steaming, hot pot of beans, which he can't resist. This is where the fun begins. Anansí and the Pot of Beans is a charming story that is entertaining while also teaching important life lessons in character values about responsibility and trust. 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.

The Magic Pot is a folktale from China about a hardworking woodcutter and his wife. The story, retold by Pleasant DeSpain, describes how the poor woodcutter stumbles upon a magic pot lying by the side of the road. It's a beautiful pot that could be useful for the woodcutter so he places his axe inside the pot and then straps it on his back to take home from the forest. When he arrives home, his wife discovers that the magic pot can duplicate anything placed inside it and they become overwhelmed with joy over their good fortune. This magical Chinese folktale will teach readers the importance of caring and sharing. Award-winning author, Pleasant DeSpain is well known for his colorful retelling of folktales from around the globe while preserving the drama, wisdom, and integrity of the story.

A timeless trickster tale from Africa about silly spider, Anansì.Anansí the trickster spider is back to his old tricks once again in this classic African folktale. Anansí must use his brainpower to teach Elephant and Whale to respect smaller creatures. He challenges both Elephant and Whale to a tug o' war, but they don't realize that they are actually pulling against each other and not Anansí. In the end, both stubborn animals are so tired that they give up when Anansí asks them who is the strongest animal and he declares himself the winner of the tug o' war. In this battle of wits, brains definitely outdo brawn. This trickster tale from Africa will teach readers the importance of courage, resourcefulness and respect. 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.

In Puerto Rico, there are many stories about Juan Bobo, a young man with a good heart but little common sense. Juan Bobo, which translates to “Simple John”, is featured in a series of humorous folktales from Puerto Rico. The story is retold by Arí Acevedo-Feliciano. It is a classic tale about a mother and her foolish, young son who lacks common sense. One morning, Juan's mother asks her son to take care of their pig while she goes to church for mass. While she is gone, Juan hears the pig squealing and grunting, so he thinks that the pig is sad because she wanted to go to mass, too. In an attempt to be helpful, he dresses up the pig in his mother's clothes and jewelry, then he sends her off to mass. When Juan's mother returns from church, she is furious when she discovers the pig rolling in the mud with what is left of her dress. Still, Juan just doesn't understand why the pig never made it to mass. These Cuban folktales feature stories of pigs and fools. Readers will learn the importance of resourcefulness, responsibility and trustworthiness.