Bruh Rabbit outwits farmer Bruh Wolf again — even after the shrewd hare is stuck fast to the pretty baby girl made of tar. Told in the cadence of the Gullah with full-color illustrations, this version is sure to delight readers and listeners of all ages.
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl
Anansi is a known charlatan, so he gets little sympathy when Turtle eats all of the fish that Anansi has learned to catch. But the reader knows that the trickster has not really learned a lesson! Sly humor abounds in both text and image in this lively retelling.
Anansi Goes Fishing
How did the world come to have stories? It’s all because Ananse the Spider Man was able to perform three amazing feats — and send stories from Nyame throughout the world of people. Strong woodcuts illustrate this traditional African tale which explains how stories came to earth.
A Story, A Story
The girl who tended horses loved them so much that she joined them, literally! The carefully crafted, handsomely rendered illustrations echo the Native tradition studied by the reteller/illustrator.
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Travel with Bossy Rooster to his uncle’s wedding. Of course the road is not entirely smooth in this cumulative, handsomely illustrated tale from Cuba — and that’s when the fun begins!
The Bossy Gallito /Bossy Gallito / El gallo de bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale
In this retelling of a beloved Mexican folktale, Tomie dePaola presents Lucinda, a young girl who is helping her mother weave a new blanket for Baby Jesus to be used in the Christmas procession to the church. When her mother falls ill, however, Lucinda tries to continue weaving and is distraught when the blanket’s threads get tangled. She is sure that she has ruined the celebration — until a Christmas miracle brings forth the flaming red-star flowers that we still enjoy each December. Beautiful artwork will enthrall readers.
The Legend of the Poinsettia
Rabbit’s generosity sets off a chain of events that brings his kindness full circle. The lush and accessible acrylic paintings suggest the Chinese folktale upon which the retelling is based. A note at the end supports the notion of universal truth in folktales.
Rabbit’s Gift
Julie loves to hear her grandfather’s larger-than-life, highly imagined tales of long ago when he emigrated from Russia to New York City. Grandma, however, recalls the same events in a very different way. With fresh illustrations, these 25-year-old tales remain humorous and vivacious.
The Castle on Hester Street
As a pirate, Jack Plank was not a very good plunderer, although he makes up for it as a fine storyteller. He wows Mrs. Del Fresno’s daughter and her other boarders with his stories as he seeks another profession. This episodic yarn spins a wonderful read aloud.
Jack Plank Tells Tales
An old Inuit woman takes in a polar bear cub and raises him until others in the village become jealous of the bear’s hunting prowess, threatening to kill him. The old woman sends her beloved bear away, but continues to meet him far out on the ice where her polar bear “son” gives her food to eat. The gentle telling and illustrations evoke the Arctic.
The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale
This retelling of a Navajo folktale explains how First Woman tried to write the laws of the land using stars in the sky, only to be thwarted by the trickster Coyote.
How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend
This collection of folktales and scary stories has been a favorite of fright-loving kids for more than 20 years. These stories with creepy illustrations will be familiar to most adults who attended slumber parties, camping trips, and Halloween hayrides in their youth.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Travel back in time with a bunch of cowpokes and their cattle from Texas all the way to Kansas on the old Chisholm Trail. Cartoon-like illustration and surprisingly informative language of a traditional folksong blend laughter and learning as the tale unfolds — with or without the tune (though music is included).
The Old Chisholm Trail
This reworked version of the traditional tale of the hardworking, unaided Little Red Hen continues until her own baby chick befriends the offspring of the lazy cat, rat, and pig and together they play. By the end of the day each baby learns a new lesson in forgiveness and sharing. Dramatic black/white woodcuts with splashes of red and green enhance this meaningful saga, giving it a contemporary feel.
Out of the Egg
A wide selection of Irish poems, music, stories and folktales are presented along with delicate, evocative line and wash illustrations. Sure to please a range of listeners, this collection is ideal for sharing aloud.
A Pot o’ Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore and (of course) Blarney
This book is a collection of Spanish-language lullabies, finger games, nursery rhymes, jump-rope songs, riddles, birthday songs, and more. It compiles songs from different Spanish-speaking countries. The English translations keep the essence of the native language, and grab the reader using captivating terminology.
Mamá Goose: A Latino Nursery Treasury
The biblical rainy-day tale comes to life through delicate, detail-packed illustrations in this wordless picture book.
Noah’s Ark
“Stories have delighted both children and adults for as long as there have been families and communities on Earth.” So begins the informative introduction to the dozen takes which are presented here to charm another generation, ideal for reading independently or sharing aloud.
Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection
Animals teach a hunter the wisdom of life and charity in this beautifully illustrated picture book.
The Hunter and the Animals
Have you ever wondered how the Milky Way came to be? According to a Cherokee legend, it started when an old couple learned that their corn was being stolen by a Great Spirit dog. To get away, the spirit dog jumps into the sky, spilling the corn. And we can still see the results today in the night sky.
The Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale
Art combines with poetry and short prose pieces all by creators from Mexico for a culturally specific but emotionally universal literary experience. Stories are everywhere; you simply need to find them. Perhaps as one poet suggests in “The Lemon Tree”: “the tree/is older than you are/and you might find stories/in its branches.”
The Tree is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists
Spanish words add flavor to these appealing folktales, cuentos favoritos, carefully illustrated to reflect their Latin American roots. Readers young and old will recognize Juan Bobo’s foolishness, and delight in the sound of the language in the tale of Little Half Chick. Like all folktales, these are ideal for sharing aloud.
Señor Cat’s Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America
Cynthia’s old dollhouse is relegated to a dismal corner of the nursery once she receives her new Tidy Castle as a birthday present. Could a little help from a fairy queen save Racketty-Packetty House and its inhabitants from the fate of most old dolls and their out-of-date houses? Burnett’s classic has been newly illustrated in sepia-toned illustrations that capture the tale’s old world charm and timeless quality.
Racketty-Packetty House (100th Anniversary Edition)
Owen’s singing, banjo-playing Granny goes out “to cross one river, one mountain, and a desert” just to see her bluegrass-loving grandbaby. Lilting, rhythmic language and evocative illustrations carry the reader all the way to the musical reunion of Granny and Owen.