From School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-This collection of seven stories does, indeed, come from far-flung cultures. The tales are simply told-perhaps too simply in some cases, for they lack a sense of setting, or the turns of phrase that impart the flavor of disparate peoples. As to the purported "freaks" involved, if you consider gingerbread men and mice to be among their number, then you won't be disappointed. Also represented are an East Indian blackbird with a capacious ear, the Seneca embodiments of Winter and Summer, a strange Scottish visitor who arrives at a house one body part at a time, and a Nigerian hunter whose body is reassembled and resurrected by his sons. All of these stories have been told with more verve elsewhere. Berkshire's acrylic illustrations are primitive and of average quality. In sum, these tellings are unremarkable and this book is far from essential for folklore collections.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
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