Customer Reviews

The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World

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Phelps created two collections of tales featuring strong women to show that not all female heroines in folklore are passive victims of circumstance. This book was originally published in 1981 to answer the feminist attack against fairy tales that appeared in the 1970s. This collection pulls stories from several cultures and will be great for reading at bedtime. Included in the 21 tales are East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Duffy and the Devil, and The Old Woman and the Rice Cakes (from Japan). The tales are interesting enough to keep the attention of both adults and children. I also recommend Phelps' other collection, "Tatterhood."

I got this book as a little girl, along with another collection "Tatterhood", written and edited by the same people (I believe). This one stuck in my mind as being the most entertaining, although both were good.

The unique, although sparse, illustrations are very interesting and wonderful, not like any other drawings in children's book. Unlike "Tatterhood", the fact that these stories were about young girls really drew me, and was quite exciting. For parents with little girls interested in legends, fantasy, and faraway places, I'd definitely recommend buying this for your children and reading it aloud.

I do like PC Bedtime Stories but that book is clearly directed at adults and is frankly, not in favor of PC.

This book is great because it compiles traditional stories from different cultures and shows that girls don't have to change for others, don't have to wait for a man to do something, can still be feminine and want love and respect and neither is exclusive to the other.

This collection of stories is wonderful. My six-year-old (advanced) daughter's favorite, Elsa and the Evil Wizard, is just one of the many folk tales in this collection. With all the elements of a good fairy tale, in addition to a strong, resourceful, and intelligent female role model, this is one story that makes girls feel good about being decisive and strong-willed. Our daughters and sons need to hear more stories like this one, to counteract the weak princess types whose only worth and happiness is too closely connected to being "saved" by the handsome prince. We also love Ethel Phelps' stories about Tatterhood. More like this, please!

I just love this book. And I was lucky enough to get a first edition in good shape. I haven't read folk-tales since I was a kid, and only just started because I needed to find one for a graduate class I am taking. These bite-size stories are perfect for bedtime reading because I can read a whole story and call it quits. No cliffhangers. And not only are the stories beautifully written, but they all portray the woman as being valuable for reasons other than beauty. Although this book is subtitled "feminist folk tales from around the world," I do not believe the book is just for young girls. Boys too should hear stories of powerful, smart women. In fact, they would probably be more interested in these stories than Cinderella and sleeping beauty.

I love this book. Ever since a family friend gave it to me several years ago, I often go back and read the stories over and over again because they are so enchanting. For once, the female characters balance out with the usual "heroic" male counterparts; No damsels in distress or cunning and villainous old hags here. The Maid of the North is not, however, preachy or boring in its feminism, but it subtley sends the message out to girls that females in folktales can be just as intelligent, fun and resourceful as the males. These engaging stories are perfect for readers of any age.

These stories are cool. Strong and smart girl & woman main characters. Extra female and male characters -- some are strong smart, some stupid and lazy. Great to read before bed rather than watch tv. Great to read to kids, too, as a bed time story, shortening when needed. Both for boys and girls -- action packed. Kids will ask "why" a lot, leading to interesting discussions about what is real and what is imaginary, and much more. Truly international. Not too scary for kids, either.