Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folk Tales for Mothers and Daughters to Share [Mass Market Paperback]

Various (Author), Jane Yolen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

In this magical collection, an award-winning author and folklorist teams up with her daughter, selecting forty folk and fairy stories from all over the world that pay tribute to strong mothers, doting mothers, ambivalent mothers, obsessive mothers, even the quintessential wicked stepmother, and their relations-for better or worse-with their daughters. Included are enduring favorites such as Cinderella and the Greek myth of Persephone along with lesser known tales from the Sudan, Palestine, Italy, Africa, India, Russia, China, Japan, and the Americas. After each tale, Yolen and Stemple explore its place in folklore, family history, psychology, and literature. Whether read by mothers and daughters on their own or in mother/daughter reading groups, these stories are a source of connection and enchantment.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With more than 200 books to her name, popular storyteller Yolen (editor of Favorite Folktales Around the World) can be forgiven for one that doesn't quite measure up. The subtitle notwithstanding, this collection compiled with her grown daughter, with whom she has co-authored two children's books, is more apt to resonate with women than kids, for whom the authors' commentaries on parental expectations, sex and abuse, which are sprinkled with references to psychology and feminist texts, will be too didactic. Impatient teens who want to read a story only once may also balk at the structure. Each section highlights several variations of either a particular tale--including ones about Persephone, Rapunzel and Snow White--or a theme--such as caring daughters, mothers-in-law or bad seeds. On the other hand, mothers of all ages will welcome the opportunity to get reacquainted with mother-daughter folk stories like the French "Diamonds and Toads" (also known as "The Fairy") about just rewards, as well as ones from Bengal, Nigeria and Armenia that are less familiar in the West. Some stories are unnerving, like "Daughter, My Little Bread," an Indian tale about a newlywed who kills her mother and then is killed by her husband, while the Lebanese tale of self-sacrifice, "The Mother," is heart-warming in the best sense. There's no denying the pleasure of a well-told tale, or in this case forty of them, although mothers may need to do some extra work to spark conversation about them. Bibliography. Agent, Marilyn Marlow, Curtis Brown, Ltd. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A collection of beautifully retold international folktales that includes a running dialogue between Yolen and her daughter. This thematic exchange makes the book of interest to teenagers exploring their own relationships with their mothers. The book is divided into sections according to predominant themes in the stories, with such headings as "Really Good Mothers," "Hero Mothers," "Caring Daughters," "Mothers-in-law," and "Sex and-." As an introduction to each section, Yolen and Stemple explore their own relationship, the difference between what daughters want and what mothers want, the rewards of being good versus bad, and the great wisdom that women pass on as they nurture the next generation. Old European favorites like "Diamonds and Toads," "Rapunzel," "Cinderella," and "Snow White" are included, as are tales representing diverse cultures: Inuit, Chinese, Japanese, Native American Cherokee, Palestinian Arab, etc. The editors explain the significance of what they have done toward the end of the book: "We do not always understand them [the folktales] by a single reading, or by ourselves. But by talking about the tales, sharing them, we can open up both the external and internal meanings of the stories-and our own lives." In short, this book is a two-for-the-price-of-one and well worth it.-Cynthia J. Rieben, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Reprint edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140298355
• ISBN-13: 978-0140298352
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For every daughter with a mother!, April 15, 2000

By 

Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folk Tales for Mothers and Daughters to Share (Hardcover)

One must always take notice of any new work by Jane Yolen, especially someone like me who adores fairy tales. This collection of tales expands one of the most commonly explored themes in fairy tales--mother and daughter relationships. Yolen and Stemple include tales that present the dark relationships and the wonderful ones between mother and daughter. I recommend this book to anyone who is exploring this theme whether or not they are avidly interested in folklore. These tales present this relationship from various cultures and times that will inspire thought and discussion. Plus, it will just be fun to read with your mother or daughter.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good collection; sometimes irritating commentary, June 22, 2000

By 

"silo1013" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folk Tales for Mothers and Daughters to Share (Hardcover)

This is a good collection of grandmother/mother/daughter folktales [some well known, and some not-so-well known], but I found reading Yolen and Stemple's [often insipid and flawed] commentary a little tiring. Their dialogues only start to shine when they stop talking about folktales, and start talking about themselves, their daughters, mothers, and grandmothers.

Stories are grouped into thirteen "themes": Cinderella, Good Girls/Bad Girls, Bad Seeds, Sex and..., Persephone, Really Good Mothers, Hero Mothers, Grandmother, Rapunzel, Caring Daughters, Mothers-in-Law, Snow White, and Mixed Messages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD STORIES FOR MOMS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS, February 11, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folk Tales for Mothers and Daughters to Share (Hardcover)

The author of well over 200 books, Ms. Yolen is an internationally acclaimed author who has brought insight and ingenuity to her works. Ms. Stemple is the co-author of five of her mother's children's books.
Now, the pair celebrate the mother/daughter relationship with a collection of folktales old and new, well-loved and little known. Throughout each section of the book Ms. Yolen and Ms. Stemple engage in lively and revealing conversations as they share their impressions and memories of the stories, which present a wide spectrum of family life from conventional to unconventional, from devoted daughter to ungrateful child, from loving mother to wicked witch.
"Cinderella," an all -time favorite, is presented in both French and German versions as well as its Russian incarnation titled "The Wonderful Birch." An ensuing conversation between the editors emphasizes the fact that most "Cinderella figures are strong-willed young women" and that the tale holds mixed messages, such as "Do not share. Do not be fair. Fight for what is yours."
And so it goes from Aesop's "The Crab and Her Mother" to the biblical story of Ruth plus fascinating stories from India, the Sudan, China, Scotland, and Czechoslovakia.
Readers may be happily surprised at the issues these stories raise and the conversations they engender.

- Gail Cooke