More Stories to Solve: Fifteen Folktales from Around the World [Paperback]

George Shannon (Author), Peter Sis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2001 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

How did they do it?

How did a single firefly win a fight against onw hundred apes? How did the priest catch a thief with a rooster? How did a student outwit the king? How did a frog escape fron the picher of cream? These and eleven more tantalizing, brain-teasing mysteries are waiting in the pages of this book.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-- Shannon and Sis again bring together a collection of folkloric riddles, replicating the previous format and success of their Stories to Solve (Greenwillow, 1985). Each of the 15 selections comes from a different culture, with the source usually identified in the text of the riddle or discernible from visual clues in the accompanying illustrations. Further information is provided at the end of the book. The tales vary in difficulty, although the answers are generally contained within the text. The weakest one involves a banker who cheats a Brahman; unlike the others, the solution lies in moral, rather than logical, reasoning. Sis's stylized pen-and-ink drawings support the stories and entertain. Overall, a satisfying gathering of brain teasers, sure to please riddle lovers and especially useful for teachers introducing the global village concept through world folklore. --Dorothy Houlihan, White Plains Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Like Stories to Solve (1985), a collection of very brief riddle-stories, each with its solution given after a page turn. Like the Irish story about a lawyer who gets the devil to agree that his father will live as long as a candle stub ``lasts'' and then blows the candle out, most depend on trickery plus the clever use of logic. Practiced storytellers may enjoy embroidering Shannon's bare-bones versions; on the other hand, Sis provides elaborate settings, his quietly comical crosshatched drawings handsomely framing the text. An excellent addition to any collection. Notes on sources. (Folklore. 5-12) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380732610
• ISBN-13: 978-0380732616
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

It feels as though I have always been wrapped in stories and books. My parents read to me, and I in turn read to younger brothers. Family economics meant we couldn't own many books, but going to the library was as common as going to the market. I still have the books I received as gifts. They include two "Little Golden Books" that were savored in childhood, and have served as talisman ever since. THE BUNNY BOOK by Patsy and Richard Scarry (1955) and RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS by Richard Scarry (1953).

Like all children I created stories as part of play. And, like some children, I was soon identified as one who "days dreams too much." I began writing stories when they were given as assignments in elementary school. By seventh grade I was writing even when there was no assignment. My dream of making books became so vivid, I submitted my first "formal" picture book manuscript to a publisher when I was sixteen. Eleven more years of school, work, reading, writing and luck finally brought about LIZARD'S SONG, my first children's book to be accepted.

Looking back, it seems especially appropriate that LIZARD'S SONG was my first book. Even though I had been writing for years, I always felt everyone else's life held better ideas for stories than mine did. I thought there was nothing about me that was interesting enough to make a good story. But I finally learned what Lizard teaches Bear. My best stories come when I tell or sing about what makes my home. What I love. What I fear. Things that have happened to me, and things I hope will happen. Things I like about me. Things I dislike about me. Things I understand, and things that still confuse me. So even though I am not a lizard, squirrel, chicken or rabbit, when you read my books you'll find little bits of what my heart calls home.

Picture books have been my professional focus now for 40 years. Reading them. Writing them. Sharing them with children. Teaching workshops and classes on writing them. Oh yes, and buying them. Lots of them. And now, blogging about them, and helping other writers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Logic outside the box - pure fun, September 7, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: More Stories to Solve: Fifteen Folktales from Around the World (Paperback)

This sequel is worthy of its predecessor; it too consists of folktales, very concisely told, that in some sense are a riddle, a puzzle, a play on words ... These stories are presented as problems to solve.

A major strength of the book is the variety of sources of the tales - Korean, Liberian, Kasmiri, Russian, Bengali, Chilean, Mexican, Burmese; in fact many of the stories could have come from any of a number of cultures. The illustrations add to the interest of the book for its intended audience.

The only weakness is that it offer no alternative answers or requires knowledge that may not be familar to the reader. If children are reading the book independently, they may not have the confidence to recognize that their answer is a clever as the one given in the text.

This is a fun book that should be enjoyed by parent and child.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and exciting book!, March 31, 2006

By 

Karen L. Hinkley "mshinkleyrocks" (Castro Valley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: More Stories to Solve: Fifteen Folktales from Around the World (Paperback)

I read this to my third grade class and it really helps their critical thinking skills. The stories are so fun and sometimes I am stumped!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More Stories to Solve, September 18, 2010

By 

Paul G. Linder - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: More Stories to Solve: Fifteen Folktales from Around the World (Paperback)

I am always looking for reading material for me and the kids at night, and mine have reached that tweener age where it is difficult.
These mysteries held their interest because I made it interactive, but it was a little hard for them to relate to the settings.
My biggest complaint , however, is that it is very short making it a poor value. There are only 15 stories each one runs only a few pages