The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women [Hardcover]

Katrin Tchana (Author), Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000 | Grade Level: P and up

This volume is an anthology of 18 stories about heroines with as much courage, wit and intelligence as their more familiar male counterparts. It includes Li Chi, the serpent slayer, and the old woman sly enough to outsmart the devil.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nothing is more satisfying than watching a valiant hero conquer a dragon, outwit a thief, or destroy a monstrous cannibal--unless it's seeing an intrepid heroine accomplish all these brave feats! In this remarkable anthology by the mother-daughter team of Trina Schart Hyman and Katrin Tchana, 18 stories showcase the courage, cleverness, and integrity of women who dare to go beyond their traditional roles and stand up for themselves and their people. Gleaned from fairy tales from around the world and retold by Tchana to make them "more vivid and vital to her audience," the stories include the tale of Li Chi, a 14-year-old girl who refuses to let a greedy sorcerer continue to sacrifice young girls to a horrible serpent. Clever Marcela is so cunning, she manages to outsmart a king--and fall in love while she's at it. Then there's Amarjit, the barber's wife, who, fed up with her handsome husband's laziness, manages to take matters in her own hands and create fabulous wealth from nothing. Caldecott Award-winner Trina Schart Hyman (Saint George and the Dragon) paints spectacular illustrations, worthy of their esteemed role in capturing both the noble and the grotesque. (Ages 7 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

From the Chinese tale of Li Chi who slays a serpent and saves her village to the Gambian story of an offbeat wise woman, Hyman (Saint George and the Dragon) and her daughter Tchana here collect 18 inspiring stories about women powerful in might and mind. While Tchana's retellings occasionally get bogged down in complicated or meandering plots, her heroines are uniformly impressive. They handle swords, needles and stew pots with equal skill, marry whom they please and even outwit the devil. A few tales contain odd scenariosAas when the skull of her grandmother tells Neruvana to kill her evil husband or the Sun-Girl chooses to abandon her baby to be with her true husband, the handsome Dragon-Prince. Brief source notes indicate the diverse origins of the stories, but Tchana maintains a consistent tone, emphasizing commonality rather than differences in cultures ("Hey, girl," calls the king to Clever Marcela, and "Hey, Janey," calls the squire in "Duffy the Lady"). The thick, oversize picture book features a single full-page watercolor and an opening spot illustration for each story. Hyman's spirited paintings emphasize bold and determined womenAJudith the pirate surrounded by her crew of court ladies, Vassilissa wrestling the duke's warlordAwhile keeping the details of the tales' settings intact. This is a fairy tale world where one can definitely hear women roar. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316387010
• ISBN-13: 978-0316387019
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.6 x 12.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacularly illustrated, splendid vlaues, terrific stories, September 19, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women (Hardcover)

In The Serpent Slayer And Other Stories Of Strong Women, Katrin Tchana artfully retells classic folktales from around the world which showcase strong women overcoming a diversity of daunting obstacles and fearsome challenges. These wonderful tales include The Barber's Wife; Nesoowa and the Chenoo; Clever Marcela; Sister Lace; The Rebel Princess; Beebyeebyee and the Water God; Kate Crackernuts; The Old Woman and the Devil; The Magic Lake; Grandmother's Skull; Three Whiskers from a Lion's Chin; Duffy the Lady; and the title piece, The Serpent Slayer are all spectacularly illustrated by the talents of Trina Hyman. These very highly recommended, multicultural stories of courage, cleverness, perseverance, and endurance are thoroughly entertaining, even as they hold forth splendid values and possibilities for their young readers as they live their own lives and overcome whatever obstacles or solve what ever problems they encounter while making their way through the world!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girls Night Out, September 11, 2000

By 

Xeneri - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women (Hardcover)

At last! A series of stories from around the globe written by a mother and daughter team all about female heroes (not heroines, mind you, but heroes.)

Featured in these pages are all kinds of women who are plucky, smart, resourceful, brave and just plain smart. This is just the sort of anthology to give to your daughters, to inspire and help them conquer their own life adventures. A very satisfying read for girls of all ages.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best of the best in female-oriented folk tale collections, August 22, 2006

By 

M. F. Lucas (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women (Hardcover)

In recent years, many collections of "empowered female" fairy tales have sprung up. This book simply happens to be one of the best. There are not many tales, but they are well-chosen, and the versions selected for publication are enjoyable to read. Stories from Africa, Asia, and Armenia (among the many locales) are every bit as accessible to the young American reader as more familiar English and Scottish tales. Hyman's illustrations are, as always, powerful, colorful, evocative, and fascinating--and the editorial comments are exceptionally good. This is a storybook with pictures, but it is very well researched, and the brief explanations of the chosen texts are scholarly, appropriate, and well-documented.

The reading level and subject matter make it appropriate for girls around 10-14; most stories would read aloud well to younger children, but there is no censoring here, and parents who feel squeamish about the verbally graphic dismemberment of a dragon or unwed/extramarital pregnancies would do well to proof their selections. That said, sex and violence are by no means a focus of the collection, nor are they emphasized in illustration. Children flipping through the pictures will not find anything objectionable. Girls who enjoy the novels of Patricia C. Wrede and Robin McKinley will find themselves at home; those new to folk collections will be hooked. If only they were all this good.

Highly recommended.