Tales from Silver Lands [Hardcover]

Charles J. Finger (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers (May 4, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385075138
• ISBN-13: 978-0385075138
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,116,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful tales for any age, October 21, 2000

By 

"creedence" (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Silver Lands (Hardcover)

I first got this book when I was in the 4th grade. Thats right, the 4th grade. It is an excellent compilation of above average stories. Ancient tales like the "Calabash Man" and "The Tale Of The Gentle Folk." These stories can be appreciated across the board by all ages. The fantastic wording creates vivid pictures in the mind, and slips a moral in while you're not looking. I struggle to describe my appreciation for this wonderful compilation of tales. It is still my favorite book, since the 4th grade, and I'm in college. So it just goes to prove my point.

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun & interesting look at fairy/folk talks from another culture, January 24, 2012

By 

Basically Amazing Ashley (ID) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Silver Lands (Paperback)

Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger won the John Newbery Award in 1925. I didn't know anything about the book when I picked it up other than it's Newbery, but I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by what I found.

I have always loved Fairy Tales. Like, a lot. If you remember, a few weeks ago I talked about my first experience reading Grimm's Fairy Tales, which helped cement my love for reading them as well. (If you are really interested, click here, and you can go back and read it.) So, imagine my delight when I realized this was a collection of 19 fairy tales recorded by Finger from South America. Although I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about other countries and their rich cultural histories as I'd like to be, I'm always open to learning more. And I think you can learn a lot about a society from their fairy tales and children's stories.

This was a real treat for me to read, and one I'm definitely looking forward to adding to my shelves and rereading, not only for myself but also to read to kids. I used to read some of the Grimm's fairy tales to my little brothers as a bedtime story, and I'd love to be able to add these tales to stories I can read/tell to young kids.

Although some of these stories might be classified as more mythology than fairy tale, I felt the same way reading these as I did reading the classic fairy tales. There's that sense of magic and possibility, where you know anything can happen, and although things might get a little rough along the way, and there probably won't be super happy ending, the good guys do win in the end.

I also noticed that the emphasis of each tale was placed on the struggles of each character rather than the resolution. The ending is always over so quickly. Normally, this is something that is a major no-no in writing, I mean, seriously. Who wants to read a 400 pg. build up to a 4 paragraph resolution?! But it seems to work in fairy tales. The stories aren't about what happens, it's about learning how to get there. We see their struggles, know their challenges and then we get to know they end up relatively alright in the end.

This is definitely a book I would recommend. The writing is a little older, but to anyone who is a fan of fairy tales in their original setting (or people who want to write a fairy tale retelling but are wanting new material) this is a great book to read and one that I strongly recommend.

3.0 out of 5 stars fairly entertaining collection of central/south american folk tales, June 27, 2011

By 

spacedog "spacedog7" (boston, ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Silver Lands (Paperback)

i enjoy folk/fairytales in general, and this collection is esp. interesting as a comparison to the more well-known european ones (the magic dog is eerily similar to the famous french fairy tale donkeyskin). there are some great images and situations, and although more than a few sort of meander and fizzle out there were enough uniques ones to keep you reading to the end. not the best, but not the worst either.