Ten Small Tales 2 Ed: Stories from Around the World [Hardcover]

Celia Barker Lottridge (Author), Joanne Fitzgerald (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

Celia Barker Lottridge knows that young children respond best to tales told with inviting rhythms, and better still when the stories have reassuring endings and embody simple truths. Here Lottridge has collected and retold ten remarkably fresh folk tales from Malaysia, Russia, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, China, Africa, and India. The stories, which promote cooperation and self-awareness, are complemented by serene pen-and-watercolor illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ten Small Tales: Stories from Around the World, retold by Celia Barker Lottridge, illus. by Joanne Fitzgerald, expands the nursery canon with a collection of globe-wide retellings. "The One-Turnip Garden" from Russia simplifies the classic tale of the gigantic turnip; the less familiar "Four Legs, Four Arms, One Head" is based on a Malaysian tale; and "The Magic Drum" derives from India. Fitzgerald's watercolors shift easily between humans and animals and retain the flavor of the cultures from which the tales originate.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-From distant lands-Malaysia, Russia, China, the Congo, the Far North-Lottridge has collected and adapted 10 folktales. All are short, from four to eight pages including illustrations. Each presents a child or an animal with a unique problem or desire, from a monkey who wants to dance on the village rooftops, to four animals who want to picnic on top of the mountain. All of the stories have thoroughly satisfying endings. In "The One-Turnip Garden," the girl who was too little to help plant and tend the garden is the one whose words help harvest the "big gigantic turnip." The stories have fine traditional structures, with a series of incidents building to a climax. They are written to invite listeners' participation in repeating verses, phrases, or cumulative lists. The many charming pale watercolor illustrations are the icing on the cake. A page of notes gives the national origin and sometimes the collection of tales from which the story was adapted. Storytellers and their audiences, parents looking for short bedtime selections, and children who have recently learned to read will enjoy this book. One copy won't be enough for busy children's rooms.
Nancy Seiner, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books; 2nd edition (November 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888991568
• ISBN-13: 978-0888991560
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,039,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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