Thirty-Three Multicultural Tales to Tell (American Storytelling) [Paperback]

Pleasant DeSpain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2005 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: American Storytelling

People just can't live together without telling stories. We tell stories that are funny, ironic, insightful, or just simply pleasing to the tongue and ear. Stories just seem to happen. When a story happens with the force of universality, it finds its way into that pantheon of tales that is the common denominator of cultural exchange. Here are 33 such tales, collected from Brazil, China, Korea, Russia, Tibet, Africa, from America's native peoples, and other lands, and chosen for the universality ....

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-This collection of stories from around the world ranges from the serious to the humorous, and from the relatively familiar ("The Magic Pot" from China and the Grimms' "Clever Gretel") to the lesser-known ("The Goat and the Rock" from Tibet). DeSpain has included something for everyone-trickster stories about Coyote and Anansi, Creation stories, and tales of fools. Each selection is short (two to three pages) and is accompanied by a full-page, black-and-white, pen-and-ink illustration. The language is simple and direct, which makes the book a good source for beginning storytellers. The use of the same simple style from one tale to another tends to blur cultural distinctions, however, so that a story from Korea sounds much the same as one from North America. Notes give sources and some suggestions about how to tell the stories, but there is little information about cultural context. The country of origin is included, except in the case of Africa; those selections are identified simply as being from that continent. Average fare for large folk-tale collections.
Susan Giffard, Midtown Ethical Culture School, New York City
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

In his third collection, a well-known storyteller again gathers tales from around the world, featuring clever and foolish folk of all ages, supernatural creatures, hearty humor, low levels of violence, and deftly delivered messages. Some selections--the Japanese ``The Listening Cap''; the African ``Tug of War''--are already favorites, but several are from less familiar traditions (the Fijian ``How the Mosquitoes Left Kambara''), or from sources long out of print. ``The Princess Who Could Not Cry,'' billed as ``an original tale, more or less,'' is a funny switch on the idea of a pining princess; ``Old Joe and the Carpenter'' has traditional roots, but has become one of DeSpain's trademark stories. Exotic origins rest lightly on these tales, which are presented in easy- to-learn versions enlivened with unforced humor and clear, fluent language; most would take ten minutes or less to tell. Their readers will bring away a stronger impression of human culture's unity than of its diversity. Fine for independent reading or as a resource for fledgling storytellers. Source notes. (Folklore. 7+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: August House (December 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874832667
• ISBN-13: 978-0874832662
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MULTICULTURAL TALES FOR EVERYONE, October 21, 2000

By 

Doug Geier (San Francisco, Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirty-Three Multicultural Tales to Tell (American Storytelling) (Hardcover)

I have been using this great collection of stories in My San Francisco classroom for 5 years now. My classes are always composed of children from a wide variety of different cultures. It is so powerful to have one book that so many students can relate to. With stories from Japan, Africa, Guatemala, Russia and many others, children can usually find a story that represents their personal culture. These stories are excellent tools for opening the door to group discussions. These discussions present opportune times to discuss morals, cultural differences/similarities and human nature. It is obvious that Pleasant DeSpain is a master storyteller and writer because the stories are so easy to read aloud. I could not recommend these tales to tell more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the classroom!, May 3, 2000

By 

Sara D. Ryan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirty-Three Multicultural Tales to Tell (American Storytelling) (Paperback)

I am a music educator and am constantly looking for books that contain multicultural stories that I can incorporate into my music lessons. Many different countries are represented in this book and the illustrations are useful. They are black and white, and I have even allowed some of them to serve as coloring pages in my class. Each of the stories are relatively short so that they work into lessons extremely well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We all love it!, August 15, 2007

By 

Apple Scruff (NH) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thirty-Three Multicultural Tales to Tell (American Storytelling) (Paperback)

I bought this for use in my classroom, and took it on vacation to review with my nieces and nephews. We all loved this book. The pictures were fun to look it, and all the stories we read promped great discussion! I am back on Amazon to look for other books by American Storytelling.