Mary Hoffman's vibrant retellings capture the fun, wisdom and rich character of the diverse cultures from which they spring. Every story involves a battle of strength or cunning, with a surprise outcome. The book is suitable for the Literacy Hour, Key Stage 1.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Two noted talents join forces to create an attractive, if not unique, collection of 10 folktales starring tricksters of land, sea and sky. The bulk of the stories, taken from Asia, Australia, North and South America and Africa, focus on bullies and braggarts who get their comeuppance (e.g., a fox who is proud of his quickness gets outsmarted by a slow but wily crab; a jackal king is overthrown after being tricked into revealing his true nature). Hoffman (Amazing Grace) departs from this theme toward the end of the volume with tales of pranksters who get away with, and even revel in, their bad behavior. The collection concludes with a pourquoi tale that seems out of sync with the rest of the stories. Although there is little in the style or substance of the retellings to evoke a sense of the tales' originating cultures, Hoffman chooses a uniformly clear, straightforward prose well-suited to capturing the attention of the target audience. Readers accustomed to Ormerod's (The Water Babies) soft watercolors may be surprised by these full-page and spot illustrations rendered with few, but sure, brushstrokes of bold, saturated color. Minimal source notes include several Internet sites, which are inaccessible or no longer in existence. A handsome volume, but one unlikely to stand out from the myriad other animal story collections. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Trickster Anancy reconsiders his mischievous past in a Caribbean tale of misunderstanding and repentance. Proud Fox is outsmarted by Crab in a brief story from China. An accidental dip in blue dye transforms Jackal from commoner to king in an Indian fable. These and seven other folktales introduce a cast of animal characters who justly receive their comeuppance or succeed in besting a braggart. This lively collection is global in scope and includes variants of familiar tales as well as a few from personal sources. Retold with clarity and brevity, they vary in length from three to five pages. Lots of dialogue sprinkled with contemporary language makes for spirited reading though some of the intriguing details of more elaborate versions are omitted in these simplified retellings. Ormerod's cheerful palette and bold brush strokes animate the personable creatures who inhabit a variety of page layouts, all made accessible to young readers by large type and lots of white space. A list of sources for all tales, including print collections and Web sites, is appended. A solid purchase where multicultural stories for young listeners and beginning chapter-book readers are popular.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Jungle of Bright Colors from Around the World,
By Daniel L. Berek (Flanders, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Twist in the Tail: Animal Stories from Around the World (Hardcover)
Folk tales are the oldest form of literature, told for hundreds of years before being written down. This delightful book presents a colorful selection of tales starring animals, comprising the following: "A Birthday Surprise," a spider trickster story from the West Indies with Asante (modern-day Ghana) roots; "The Fox and the Crab Have a Race," a tale from China, "The Bright Blue Jackal," a tale from India; "The Wolf Who Loved Sheep," a Los Nobos story from the Cape Verde Islands; "The Magpie and the Milk," a fable from Turkey; "The Pelican and the Fish," a storoy from Malaysia; "The Fox and the Boastful Brave," a Native American story from the Iroquois Nation; "The Tortoise Who Rode an Elephant," a Yoruba story from Nigeria; "The Very Clever Rabit," a tale from Venezuela; and "The Animal Who Couldn't Make Up Its Mind," an Aboriginal Australian story. This book does an admirable job of showing the universal appeal of animal stories, especially those of the trickster genre. Author Mary Hoffman, known for her beloved Amazing Grace stories, relates these tales in flowing, easy-to-read language, each one beautifully complemented with colorful artwork. An appendix offers information on the source of each of these timeless tales. Moreover, children of all cultures will be especially able to relate to the theme that being clever and humble is better than being big and strong.
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