Favorite Folktales from Around the World

by Jane Yolen

Book Overview

From Africa, Burma, and Czechoslovakia to Turkey, Vietnam, and Wales here are more than 150 of the world's best-loved folktales from more than forty countries and cultures. These tales of wonder and transformation, of heroes and heroines, of love lost and won, of ogres and trolls, stories both jocular and cautionary and legends of pure enchantment will delight readers and storytellers of all ages. With black-and-white drawings throughout Part of the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394751884
• ISBN13: 9780394751887
• Release Date: August 1988
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

I adored it.

I teach elementary school, and I originally got this book because I was instructing other teachers on how to incorporate multicultural folklore into their classrooms. However, this book ended up spending most of its time by my bedside. It is SO GOOD. I came across it by accident, but I totally love it, just as much as I love my anthology of original Grimm's fairy tales. If you have any interest in the nuances of folktales, and if you love looking for similarities between cultures, start here. It's amazing.

Wonderful Collection

This is a great collection of folktales from all over the world. I used it for a school report and have not been able to put it down since.

Fantastic resource

I've had this book since I bought it at 13 and I absolutely love it. Since then, I have read this anthology several times over and know most of the stories by heart. While these stories are geared towards more of an adult audience, there are are also many stories in the book that are suitable for children. Buy this book and let it spark your imagination. Many countries are represented.

If you like folktales, you'll want this book

Not only is this collection marvelously diverse, but it's also incredibly easy to read. Though the tales still retain the feel of original storytelling, they do not have the awkward idiosyncracies you find in other texts with obscure (to the US) tales which have been litreally translated or transcribed. If you're tired of seeing the same tales in every book you find, get this one. It's a wonderful resource and just plain fun to own.