Book
Corner
2003
Aesop Award Winners
Horse Hooves and Chicken Feet: Mexican Folktales. Selected by Neil Philip. Illustrated by Jacqueline Mair. New York: Clarion Books (a Houghton Mifflin Company Imprint), 2003. 83 pages. (K-8)
As the introduction says, "Although
the plots--what folklorists call the 'tale types'--of some of the Mexican
folktales in this book can be found in the Grimms' collection, the atmosphere
and flavor of these tales is completely different" (1). Neil Philip
tells us that these translations and retellings have been made "in
a spirit of tribute to Mexican storytellers like the one name Sabino Lopez,
who, in the late evening, it is told, gathered neighborhood children in
a circle and told them stories. They listened but watched too, at the
flickering oil lamp at the street corner. The children loved the stories
and begged for one after another, but hoped to scamper home before the
dim light flickered out."
The illustrations in this little text of classic folkloric stories, with
Mexican Catholic imagery, were drawn by Jacqueline Mair and were largely
taken from her Mexican sketchbooks. "The Two Marias" (AT511,
AT 480), a story related to the "Cinderella" motif, with a wicked
stepmother, helpful birds, the Virgin Mary instead of a fairy godmother,
and a prince, is charmingly illustrated in a folk art style that enhances
the story. "Pedro, the Trickster (AT330), and "Cinder Juan"
(AT 545), are both stories of "enchantment and transformation,"
that would transfix readers (and listeners) of any age. The illustrations
nearly shout with brilliant colors, and the stories can be told to and
appreciated by young children by using the profuse illustrations to talk
the story.
This book would be good for K-8 and is an enjoyable folkloric text for
adults also. It could serve as an excellent source for storytellers seeking
Mexican folktales and includes an extensive bibliography.
Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys. Collected and told by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Raul Colon. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Books, 2003. 112 pages. (All ages)
As this book's frontispiece
notes, this is "a
collection of folktales
from around the world that demonstrate the triumph of brains over brawn."
Yolen has chosen and retold stories from China to Israel, Finland to Burma,
and other parts of the world including Native American and African American.
Her purpose is to remind young readers that "the true heroes are
the ones who solve their problems--and the problems of the world--without
ever having to resort to force" (Yolen x). The text includes notes
on each story explaining the historical path of the tale and often explains
how she has updated and adapted the story. For instance, in "Mighty
Mikko," Yolen "used the plot of Parker Fillmore's Finlandic
version...little more than 'Puss in Boots,'" and has written [her]
own scenes and dialogue.
One of my personal favorites is "Language of the Birds," a Russian
tale with a hero who learns to hear the language of the birds and animals.
Sticking "close to the plot of the original version," Yolen
reminds her readers that "the thrust of the tale is never the learning
of the language, but what the hero does with the knowledge" (Yolen
104). Illustrated with expressive pen and ink drawings throughout, the
collection is lucid and engaging. I would recommend the book for fairy
tale lovers of any age.
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales. New York/London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002. 143 pages. (All ages)
Nelson Mandela, 1993 Nobel
Peace Prize recipient, has selected these African folktales for the children
of today's Africa, the children of the world, and for the children of
the future. With the rhythm of ancient drums, he reminds us, Ashanti storytellers
began their stories with the words: "We do not really mean, we do
not really mean, that what we are going to say is true" (Foreword
7). Mandela wrote, "It is my wish that the voice of the storyteller
will never die in Africa, that all the children in the world may experience
the wonder of books, and that they will never lose the capacity to enlarge
their earthly dwelling place with the magic of stories" (8).
Trickster tales about the cunning jackal, a royal Kenyan lion, spiders,
hares, and a snake with seven heads, represent both wise animals and evil
monsters. Their stories carry lessons of acts and consequences, rewards
for obedience and punishment for transgressions as well as creation tales
and stories set against the beauty and rhythms of Africa.
One brief excerpt from "The Mantis and the Moon," gives an example
of the beauty found in these engaging stories: "When daylight came,
the moon appeared pale and steady and the shadows of the thorn trees fell
sharply on the sand; bird flight was clear and swift and the mantis knew
the moon had taken all the splinters from his eyes" (65).
Containing stories from Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and other places
throughout the African continent, this is a beautifully illustrated text
to be savored, read, and told over and over again.
The Sun, The Rain and The Apple Seed: A Novel of Johnny Appleseed's Life. Linda Durrant. New York: Clarion Books, 2003. 200 pages. (All ages)
In the 1790s, an eccentric
young man named John Chapman, later nicknamed Johnny Appleseed, felt called
by God to travel through the American West planting apple seeds that would
feed the hungry and produce more seeds for planting and trading. Durrant
has painted a fictional but vivid historical portrait of an energetic
visionary. Written with artistic flair for visual imagery, Durrant has
produced a carefully researched historical fiction that both teaches and
reveals another time through stories of people, nature, and place. In
response to the tension and conflict between the Seneca and the settlers,
Johnny says: "Tell them that apple trees grow best when there are
two different kinds of trees growing together: McIntosh and Northern Spy,
or McIntosh and Ashram's Kernel. Aren't people the same way? That is,
if two different kinds of people live in the same place, don't they make
each other stronger? They are nourished by each other's strengths because
they are different. . . " (Durrant 77).
Her descriptions of nature and place are equally engaging: "Foraging
critters used to worry the cornmeal sack and apple seed pouches. Deer
families would drink from the river. When the canoes slipped by, they'd
look up in alarm, their muzzles dripping water, their ears quivering"
(Durrant 113). This final quote gives the reader a glimpse of Kentucky:
". . . he saw quiet plantations and rich pastures. At sunrise and
sunset, when the shadows of the lush grass blades were just right, those
green pastures glowed blue" (184).
This little book is well-researched and beautifully written. I recommend
it for both juveniles and adult readers.
