Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The Wonder Smith and His Son by Ella Young (published 1927) tells traditional Irish tales about the Gubban Saor, a magical builder (spelled elsewhere on the web as Gobán Saor). I had not been familiar with this traditional character from Irish history, so these stories were all new to me! They were quite strange. Unlike
The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung (illustrated by Hanna Cha; Henry Holt & Company, 2023) captures two different dragon traditions with rich illustrations depicting each culture’s tradition in a style reminiscent of the culture. Leung picture book is told from the grandmother’s perspectives, as if telling the child the story. The distinct shift between
Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger (originally published 1924) weaves together tales the author collected during travels to Central and South America throughout his life. As with many volumes of stories, they range in interest, plot, and theme. Some stories are directly connected to the previous ones in the volume. Others are separate tales
Bea Wolf (First Second, March 2023) is hands-down one of the most creative books I’ve read this year. It’s a fictional graphic novel that takes the classic Beowulf and gives it a modern-day twist, making it a thrilling and hilarious read for the reader, including older tweens, young adults, and any interested adults. Written by
Fairy Tale Comics, edited by Chris Duffy (First Second, 2013) collects a variety of drawing styles and author’s voices into this anthology of 17 different favorite fairy tales. Most of the tales are retellings that young children will be familiar with. A few are more unfamiliar, coming from traditions other than the Brothers Grimm. This
Although Little Cloud and Lady Wind by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010), is not a highly instructional book about the water cycle, I certainly cannot ignore a Toni Morrison book when it does even partially relates to the water cycle. In this fairy
I love retellings of traditional stories because I can often recognize familiar characters and storylines, but sometimes these stereotypes from our childhood are drastically turned on their heads. This is the case in Red: The (Fairly) True Tale of Red Riding Hood, by Liesl Shurtliff (Yearling, 2017). While we think we know the story of
In the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, Minli wants to change her family’s fortune, so she travels to Never-Ending Mountain to see the Old Man of the Moon. She wants to change her fortune so Fruitless Mountain will be green and her family will have more money. Telling stories is repeated, again
Ancient Greek and Roman mythology has always fascinated me. First I fell in love with D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. But then, even as a young teenager, I remember reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton, one of the first “pop culture” books that brought Greek mythology into the main stream for the general reader. It’s easy to
We recently listened to an amazing audiobook that surprised me by its depth and language. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a Newbery Honor book for good reason. By weaving Chinese traditional folktale into a modern story about a girl living in poverty, Ms Lin creates a fairy tale odyssey that
Peek Inside a Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood is an Usborne book board book with a few flaps and peek inside pages. You can see the next scene from the current scene. It is a really nice quality board book and the pictures are lots of fun. My daughter enjoyed the fact that she could see the
In his note following his picture book, The Grasshopper and the Ants (Little, Brown and Company 2015), Caldecott Medalist Jerry Pinkney says the picture book is intended to be an “homage to nature.” The rich details of the summer and autumn turning in to winter certainly provide an appropriate homage. As with his richly illustrated
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