Showing results for "August" in Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

With material gleamed on that trip and from the tradition of African tellers in North America, Bobby Norfolk electrifies audiences with energized retellings of Anansi the wise, Anansi the resourceful, and Anansi the mythic underdog figure who is never undone or outdone.

Family storytelling at its most hilarious, the Maynard Moose tales of Willy Claflin entertain all ages. An excellent choice for family car trips, these whimsical retellings excite young imaginations and delight young and old with their creative use of language.

In this cumulative retelling of an ancient and widely circulated legend, storyteller Heather Forest shows that when each person makes a small contribution, the collective impact can be huge. Illustrated by Susan Gaber.

In this story from India, a farmer's three lazy sons don't want to work. They sit around dreaming of making a lot of gold. When their mother tells them of gold buried in a field, they ask her how to bring the gold to the surface. Through clever suggestions, their mother explains how to thed the fields as they discover the true riches offered by hard work. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

Anansi is invited to three parties and wants to attend them all. He gives each of his hosts a rope to tug, ties the other end around his own waist, and waits to be summoned when the food is served - but when all of the food is ready at the same time, Anansi is caught in the middle! That's why Spiders have small waists today.

In this story, a poor boy's dream of having a drum takes him on an unlikely path. He meets several people who guide him along the way. In time, he learns to make his own magic in this world. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

Around the world each night, parents tell stories to children as they put them to bed. Margaret Read MacDonald - a folklorist, storyteller, and children's librarian - uses bedtime tales in the daytime to end her story hours on a calm note. Here, with accompaniment on dulcimer and autoharp by musician Richard Scholtz, she includes seven of her favorites from around the world.

It started out as a small zombie problem. Then four more zombies tagged along. Now there are too many to count! From the acclaimed illustrator of Flora & Ulysses comes the exciting conclusion to the Zombie Problems trilogy. After facing an alligator attack and a paddle boat accident in search of...

Der Herr der Berge und Fürst der Gnomen, von den Menschen Rübezahl genannt, treibt sein Unwesen mit Wanderern und Bergbauern im Riesengebirge. Doch er kann sich auch als edel und hilfreich erweisen, je nachdem, wie ihn seine Laune und sein Humor lenken. So ist jeder Gang über das Riesengebirge ein riskantes Wagnis, das mancher nicht unbeschadet übersteht.

Slow but steady Turtle exhibits wisdom, perseverance, and cunning in these world folktales. Full of adventure that's sure to captivate young listeners, these tales hold meaning for all ages.

Listening to this collection, one has the sense of being in the presence of a master performer of the oral tradition. Bobby Norfolk's dynamic pacing, the range of his incredible voice, and his mastery of the story material itself, make this new recording an important and satisfying addition to your storytelling or folklore shelf.

In this story from Peru, we meet a baker who is so stingy that he wants to charge people just for smelling his baked goods. When the baker takes his case to court, the wise judge decides to teach the greedy man a well-deserved lesson. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

When the animals all get together in the jungle, they discover that the noise that they have been making is indeed music. Dylan Pritchett weaves a tale that helps us disover that we all have music inside just waiting to come out. Illustrated by Erin Bennett Banks.

In this Choctaw variant of Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare", storyteller Tim Tingle reveals some unexpected twists and expands the cast to include a wild turkey, a colony of ants, and a cheering squad of Little Bitty Turtles.

Johnny Appleseed's real name was John Chapman, a native of Massachusetts who lived from 1774 to 1845. It is known that he wandered for 40 years through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana sowing apple seeds, staying one step ahead of the pioneer movement in order to sell seedlings to those who traveled through.

From twenty-year veteran storyteller Pleasant DeSpain - known for reducing folktales to their essence - twenty "retellable" folktales from around the world.

Remember the Monster Stick? The greatest and most dangerous fishing-rod ever? What about Buck, who simply "ain't no ordinary dog"? Anyone who has seen the Lepp boys perform or read their book The Monster Stick will never forget them. In this recording, we revisit West Virginia with Bil Lepp as he tells some of the stories that made his brother, Paul, and himself repeat winners of the West Virginia State Liars Contest.

As the oral tradition takes root in the hearts of each new generation of children, compelling folk rhymes and irrepressible folk stories such as these play a role in the transmission of our cultural wisdom - be wary of strangers, honor your elders, work hard - but play hard, too. Donald Davis has a gift for story; these stories have a gift for your child.

"What is your favorite story?" is the question children across the country often ask professional storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. As he attempts to answer, his list grows longer and longer, until he confesses he likes them all. An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling.

An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling. This new, digital recording of ten stories is excerpted from DeSpain's Twenty-Two Splendid Tales to Tell from Around the World, Volume One. The accompanying music - original compositions for this recording by Jim Wolfe - reflects the styles of the featured cultures.