Kwaidan Review

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(More customer reviews)"Kwaidan" is Hearn's most famous book, and justifiably so. It is the least academic of his works, collecting together some of Japan's core ghost and monster stories into one slim volume. Much like the Brothers Grimm, Hearn did not actually create these stories but rather compiled them and put them into written form for the first time, learning them from folk tales and storytellers.

Along with famous, "Kwaidan" is Hearn's most influential book. "The Story of Mimi-nashi Hoichi" is as well-known in Japan as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is in the United States. The "Yuki Onna" has made it into a few films, including Kurosawa's "Dreams" and the filmed version of this book, "Kwaidan."

The stories themselves are of excellent quality, ranging from spooky ghost tales to humorous tales of wandering monks encountering monsters. Each story ranges from 5-15 pages long.

Along with the stories are three insect studies, the likes of which can be found in all Hearn books. These are excellent academic studies of insects in traditional Japanese folk lore, including children's songs and haiku poetry involving insects.

Included are:

The story of Mimi-nashi Hoichi
Oshidori
The story of O-Tei
Ubazakura
Diplomacy
Of a mirror and a bell
Jikininki
Mujina
Rokuro-kubi
A dead secret
Yuki-Onna
The story of Aoyagi
Jiu-Roku-Zakura
The dream of Akinosuke
Riki-Baba
Hi-Mawari
Horai

Insect Studies -
Butterfiles
Mosquitos
Ants

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Product Description:
KWAIDAN means "weird tales." Lafcadio Hearn has taken KWAIDAN and written some amazing, hair-raising tales of long ago-delicate, transparent, ghostly sketches of a world unreal, but with a haunting sense of spiritual reality. It is a unique collection of haunting Japanese supernatural stories written by a Westerner who adopted Japan as his homeland.
KWAIDAN is full of goblins and ghosts, snowwomen and treewomen, a kingdom of dead warriors, and a kingdom of ants where a man might spend a lifetime in only a few moments. The stories inspired no less a writer than Edgar Allen Poe, and were the basis for the 1965 movie of the same name, which consisted of four ghost stories adapted from Hearn's work.

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Pushing up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is an outstanding work by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) for all theatre professionals as well as K-12 teachers.I strongly recommend that it be part of every school library collection.

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Coomacka Island: The Story of Spider & Ant Review

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(More customer reviews)A wonderful story that teaches children about sharing, working together, and the important of community. I purchased this book for my niece and nephew, and they enjoyed the narrative and the colorful graphics. This story has quickly become one of their favorites. I highly recommend this to anyone with small children (although some adults could relearn some of these lessons).

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Product Description:
Experience the joy of Coomacka Island in the first of many folk tales on the life of its inhabitants. Spider learns about the dangers of greed and the abuse of friendship.

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Solomon And the Ant: And Other Jewish Folktales Review

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(More customer reviews)Much heart has gone into the creation of this handsome book, where 43 gently humorous, Jewish teaching folktales call to be shared aloud.Selections include religious stories, fables, and wisdom, trickster, and riddle tales, warmly retold by the late Sheldon Oberman, of The Always Prayer Shawl fame, and lovingly wrapped with expert commentary by Peninnah Schram, who prepared the manuscript for publication at his request.Lively dialogue refreshes traditional favorites and introduces many new tales less likely to be found in other modern collections.Character resourcefulness abounds. A merchant tricks a farmer into returning stolen money by letting him think he will be able to steal more.A girl learns how to face a bully by first collecting three hairs from a frightening dog.A discontented man comes to accept his own problems when he sees what is happening in other houses.Maimon wins a poisoning contest without using any real poison at all.King Solomon learns humility from an ant. Stories, some given new settings, take place through time in Holland, Morocco, America, and England, as well as Eastern Europe and Biblical lands. Oberman's notes set historical context for the tales, and Schram's expand what a particular story reveals about Jewish traditions and values.Both generously slide in other stories and delectable tidbits.Classic origins for the tales, along with selected sources and variants and motifs, complete each entry.The book ends with a glossary and comprehensive bibliography of approximately one hundred folklore collections. There is so much here. Attracted by Lloyd Bloom's arresting jacket art, readers will want to stay. Highly recommended for ages 8 and up.Reviewed by Sharon Elswit

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