Serpents and Werewolves

July 1, 2016

Gr 2-6-Since these collections contain tales from many cultures, readers might expect them to evince differences in settings and language, but, alas, the retellings are sadly featureless. While it's generally accepted that individual storytellers will alter folktales to their own styles, it's odd to have the princess of an old Scottish story say "yuck" or for parents in a story set in Mexico to be referred to as "mom" and "dad." It is commendable that at the end of Serpents and Werewolves, author Don references the original works that inspired her retelling and explains why she chose to change certain elements of the tales. Pearson, on the other hand, gives no indication of the source materials she's used, stating in the afterword to Magic and Misery that she "came to realize it didn't matter where they began because they are all part of a common European heritage." While in two of the volumes, the tales come from all over the world, in Magic and Misery the stories are predominantly European. Students may also be confused by the organization of the series. In addition, the tale "The Bride Who Waited" (labeled "North American") features a "Sioux maiden" without any further context. Also, "The Gold Sea" is referred to as a "Canadian Tribal Tale" without any specification of what tribe. VERDICT For simple retellings of folktales, Virginia Haviland or Anne Rockwell's classic collections are a better bet.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
A storyteller puts her own stamp on 15 traditional tales from four different continents about shape-shifters, those people who turn into animals and back again.In her afterword, Don explains, "I've altered all these stories as I tell them to make them work for me and for the audience I'm telling to." She carefully states her sources and then explains her adaptations, sometimes saying that children have given her ideas. There are occasional anachronisms. "Yuck" seems to be a favorite way to express disgust, but Don wants her readers to feel comfortable. If she loses some gravity in her tellings, she quickly gains readers' interest. A kid understands completely the boy who becomes a buzzard in a tale from Mexico and says "Yuck!" when he finds out that he must eat dead bodies. "Mom" and "dad" are used in the final story, about a child becoming a werewolf, more original than most of the others, although "inspired" by a German tale. The black vignettes (occasionally reused) and the small drawings of a branch with a caterpillar from "The Ashkelon Witches" (a Jewish folk tale) appearing as a header and the snakes from "The Snake Prince" (from the Punjab) flanking the page numbers contribute to the book's handsome design. Two other series entries publish simultaneously: Ghosts and Goblins: Scary Stories from Around the World and Magic and Mystery: Traditional Stories from around the World, both by Maggie Pearson and illustrated by Greenwood. Engaging stories that will hook kids, send them looking for traditional stories, and perhaps encourage some to take up the art of oral (and written) storytelling. (Fiction. 8-11)

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August 1, 2016
Grades 3-6 This collection of shape-shifter tales from around the globe offers up everything from werewolves to witches to gods. While too brief to be comprehensive, it covers a broad swath of shape-shifting stories, from ancient Norse myths, Egyptian tales, and Ovid's Metamorphoses to Japanese folktales and Scottish legends. Don keeps the violence mild and introduces a variety of cultural words like kitsune (foxes that turn into humans) and turnskin (where someone's skin is human on the outside and covered inside with wolf skin). The writing itself is simple and straightforwardto a fault at times, as a reader of global tales would likely prefer more elaborate world building and memorable dialogue. Thankfully, the author encourages further retelling and revisions, and the back matter supplies other versions of the tales, as well as discussing the author's focus on creating stronger and more powerful heroine figures. Other titles simultaneously publishing in the World of Stories series include Ghosts and Goblins and Magic and Mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)