Grandmothers' Stories: Wise Woman Tales from Many Cultures [With 2 CDs] [GRANDMOTHERS STORIES] [Paperback] - Softcover

Burleigh Muten

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846860105 ISBN 13: 9781846860102

Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

The stories in this anthology illustrate many of the qualities of the wise woman, offering readers of all ages a new perspective on the grandmother character that is usually presented in fairy tales as either menacingly evil or dim-witted and useless. With spirited grandmothers from as far afield as Senegal and Sweden, all of these tales are rich with humor, action and suspense. A fresh and witty retelling is complemented by finely detailed and mesmerizing illustrations.

About this title

From AudioFile

Both the familiar and the unusual grace this collection of stories honoring wise older women. The listener will nod with remembrance as one old woman's fine rice cakes bring her a red magic paddle and as another's job switch with her husb-and brings startling realizations to the latter. Ears will perk up for the arrival of a genie at the midwife's abode or the water spirits at the end of a laborer's long day. Through each tale kindness, cleverness, and wisdom shine. Olympia Dukakis's presentation creates the visual image of one reading to adoring listeners. Her voice is evenly modulated, and she introduces new story elements slowly, accelerating when there is repetition or a growing sense of urgency. Dukakis takes as much pleasure in each story as the listener will. A.R. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-5-Mut n retells eight folktales with the purpose of restoring the image of the wise woman "as a benevolent, resourceful, independent, informed guide, who is respected in her community," in place of the images of evil hags or silly fools. The stories come from Senegal, Japan, Russia, Hawaii, Mexico, Ireland, Germany, and Sweden, and are a mixture of the familiar ("The Old Woman Who Was Right" and "Old Mother Holle") and the lesser known ("The Midwife and the Djinn" and "The Woman in the Moon"). Mut n frames the tales with a grandmother/storyteller sharing them as bedtime treats. She has definitely chosen the role of author rather than ethnographer. A comparison of these tales with other versions shows that she is no purist-she adds dialogue and more descriptive narrative than do many traditional retellers. In an endnote, she cites sources and explains that she has occasionally added her own children's nonsense phrases as exclamations in three of the stories. Her smooth retellings are enhanced by Bailey's jewel-toned, gouache illustrations. Detailed border scenes unique to each story appear along the bottom of each page. The lively vignettes and occasional full-paged art make this collection especially accessible as a read-aloud or read-alone. This is for a younger audience than Kathleen Ragan's more encyclopedic Fearless Girls, Wise Women, & Beloved Sisters (Norton, 1998).-Sue Sherif, Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library, AK

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1846860105
• ISBN 13: 9781846860102
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Siān Bailey