In this chain story from Cuba, Rooster learns that he needs a lot of help from his friends to get cleaned up in time for Heron's party. Then the real fun begins.
In this story from China, when a woodcutter finds a magic pot that makes two of everything that he puts inside of it, he thinks all of his troubles have disappeared! Or have his troubles merely doubled?
In Puerto Rico, there are many stories about Juan Bobo, a young man with a good heart, but little common sense. In this tale, Juan Bobo's mother tells him to take care of their pig while she goes to church. When the pig won't stop grunting, Juan Bobo decides that the pig must want to go to church as well.
In this Choctaw variant of Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare," master 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 as well. When Rabbit boastfully challenges Turtle to a race, he gets his comeuppance and Turtle gets a little assist from his winged friend, Turkey. In the process, we learn why Turtle's shell is cracked and why you never see Rabbit racing Turtle today. The bold and vibrant illustrations capture not only the grasslands of the High Plains but also the demeanor of its animal inhabitants and the humor of the tale.
You may think you know the classic story of the Ugly Duckling, but think again. In the capable hands of his alter ego Maynard Moose, renowned storyteller Willy Claflin takes us on a wacky journey where this Uglified Ducky, a hapless young moose, "blunders away" from his home, is mistaken for a baby duck, and endures endless humiliation as he tries to learn to waddle, quack, swim, and fly. Eventually, he finds his true "fambly," who helps him discover his own beauty. In his fractured Moose English, translated in the glossary at front, Maynard relays a surprisingly tender story that echoes the original tale's theme of the struggle to belong and discover your true self. The Uglified Ducky's quest is playfully but sympathetically interpreted in James Stimson's luminous, droll gouache illustrations.
Only Maynard Moose could dream up this hilarious story that mashes up three fractured fairy tales by combining the stories of Rapunzel's golden locks with Sleeping Beauty along with Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs to create a bizarre adventure story.
This lyrical picture book of 20 clever riddles challenges young readers to use their imagination to solve the word and picture puzzles.
Have you ever heard the saying, Your eyes are bigger than your stomach? Well, Cat's stomach is bigger than a lot of things. He is always hungry, and living with culinary-inclined Mouse, who makes thirty-five pies in one day, just makes it worse. Fat Cat swallows everything in sight, including the washlady and her washtub, a troop of soldiers and their swords, even a king and his elephant! But when Cat swallows Mouse and her sewing basket, that's the last straw. Tiny Mouse cuts to the heart of the situation, taking an upside-down world and turning it right-side-up again. Greedy Cat learns his lesson and turns fat into fancy, fabulous, and fantastic. Margaret Read MacDonald's infectious energy combines with Julie Paschkis's folk-inspired gouache paintings to create a new retelling of a favorite comic cumulative tale.
With a tiny, cluttered house, giggling children, and a snoring wife, the poor man can't get a good night's sleep. If only, he thinks, I had a big quiet house! He throws off his covers and goes to visit the wise old woman at the edge of the village. Surely she can help him solve his problem. And she does, but not without giving him some very unusual advice. Bring a chicken into your house, she suggests. And when that doesn't work, she has him add a goat, a horse, a cow, and even a sheep. The ending of the story proves, as so many ancient folktales do, that quite often, nonsense makes the best sense of all.