¿Has visto alguna vez la cola peluda de un conejo? Es mullida como una bola de algodón. Según este cuento, los conejos tenían antes la cola larga como la de las ardillas.
Tlacuache es un animal noble que siempre quiere ayudar. Coyote aprovecha su inocencia y siempre lo logra engañar.
Hace mucho tiempo los seres humanos podían comer bocados del delicioso cielo siempre que querían. Pero pronto el cielo tuvo que hacer algunos cambios.
Este cuento exagerado afroamericano habla de John Henry, un hombre tan grande como un roble vestido de overol. ¡Lee sobre el más forzudo constructor de ferrocarriles en el este, el oeste, el norte y el sur!
Dos dioses quieren gobernar una ciudad. Se organiza un concurso para decidir quién es el ganador. ¿El que resulte vencido será un buen perdedor?
¿Sabes por qué todas las ardillas rayadas tienen tres rayas largas en el lomo? Este cuento del porqué explica de manera muy creativa cómo las obtuvieron
The jaguar gets angry when all of the animals in the jungle create a ruckus. The otter says he isn't afraid and continues to make noise. What will happen?
Un sapo grande y cabezón vive burlándose y ofendiendo a todos los animales a su alrededor. Hasta que un buen día, por molestar a una pequeña hormiga aprende una gran lección.
Qué tal que te dieran de regalo una caja cerrada con candado? ¿Qué tal que te dijeran que nunca la abrieras? Pandora recibió de Zeus un regalo cerrado con candado. ¿Se fijará qué hay adentro?
El silencio de la naturaleza, ¿te aburre o te da tranquilidad? En esta fábula, el tucán y la tortuga deben decidir al respecto.
It started with a mother's love... Fleeing from a forest fire, a mother bear urges her two cubs into the watery shelter of a vast body of water. Though it will be difficult, she knows if they can swim across to the opposite shore, they will be safe. With calls of encouragement and steadfast love, Mother Bear guides her cubs across the great lake, Lake Michigan. And the story of what happens once Mother Bear reaches the far shore becomes the legend behind the natural wonder known as Sleeping Bear Dune.
Five minutes after his birth, Johnny Kaw is over six feet tall and still growing. When he outgrows his crib and even their town, his parents decide to move west where "little" Johnny can have plenty of room to play. After the family crosses the wide Missouri River to Kansas, Johnny sits down to play with his dog. His bottom ends up making the valley where his family will settle. And when Johnny clears stones from a field so his father can plow, he ends up creating the Rocky Mountains in the process. The legendary folk hero shapes the state's landscape by carving out valleys and creating prairies with his bare hands. Why, he even takes on a tornado when it threatens the family farm.
Readers will meet the fascinating main characters featured in many myths and legends. Award-winning children's book author and former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis not only examines creatures of popular legends such as mummies, werewolves, and zombies, but he also introduces lesser-known-but-just-as-menacing monsters such as the Roc and the giant called Xing Tian. Includes origins of the Frankenstein story as well as creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster, Baba Yaga, and the Phoenix. Monster, mystery, and fantasy fans of all ages will enjoy this alphabetical tribute.
Long ago in a faraway place there lived two mothers. One, a humble peasant woman who struggled daily to provide for her children. And the other, a mother spider who also worked hard to care for her family. And although it would appear they were as different as night and day, these two mothers had more in common than would first seem. As the only holiday gift she can give her children, one cold Christmas Eve the peasant woman goes to the forest to get a tree, never noticing that someone has made a home among its branches. During the night, the mother spider spins webs decorating the tree, resulting in a Christmas that neither mother will ever forget. Based on an old Ukrainian story, Trinka Hakes Noble (The Orange Shoes) crafts an original heartwarming tale of the grace that can be found in the true spirit of Christmas.
The Sparrow family is ready for their trip south for the winter, but Papas wing is hurt and he cannot make the trip. He asks the trees for help. One by one, the mighty, leafy trees of the forest say no! Will any of the trees help Papa Sparrow? What will happen to the selfish trees that turned him away? Discover why some trees lose their leaves in winter in this retelling of a Cherokee pourquoi tale.
La familia gorrión está lista para su viaje hacía el sur para pasar el invierno, pero el ala de Papá está lastimada y él no puede hacer el viaje. Él pide ayuda a los árboles. Uno por uno, los poderosos árboles, llenos de hojas, ¡le van diciendo que no! ¿Acaso alguno de los árboles ayudará a Papá gorrión? ¿Qué les pasará a los árboles egoístas que le dieron la espalda? Descubre por qué algunos árboles pierden sus hojas durante el invierno en este recuento de un relato del porqué.
Introduces the Greek god Zeus and explains his importance; features well-known Greek myths about this god; and includes map of ancient Greece and family tree of the Greek gods.
Have you heard these common proverbs? Let sleeping dogs lie. Where there's smoke, there's fire. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Or what about these riddles? What is black and white and red (read) all over? Why did the chicken cross the road? Why is 6 afraid of 7? Proverbs and riddles are tiny, bite-size pieces of folklore. They make us think. They tease our brains. They may make us laugh. But most of all, they tell us something about who we are and how we see the world.
When Tree Kangaroo and Koala dig a well to get some water, Tree Kangaroo ends up doing all of the work and Koala ends up with a stumpy tail in this origin story from Australia.
A clever, singing rabbit eats his way through the pea patch until Little Girl snatches him up and he is soon singing a new tune as he plans his escape. With a nod to Brer Rabbit, Pickin Peas is adapted from two folktales collected in Alabama and Virginia. The lively storytelling voice of award-winning author Margaret Read MacDonald, combined with Pat Cummings' bright, bold contemporary illustrations, makes this timeless battle-of-wits an instant classic.
This timeless ballad has been part of American folklore for over a century. Born with a hammer in his hand, John Henry discovers his true calling as a steel-driving man but he inevitably meets his match in a race against a steam drill that provides a powerful metaphor for the disruption and loss of innocence created by the industrial age. Thornton's charcoal drawings deftly capture the triumphal spirit of this cautionary tale.
Hace tiempo, los nidos de las urracas eran la envidia de todas las otras aves. Para ayudar a las otras aves, Magui Urraca pacientemente les explicó como construir un nido. Pero algunas aves eran impacientes y se fueron volando sin escuchar todas las instrucciones, razón por la cual, hasta este día, los nidos de las aves son de muchas formas y tamaños diferentes. Esta historia ingeniosa de recontar un viejo cuento popular inglés nos enseña la importancia de escuchar cuidadosamente.
Long ago, when the world was young, the magpies' nests were the envy of all other birds. To help the other birds, Maggie Magpie patiently explained how to build a nest. But some birds were impatient and flew off without listening to all the directions, which is why, to this day, birds' nests come in all different shapes and sizes. This clever retelling of an old English folktale teaches the importance of careful listening.
The greedy Leprechaun King has locked away all the luck in Ireland and the whole country has fallen in to despair. Through clever charades, Fiona outwits the Leprechaun King and restores luck to the land. Luminous illustrations add to the magic and wonder of this original folktale.
What if you were given a locked box as a gift and told to never open it? Pandora received this gift from Zeus, the head of the Greek gods. What could be so important that it needs to be padlocked shut?