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librarian_of_valencia's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book with my daughters and was between 3 and 4 stars for it. I loved that the stories came from multiple cultures and that they were spread out of the course of a year. It was a fun idea! However, I often found the language a bit overly simplified, and the art wasn’t my style although it was fun and colorful.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read for morning time to talk about folktales of different cultures, and I’m glad my library carries it. But it is probably not a book I will purchase for my home library.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read for morning time to talk about folktales of different cultures, and I’m glad my library carries it. But it is probably not a book I will purchase for my home library.
jkribbit's review against another edition
3.0
Some of the stories only had a passing reference to the holiday they were timed for. And several stories were from parts of the world that didn’t celebrate that particular holiday. I was hoping to learn more about some of the holidays in this book, but the stories just didn’t match up. It did prompt me to look up more about the holidays. I also found a lot of the stories to just be way too short and truncated for my likes. I read to learn more and a lot of these left me hanging. However, I did appreciate the diversity represented. Stories from all over the world and including indigenous stories, which I loved!
roshreviews's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.75
A lovely collection of 52 folktales and legends from various countries and cultures from across the world.
The books is organised in terms of months. So there’s a mention of the month, and some special days/festivals/celebrations that occur in that month. For each special day, there are one-two stories. Many of these tales are linked to the event. For instance, Friendship Day comes with the Roman story of ‘Androcles and the Lion’, while Human Rights Day connects with the tale of ‘The Bell of Atri’.
There are a couple of mythological tales, but most of the stories are folktales. As such, a few of them feel somewhat outdated due to their focus on the hackneyed ideas of princesses wanting a prince and girls looking for husbands/wanting babies and frogs wanting to be kissed and so on. They are entertaining, no doubt. A part of me feels that such content should be “retired” from children’s fiction. They have had a long enough run, and it is high time children’s fiction looks beyond old-fashioned thinking.
The special days in the book are quite varied, ranging from festivals such as Easter, Diwali and Chinese New Year, to special days such as World Water Day and April Fools’ Day, to celebrations such as Midwinter and Harvest, to localised occasions such as Pirim, St. Swithin’s Day and Kwanzaa. A brief explanation of every single special event is provided at the end of the book. It would have been better had the details been provided in the same page as the name of the event appears on. The meaning would have come out clearly, and the related story would have also liked better in its theme.
The illustrations are charming and definitely match the spirit of the book well.
Angela McAllister is one of my favourite authors when it comes to children’s anthologies, but this wasn’t my favourite, though I did like it to a great extent.
3.75 stars.
The book is available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
The books is organised in terms of months. So there’s a mention of the month, and some special days/festivals/celebrations that occur in that month. For each special day, there are one-two stories. Many of these tales are linked to the event. For instance, Friendship Day comes with the Roman story of ‘Androcles and the Lion’, while Human Rights Day connects with the tale of ‘The Bell of Atri’.
There are a couple of mythological tales, but most of the stories are folktales. As such, a few of them feel somewhat outdated due to their focus on the hackneyed ideas of princesses wanting a prince and girls looking for husbands/wanting babies and frogs wanting to be kissed and so on. They are entertaining, no doubt. A part of me feels that such content should be “retired” from children’s fiction. They have had a long enough run, and it is high time children’s fiction looks beyond old-fashioned thinking.
The special days in the book are quite varied, ranging from festivals such as Easter, Diwali and Chinese New Year, to special days such as World Water Day and April Fools’ Day, to celebrations such as Midwinter and Harvest, to localised occasions such as Pirim, St. Swithin’s Day and Kwanzaa. A brief explanation of every single special event is provided at the end of the book. It would have been better had the details been provided in the same page as the name of the event appears on. The meaning would have come out clearly, and the related story would have also liked better in its theme.
The illustrations are charming and definitely match the spirit of the book well.
Angela McAllister is one of my favourite authors when it comes to children’s anthologies, but this wasn’t my favourite, though I did like it to a great extent.
3.75 stars.
The book is available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
cinnamonfox's review against another edition
5.0
Un volum cât se poate de frumos - cu siguranță l-ar aprecia cititorii mari și mici.
Recenzia, aici.
Recenzia, aici.
ruth5garcia5's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book and loved reading these stories to the kids. Obviously, we read them quickly and didn't wait for the months and days, but we did enjoy them.
bekkabergamot's review against another edition
4.0
Nice collection of stories from around the world. Good mix of folk stories and art.