Book Review: Voices of the Winds by M. Edmonds et al.

Voices of the Winds: Native American Legends by Margot Edmonds and Ella Elizabeth Clark

This book is a compilation of folk tales from Native American tribes in the United States and Canada. The sets are divided into regions like Northwest, Southwest, Central Plains, etc. Each story is identified by the tribe it came from, often with a brief historical description of the tribe. The tales range from creation myths and tribal origins to anthropomorphized animals and tribal legends. Many a chief has a beautiful daughter whom most of the young men want to marry; many a rabbit or coyote pulls a trick on a larger, tougher, but dumber animal (including human animals). There's a lot of charm and some repetition on display here but overall it's an entertaining lot. Most stories are a page or two with occasional illustrations of various Native American artifacts, from weapons to pipes to baskets. I enjoyed the book but there's nothing ground shaking here.

Mildly recommended--if you like folk tales, this provides a ton.

Book Review: Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf by J. Pageau et al.

The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf written by Jonathan Pageau and illustrations by Chris Weaver

In another retelling of a classic fairy tale, Pageau presents the familiar story of Red Riding Hood with a little more detail and a few innovations. Red is sent off by her mother to Grandmother's house with a basket of food. She's told to stick to the path but, as a twelve-year old, she is easily distracted by berries and flowers along the way. The temptations lead her to a tattered circus tent where a big talking wolf tries to engage her. She shies away and gets back on the path, though he is fleeter of foot on the way to the house. After impersonating Red to get into Grandmother's house and eat Granny, he pulls the same trick by impersonating the Grandmother when Red shows up. After devouring them both, the Wolf takes the path back to Red's house, where more troubles and twists happen.

The variations in this tale give it a freshness and enjoyability because they hew closely to the themes and message of the story by Charles Perrault. This isn't some revisionist screed. The innovations underline the importance of caution and trusting one's own sense that something is off in a situation, like an inauthentic voice coming from that character in Grandma's bed. The book ends with an essay by Pageau giving his own interpretation of the text and a bit of commentary on other versions and interpretations. His ideas are a nice addition and give some extra food for thought. The illustrations throughout the book are nice but not as fine as in other volumes by Pageau. 

Highly recommended. 

Book Review: American Indian Trickster Tales by R. Erdoes and A. Ortiz

American Indian Trickster Tales selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz

Most every culture has its folk tales and most every set of folk tales has at least one trickster character. Norse tales have the god Loki; West Africa has Anasi the Spider; China has the Monkey King. Native American tribes have a variety of characters who are tricksters, the most popular one being Coyote. There's also Rabbit and Raven that cause mischief, along with a few other minor characters. Often tricksters are the butts of jokes, when they are not as smart as they think they are (like Daffy Duck against Bugs Bunny). Typically they cleverly try to get out of work by taking advantage of others (like Tom Sawyer painting the fence). But sometimes the trickster helps out others. In this book, a lot of tricksters have semi-divine roles in creating or organizing the universe, aside from their usual shenanigans. 

Pop culture generally mistakes folk tales for children's tales. While a lot of these stories are appropriate for the pre-teen crowd, many of them are much more adult in nature. Tricksters, in addition to satisfying their appetites for food or power, often satisfy their appetite for sex. They are not above changing shapes or genders in order to get a beautiful person "under the buffalo blanket." The tales here have plenty of amorous comedy and drama with more detail than I would like my pre-teen to read. This volume has a lot of simple black drawings of characters and situations, some of which are PG-13. I was a bit surprised to see them but they fit with the stories being told.

The stories are charming and enjoyable. Sometimes the trickster gets away with his misbehavior, sometimes he gets caught and either embarrassed or punished (occasionally both). If you like folk tales or mythology, these are light and enchanting.

All the stories are one to four pages long, so the book can be a quick read or something to dip in and out of over a long period. They are entertaining and show the vast creativity of Native American tribes.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory rendered in modern idiom by Keith Baines and with an introduction by Robert Graves

This classic text was modernized by Keith Baines (in 1983!) to allow easier entry for readers who otherwise would have to make it through the Middle English of the original fifteenth century text. At five hundred pages, that's a long, arduous haul.

The book covers a myriad of legends from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Some are familiar like the Quest for the Holy Grail and the awkward love triangle between Arthur, Sir Launcelot, and Queen Gwynevere (I'm using the spellings from this volume rather than the ones I am more familiar with). Other stories are much less familiar, like Arthur's march to Rome to become the emperor of all of Europe or the exploits of Sir Tristram of Lyoness, a knight in love with Isuelt the Fair who is as unattainable for him as Gwynevere is for Launcelot. The variety of tales is undermined by their similarities and repetitiveness. Knights are constantly questing around and jousting with any knight they happen to run across. After getting knocked off their horses, they proceed to fight with swords for two hours, often bleeding profusely from wounds until one has knocked down the other. Then the helmet is ripped off and the vanquish is beheaded if he does not beg for mercy. These incidents pad out the volume and make it a bit longer than it needs to be.

Otherwise, when the narrative gets into more mythical stories or describes the random details of medieval life, it is more interesting. Castles are visited often. How safe they are seems to be a roll of the dice. Some are the epitome of hospitality, others have customs that are barbaric to the core (like the one that bleeds out any virgin female who happens to visit). How the knights deal with these situations and follow their chivalric code shows how different the times were back then. But the knights are just barely Christian. I was a bit shocked to see how often King Arthur would sleep with a lady just because she was beautiful or available. The book passes no judgment on such actions (though sleeping with his aunt results in Sir Mordred, a knight who causes a lot of trouble). The ending, with the division and destruction of the Knights of the Round Table, is very tragic and well told here.

Overall, I enjoyed the book though I did find a lot of times that I was slogging through some random knight fights just because they happened to run into each other during their travels. Tournaments (mock battles or competitions sponsored by Arthur or other kings) were less interesting than they could have been, with mostly just a running tally of how many knights were unhorsed or defeated without a larger, important narrative going on. The great knights (Launcelot, Gawain, Percivale, etc.) are seemingly undefeatable and win the honors whenever they participate. Real conflicts are more interesting but are constantly getting sidetracked by this other stuff. 

Slightly recommended--this is a classic but it might need some editing unless you want the full medieval experience of pre-medieval legends told in medieval style.

Book Review: Northumberland Folk Tales by Rosalind Kerven

Northumberland Folk Tales by Rosalind Kerven

This delightful and short collection has tales from Northumbria, the region of England north of the Umber River and south of Scotland. The tales have many familiar elements--dragons, knights, witches, royalty (both human and fairy), ghosts, and so on. A couple of the stories had so many familiar motifs that they read like I had read them before. The collection is engaging and well-written. The author adapted the stories from other sources of regional folklore and does a great job with them. 

When I went to put it on my shelf, I saw I did read a collection from Rosalind Kerven before!

Recommended.

Book Review: Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Before co-founding Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki worked as an animator at other studios and wrote manga. One project that didn't find a home in animation or manga is Shuna's Journey. Miyazaki wrote and illustrated this story based on a Tibetan myth of how barley was introduced to the country. Shuna is a prince of a nation that's constantly hungry. Their grain does not grow well enough to feed everyone. Shuna goes in search of a golden grain that is supposed to grow abundantly. The elders do not want him to leave but he goes anyway. On his travels, he has many odd adventures. He comes to a city where the main commerce is slave trade. He tries to free two girls but is rebuffed by the slave trader. Later, outside of the city, Shuna catches up with the slave wagon that's carted off the girls. He frees them and they travel west with him to the land of the gods, where the mythical grain is supposed to be in abundance. They arrive at the shore with the island of the gods in the distance. Their pack animal cannot continue and the girls are weary of traveling. They split up--the girls ride north and promise to wait for Shuna while he finds a way to the island.

So many elements recommend this book. The story is enchanting with its mythic past setting and Shuna's noble purpose--to help his people by making a great discovery after a long journey. Miyazaki's whimsy and creativity are on full display. The art is beautiful watercolors, often with full page images. Miyazaki does a good job conveying the story and the emotions without relying on dialogue or commentary. I liked the story a lot.

Recommended.

Book Review: Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston

Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston made several trips to the American South to collect folklore from African-American communities. This book chronicles two such trips where she heard the stories people liked to tell and saw how they lived (and did some living herself, too).

The first trip was to her hometown Eatonville, Florida, where the locals remembered her more or less fondly and welcomed her into the community (she had gone off to college). She describes her experience of life, going to parties and going fishing. She tells the folk tales as she hears them, crediting local friends and acquaintances, some of whom try to outdo each other in telling more elaborate or more fantastic tales. Some stories are typical adventures of anthropomorphized animals or explanations of how various animals or people were created. Many stories come from the time of slavery, often with an "Ole Massa" character, the plantation owner, who is tricked by a clever slave (often named "John"). The stories are humorous and wistful, a delight to read.

The last third of the book covers another trip, to New Orleans, where Hurston investigated the Hoodoo practices (superficially known as "Voodoo" in the larger American culture). She found out more about Hoodoo by becoming a student to various conjurors and doctors (referred to as "two-headed doctors" since they had some scientific learning along with their Hoodoo knowledge). She makes no moral or spiritual judgements about the practitioners, merely chronicling their ceremonies. Some clients want to hurt or maim others; some want success in court; some want to retain a spouse while others want to drive a lover away. This part is definitely darker and odder than the first two-thirds of the book.

As an examination of black folklore and life in 1930s America, this book is a fascinating read. Hurston has an easy narrative style that is engaging, as if the reader is along for the ride through Florida and New Orleans. I enjoyed the book a lot.

Recommended.

Book Review: Scottish Folk Tales

Scottish Folk Tales published by Lomond Books

This collection has dozens of tales from unidentified authors (no editor is identified either!). Most of the stories involve supernatural creatures like fairies, brownies, merfolk, witches, and ghosts. Anthropomorphic animal tales, like "The Fox and the Wolf," are included along with the occasional poem. Some of the stories are written with a thick Scottish accent, making it a bit difficult for an American reader like me to comprehend what's being said. Saying lines out loud helped a bit but not always. I did have to look up some vocabulary for unfamiliar words like bairns (children). 

The tales have a lot of typical folk-tale content. The protagonists generally get the better of the supernatural creatures, unless they are the sort of folk who are bad and deserve to be carted off to the fairy realm for seven years or more. The tales are mostly charming and humorous with a lot of the typical moralizing. My favorites were "The Brownie O' Ferne-Den," "Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm," "Nuckelavee," and "The Tale of the Shifty Lad, the Widow's Son."

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen

Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen

This five-act play tells the story of folk figure Peer Gynt. He's an 1800s peasant with dreams of greatness. He starts out crashing a wedding, where everyone expects him to misbehave. He gets drunk and philanders a bit, forcing him to leave town. He winds up in the company of mountain trolls where he almost marries into royalty before fleeing again. His travels take him across the world to many exotic locations where he has fabulous, over-the-top adventures. He winds up back in Norway at the end of his life, reflecting on all that he has done and where is afterlife should be spent.

My interest in reading the play was inspired by my love for Edvard Grieg's incidental music, which is immensely popular (you've certainly heard In the Hall of the Mountain King even if you could not name it). The play moves through a lot of locations and has many stage directions that would be difficult to execute without many elaborate preparations. The narrative moves along quickly and successfully presents a lot of Gynt's history.

Gynt himself is a scoundrel, often quoting or misquoting the Bible or famous proverbs to his own advantage as he tries to manipulate his various situations and interlocutors. He's not exactly admirable but is interesting and fun. His travels are quite fantastical, leaning into the fairytale roots of the character. It's also very modern for its time (published in 1876), with mentions of steam ships and how he profited off the slave trade in America. Ibsen adds a lot of social and intellectual satire as Gynt runs into a wide variety of people. 

I found the play charming but slight. The occasional forays into philosophical reflection or serious moments are minimal and have no real effect on Gynt's character. At the end, he is little different from the man at the beginning.

Recommended.

Book Review: Maryland Legends by Trevor J. Blank and David J. Puglia

Maryland Legends: Folklore from the Old Line State by Trevor J. Blank and David J. Puglia

The stories about Maryland cover a wide range of history, from the colonial days right up to the 2000s. The authors are professional researchers and folklorists. They have combed a lot of archives and talked to many people to gather these legendary stories. The book is divided into three sections.

The first section looks at supernatural sites and sightings. Hell House is an abandoned seminary in Ellicott City. People assume some hidden scandal caused the closure in the 1950s and stories of Satanic rituals and shenanigans grew (both as the cause of the closure and as what happened on the grounds after the closure). The situation became worse with a groundskeeper who used violence to keep the curious (even teenagers) out. Other stories are more mundane, like the demise of the Enchanted Forest, an amusement park that went out of business. Its fairy tale buildings took on a sinister tone with their dilapidation, making it a popular spot for seekers of the weird. The section ends with a selection of superstitions from the University of Maryland in College Park, from rubbing a terrapin statue for good luck to hearing former resident bumping around in buildings dating back to the 1800s.

The second section covers various unnatural and undocumented animals (or are they human/animal hybrids?). The Snallygaster is a reptilian bird that attacked people (mostly African-Americans) in the early 1900s. A local newspaper printed the stories. The accounts are clearly fictitious but that did not stop the legend from popping up again and again in subsequent years. The Goatman is a more famous monster that harassed people (especially cars) crossing his country road bridge. There might be some basis in an old, grumpy guy, but the tale moved to other bridges and roads across the state. Some phantom dogs (one more like a werewolf) and a The College Park Cuddler (a normal human who harassed coeds while sleeping) round out the section.

The third section describes some historic stories. Most people think the nickname "Old Line State" refers to the Mason-Dixon Line that separates Maryland from Pennsylvania. The name actually derives from a militia unit in the American Revolution. On Long Island as part of General George Washington's army, they held the line as other units retreated from an overwhelming Redcoat advance. Another famous tale is the defiance of Barbara Fritchie. As the Confederate Army marched through Frederick in 1862, she flew the Union flag. General "Stonewall" Jackson allegedly order the troops to open fire on the flag. She took up the flag and shouted at the soldiers. Jackson then ordered his men to leave her alone. Historically, Jackson came through town at night and his route did not pass Fritchie's house. Nonetheless, the story was relayed by a cousin to John Greenleaf Whittier who wrote Barbara Frietchie as a tribute. The poem's story became the received wisdom. The final tale is of the Poe Toaster, a mysterious figure who came each year from 1949 to 2009 to the grave of Edgar Allan Poe on the anniversary of his death. The figure would drink some cognac, whisper a few words, and leave three red roses. The figure never identified himself though it is clear that a new person took up the task in the 1990s. The Toaster was left unmolested by the crowds that increased through the years. The odd and macabre action fits well with Poe's literary style. 

The book does a good job relating the stories. As scholarly folklorists, the authors do not embellish the tales. They provide some insights on how folklore develops and changes through oral and literary traditions and use these tales as examples. There's a wealth of pictures and a detailed bibliography for those who want to read more, either in general of about specific subjects.

Recommended--it's scholarly without being stuffy and detailed without being sensationalistic.

Book Review: Campfire Tales by William F. Forgey

Campfire Tales: Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggety Beasties by William F. Forgey

This anthology is written by a Scout leader who has told many tales around campfires. The introduction provides some general guidance for selecting and delivering such tales. The advice is taken from a previous book, Campfire Stories, by the same author. Some of the stories in this collection have a short paragraph at the beginning about adapting the story for campfire telling. All of the stories at the end have an outline of the major story beats to aid memorizing (because one does not want to read a story out loud but tell the story from memory).

The stories run the gamut from tales crafted by the author or author's friends, stories adapted by the author from other authors, and stories by other authors, including famous ones like Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, and Algernon Blackwood. They have varying ranges of supernatural elements and creepiness. I found most of the stories are more appropriate for the Troop level of scouts (sixth- to twelfth-graders) since they get a bit gruesome and involve things like suicide and cannibalism that I would not feel comfortable telling to elementary-school kids.

Mildly recommended--this is better as a primer for a storyteller than for general reading enjoyment.

Book Review: Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories by G. L. Yang et al.

Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairytales Book written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang and many others

In a delightful collection, tales from all over Asia (Turkey to Japan) are gathered and retold in graphic format. The stories deal with ancient times and medieval times and modern times. As with much folklore, animals, animal spirits, and people who transform into animals or animal spirits fill these tales with wonder and oddness. Tricksters pull off magical results with their cleverness, sometimes with actual magic. Occasionally bits of horror show up, often as a comeuppance for evil doers. Some characters do have tragic fates. The book has a bit of everything.

The collection has a wide variety of stories (twenty-one in all) and art styles. They are all delightful and well worth experiencing.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: The Girl Who Married a Skull and Other African Stories by F. E. Hicks et al.

The Girl Who Married a Skull and Other African Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairytales Book written and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks and many others

This anthology of fifteen stories draws inspiration from all over the continent of Africa, from the jungles to the plains to ancient Egypt. Like most folk and fairy tales, the stories have a strong sense of good and evil and emphasize the triumph of virtues like kindness, honesty, and bravery in what are often the most adverse circumstances you can imagine. Some tales explain natural phenomena like thunder always following after lightening or turtles living in water or hyenas being the least popular animals in the animal kingdom. The characters are sometimes normal humans, sometimes gods, sometimes anthropomorphized animals. Sometimes they are all mixed together in one story. The tales have a lot of whimsy and imagination. They are a delight to read

The art in these comics is quite varied. Each creator has their own style of drawing. I was surprised I liked them all--usually there's one or two in an anthology like this that don't work well. The styles all suit their stories and look good in the black and white format of the book. I will definitely be looking for more of this series in the future.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods by William D. Westervelt

Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods collected and translated from the Hawaiian by William D. Westervelt

This collection of ancient folklore from Hawaii has a good mixture of familiar and unfamiliar elements. Like many other mythologies, it deals with gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, magic fruit and magical transformations, visits to the realm of the dead and talking animals. Unlike many other mythologies, it has a very Hawaiian flavor. Sharks and turtles feature among the talking animals, with the sharks being rather helpful and the turtles opposing humans. Local fruit and local fish play roles in various tales. A lot of the nature mythology is based on the ocean and the volcanoes, making the stories interesting and very far from the stuff of the Grimm Brothers. 

Most of the stories are good, with an occasional rambling, pointless tale thrown in. The Hawaiian language is very pleasant-sounding even if it looks over-voweled to the eye. 

Recommended.

Book Review: Nevada Myths and Legends by Richard Moreno

Nevada Myths and Legends: The True Stories Behind History's Mysteries by Richard Moreno

Like lots of other folkloric books, Nevada Myths and Legends covers much of the area's history with some deeper focus on certain periods. Most of the stories are more recent with only a few legends from the days before Americans from the East moved in. Pueblo Native Americans and other people who lived even earlier provide a handful of intriguing tales.

The 1930s and 1940s saw a lot of growth in towns and the gambling industry, resulting in many stories of organized crime shenanigans, including mysterious deaths and bank robberies. The robberies date back even earlier, to the Wild West days, when maybe even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid came through the area and caused trouble. 

Some ghost towns are covered as well as haunted houses in Reno. Even prehistoric, possibly fictional, creatures are still around, like giant snakes or lake-dwelling creatures in the vein of the Loch Ness Monster.

The book is a fun, light read that adds some color to the Silver State.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: English Fairy Tales and Legends by Rosalind Kerven

English Fairy Tales and Legends by Rosalind Kerven

This book has new tellings of several famous and less-than-famous stories from Great Britain's folklore history. Rosalind Kerven uses many primary sources to concoct her own versions of the tales. Each tale has three or four pages of notes that discuss the source materials and alternate versions of the stories both in England and in other countries and cultures. The stories are fun and the scholarship is interesting, making a winning combination. Here's a story by story review:

1. King Arthur and the Hideous Hag--King Arthur goes to fight an ogre who is kidnapping local women. The ogre curses Arthur with debilitating weakness and gives him a way to lift the curse: solve this riddle by next year: What does every women long for? The court has lots of answers but nothing definitive. The Round Table knights head out in search of an answer. They each run into the hideous hag, who promises the answer only if the knight will marry her. The fairy-tale resolution is very satisfying. The notes talk a bit about Arthur and the mythology around him.

2. Tom Tit Tot--A poor girl finds favor with the king. Her mom brags that the daughter can spin five skeins of the finest linen yarn in a day, which seals the deal for the king. He promises to let her have eleven months of luxury as long as the twelfth month sees her spinning five skeins a day. The girl is a bit lazy and unintelligent and goes for the deal. Once the time rolls around, the king takes her to an isolated tower where she's locked in. If she doesn't produce, she'll be executed. A little imp comes and promises to do the work for her. She'll have to be his at the end of the month if she can't guess his name by then. So this is basically the Rumpelstiltskin story with some variations. It still works well and the comments at the end are very interesting.

3. The Dead Moon--A local bog full of nasty creatures is swallowing up anyone who wanders in. The moon comes in female form to explore the cursed area. A local man explores the bog at the same time and the moon sacrifices herself to save him. She is trapped in a pit in the bog. With no moon in the sky, the bog ghouls get more ambitious and start wandering into town. Nine local men band together to free the moon in a high-risk exploration of the bog. The story is written in a Lovecraftian style, though the author doesn't quite get it right. I still enjoyed the story.

4. Jack the Giant-Killer--One of the many Jack stories (the most famous being Jack and the Bean Stalk), this tale has Jack craftily killing several giants who are plaguing the land. The story is a lot of fun. The rich history of Jack stories documented in the notes makes me want to find a book that has more about Jack.

5. Dragon Castle--A lonely widower king marries a beautiful woman who turns out to be, if not a witch, at least very witchy. She abuses her step-daughter who is at least as beautiful as she is. At a party where all the guests are swearing fealty to the royal couple, one visiting knight swears fealty only to the king and then proclaims the princess as the most beautiful woman. The queen loses it and curses both the step-daughter, who turns into a dragon, and the knight, who is driven off to Norway. The king won't let the other knights kill the dragon so the queen says she'll let the dragon (who is causing lots of trouble for everyone) live at the castle for a year and a day, planning to kill her at the end. The castaway knight hears about it and consults an old wise woman on how to get back and save the princess. With the proper knowledge, he returns and saves the day. The story is very charming, with a lot of familiar fairy tale elements blended with enough new twists and ideas to make a great story.

6. Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow--A local lord has a lot of financial bad luck and a son who is a ne'r-do-well. The impoverished lord goes through Sherwood Forest where he is captured by Robin Hood. Robin sees the plight of the man and loans him some money to save his son. The lord promises to pay back in a year. The year passes and the lord's fortunes recover, so he goes to pay Robin. Robin politely refuses. Not long after, Robin comes to the lord's castle, fleeing from the Sheriff of Nottingham. They just had the archery tournament where Robin won the golden arrow. The lord offers sanctuary, repaying his debt to Robin. The story is interesting since Robin is a secondary character to the lord.

7. The Weardale Fairies--A daughter wandering in the woods comes upon the fairies frolicking in their hiding spot. She watches for a bit and then races home, hoping they haven't spotted her spying on them. They did and come to kidnap her. Her father goes to a wise old woman to get advice on how to get her daughter back. She tells him what to give the fairies to free his daughter. The only problem is she gives them as three riddles to solve, like "a chicken with no bones." The story follows the typical path and is fun. Tricksey fairies are popular in English folklore, as the notes detail.

8. The Devil's Bargain--Three boys summon the Devil to their village and the village schoolmaster has to come up with an impossible task for the Devil to do. Again, this story seems very familiar but it does have some nice twists and changes. The notes talk about how the Devil often shows up in stories but almost always is defeated by human ingenuity.

9. The Princess and the Fool--A beautiful and intelligent princess is holding out for a suitor who can keep her entertained. Three brothers come to try their luck. The youngest is a fool who collects all sort of things in his oversized coat's pockets. He's able to entertain her and overcome her father's objections. The notes call this a "nonsense tale" where impossible or ridiculous situations arise and are resolved in silly ways. Such stories are fun, but in my opinion best taken in moderation.

10. The Seventh Swan--A young, disreputable man ignores the local taboo against killing swans when the area undergoes a poor harvest, and thus wide-spread hunger. He wings one bird, which survives, and takes it back to his one-room shack. Once there, he no longer has the heart to kill and eat it. The swan transforms into a beautiful young maiden with a wounded arm. He tries to force her to serve him. She refuses. Eventually, her arm is healed and she flees. He chases her but the other six swans come to her rescue and kill the man. Transformation tales are fairly common in folklore and this is a typical example.

11. The Knight of York--A poor family has yet another child. The daughter is fretted over; a passing knight reads from his Book of Fate about her future. He tells the parents that she is fated to have a spectacular life in the nobility, so he convinces them to let him adopt her. Really, what he read was that his son would marry this peasant girl, which he is dead set again. He tries to drown her in a river but through a fantastic circumstance, she is saved. She grows up and through more unusual coincidences becomes the daughter-in-law of the knight, who eventually accepts her. The story follows a common rags-to-riches story like the famous Cinderella. The notes describe many variations on the tale and point out that such tales exist in more or less every culture.

12. The Wicked Witch--An older girl goes out to find a job but no one except a wicked witch is hiring. Luckily, the girl did acts of kindness for three bewitched objects (a cow, a tree, and a loaf of bread; how's that for random?). When the girl discovers and sneaks off with the witch's gold, the objects repay her kindness by helping her escape. The tale is fairly typical folk tale plotting. The notes talk a bit about witches, especially those found in England.

13. The Asrai--A young man walks to work and sees a woman in a lake just before dawn. She beckons to him and he realizes she is both beautiful and half-fish. She almost leads him to his doom but he snaps out of it before he's lured to the deepest part of the lake. At work, no one believes his story except an old gaffer. The man goes back with a row boat and fishing net. He captures her but on the way back to shore she escapes. The story is a bit flat; the most interesting thing is the water fairy who looks like a mermaid. England has some mermaid stories, even inland mermaid stories. Most stories are about how they are dangerous or harbingers of bad events. The notes were more interesting than the story!

14. The Forbidden Forest--A peasant girl refuses the advances of the king, so he closes the kingdom's borders and dictates that he can have any woman he wants and will behead her when he grows tired of that lady. The girl is sent to her grandmother's house to hide because the home is remote with the titular forest nearby. The girl goes on an errand to the local village. She spots the king and his retinue approaching. She flees into the forest, an act of desperation since granny warned her about the magical trees, which are governed by a mighty oak in the middle. As she flees through the forest, she comes upon the oak. She curtseys and the path continues through to the other side of the forest. The king and his retainers pursue her. When they come to the oak, the king spits contemptuously. As he rides past, a large branch falls and breaks his neck. His followers move to help him but are nabbed by the other trees. This is more of a spooky campfire tale that I may use on our next Cub Scout campout.

15. The King of England's Three Sons--The king is sick and sends his sons to find some magical golden apples. Each son is, in turn, guided by progressively weirder (and uglier) old men until the son is directed to an enchanted castle with many guardians and one sleeping princess to pass before coming to the garden with the golden apples. The two elder sons fail to pass all the tests on the way; the youngest returns with the apples. They are supposed to meet at a crossroads before returning to the castle. The youngest arrives first and falls asleep. The other brothers come upon him and divide his apples and substitute rotten crab apples. The king demands he be executed. Meanwhile, back at the castle, the princess wakes up and discovers that the youngest son swapped garters with her. She recognizes the royal crest and goes to England to find her love. The execution is interrupted and the young couple marry happily. The story is fun if a bit full of nonsense. The notes talk about various quest stories, including some detail about Arthur's Holy Grail quest.

Overall, this is a great collection of fairy tales.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: The Medieval Myths by Norma Lorre Goodrich

The Medieval Myths by Norma Lorre Goodrich

Medieval stories can often seem overwrought and exaggerated to the nth degree. Consider Saint Benedict jumping naked into a thornbush to quiet his fleshly desires. If we are honest, though, exaggeration is a common component of storytelling (how big was that fish you caught?). Larger than life deeds capture the imagination much better than mundane tasks; they make better stories. The medieval period in Europe saw the emergence of national identities, and with that national heroes. This book retells the stories of seven heroes, whose stories have gone on to inspire other stories or even greater versions of their own stories. Getting back to the roots with early texts, the author shows us how these powerful characters became lasting icons in Western culture. Here's the heroes from this book:

1. Beowulf (Scandinavia)--Beowulf the Geat comes to the Danish lands to help King Hrothgar. The king's hall is plagued every night by the seemingly undefeatable ogre Grendel. The Danes live in fear and horror of the ferocious beast. Beowulf promises to take care of the problem, which he does spectacularly. The trouble isn't over though, for Grendel's mother comes to take revenge. Fifty years later, Beowulf is king in Geat when one of his subjects steals a goblet from a dragon's horde, inciting the dragon to attack the countryside. Like a great action hero, Beowulf gears up one last time to defend his people. The stories are exciting and full of larger-than-life actions. Beowulf is a model of heroism and his tale is well told.

2. Peredur, Son of York (Wales)--Peredur is a famous figure whose story (and very self) transformed through the ages into Percival (England) and Parzival (German) both of whom quested for the Holy Grail. Peredur didn't have such ambition, though his story is also set in the time of King Arthur. He's more like Lancelot, a young man of purity and strength who goes on many adventures that test his physical and moral abilities. Peredur's story follows his exploits wooing women in a courtly manner and defeating knights honorably. The narrative is interesting but episodic. It doesn't come to a climax but just stops. Peredur is straightforward, honest, and brave--a worthy hero who was beloved back in the day.

3. Roland (France)--Roland is a popular hero in French medieval epics. This story focuses on a major fight with Muslims from Spain. Roland heroically holds off the swarming invaders and delays in calling for backup from Emperor Charlemagne. The battle descriptions reminded me of the Illiad, with the graphic depictions of injuries, including internal organs falling out. If you are squeamish, this may be too intense. Also, the story focuses a lot more on Charlemagne than Roland. Better Roland stories might be found elsewhere?

4. Berta of Hungary (France)--Princess Berta of Hungary is betrothed to Pepin, prince of France soon to be king. Berta travels to France with a small retinue, including a mother and daughter. The mother decides to switch her daughter in for Berta after the marriage ceremony and, amazingly enough, pulls off the scheme. Berta is sent into the woods to be killed while the false Berta takes over as a horrible queen. The true Berta is not killed, however, when the knights who are sent with her refuse to do the deed. They bring back a pig's heart to prove her death. The story continues on in typical fairy tale fashion, though it clearly pre-dates Snow White and other stories that borrow from this one. This story is really well written and plotted, possibly the most enjoyable in the book. The female characters have verisimilitude and are the center of the story. This story was written by a minstrel around 1270 and we are lucky that it was written down and not just performed.

5. Sifrit (Austria)--Sifrit is Siegfried from the stories that Richard Wagner turned into his famous operas. This story is a part of the Nibelungenlied, written around 1200. Here, Sifrit travels to Burgundy and meets Chriemhilde, the beautiful princess of the land. He wants her as his bride. To accomplish this, the king has Sifrit help him to win Brunehilde as the king's bride. They have to engage in a bit of subterfuge which eventually brings tragedy back on their heads. The story is unfamiliar to me. It takes place after Sifrit defeats the dragon and gets the Nibelung horde. He is an interesting character and the unfamiliarity made the story interesting.

6. Prince Igor (Russia)--Prince Igor rides east and fights valiantly but futilely with the Qumans. He's captured and faces the task of escaping back to the Russian capital Keiv. The story here is mostly focused on storytelling itself, often invoking Boyan, a legendary bard of the Russian people who was the best poet (if he ever really existed). The current author often wishes he was as good as Boyan or credits metaphors to Boyan. The focus is different but less interesting to me. The story also has a highly nationalistic slant.

7. The Cid (Spain)--Rodrigo Diaz of Vivar was known as El Cid, or "the Hero." Often he is called Mio Cid or "my Hero," typically by those who follow him. He lived in the 1000s when Spain was still divided into many different kingdoms and the Moorish invaders (as they were known then) were still a force to be reckoned with. This story starts with the Cid's conquest of Valencia but then turns a bit soap opera as his daughters are given in marriage to some ambitious cads who wind up treating the women horribly. Then comes the Cid's retribution. The story is riveting and quite unexpected. It ends medieval style in a tournament with jousting and swordplay.

The collection gives a slice of medieval life from many different perspectives within Europe. Berta and Sifrit were my favorites, with Beowulf a close third. The other stories are also good.

Highly recommended.

Movie Review: The Witch (2015)

The Witch (2015) written and directed by Robert Eggers

William and his family (wife Katherine, teenage daughter Thomasin, a few years younger son Caleb, six-year old twins Mercy and Jonas, and a new-born baby) are kicked out of their 17th century New England Puritan village. The mayor implies that they have gone against the local civic and church laws; William protests that he has only preached the true faith of the gospels. The village has none of it, accusing him of prideful conceit. William is glad to leave. Everyone else in the family seems a bit reluctant.

The family makes a new farm near a sinister woodland. Thomasin takes the baby out near the woods and plays a game of peek-a-boo with him. She opens her eyes one time and the baby is gone! A quick search of the area reveals nothing, though viewers see a woman with the baby who takes the child to her hovel and does unspeakable things.

Meanwhile, the family has settled on the idea that a wolf took the baby. The mother is very distressed. She constantly prays. She also lashes out at Thomasin. While Thomasin is washing clothes at the brook, the twins come and accuse her of being a witch. She plays along in a nasty way, mostly to frighten the twins. Caleb is there and doesn't understand why she says those horrible things. Thomasin has had a hard time adjusting to life in isolation. The situation spirals further out of control from there as lies, misunderstandings, and deceptions wreck havoc with the family.

The movie is tonally very much like The Wicker Man (the one from the 1970s, I mean). It takes paganism very seriously and doesn't soften up anything. William's family goes through a psychological collapse that is made all the more harrowing because of the supernatural forces at work against them. The family's faith is little to no help for them--no divine intervention comes to save them and their focus on their own sinfulness brings about mistrust and violence, not reconciliation and redemption. Maybe the mayor was right after all?

The depiction of 17th century New England is meticulous. The sets and costumes look authentic. The dialogue sounds like the times--lots of archaic words and sentence structure. The speech is still easy to understand since the actors deliver it in a natural way. The performances are uniformly great. The movie is very convincing.

It is also very brutal. The movie is subtitled "A New-England Folktale," not in a Disneyfied sense but like the Grimms Fairy Tales that are a lot bleaker and more violent. This particular tale has a very unhappy ending, making it a tough watch all around. I found the very ending a bit disappointing but I understand what the filmmakers were going for. While I see fine qualities in the film and find it very engaging, I am not sure who I would recommend it to. If you are a fan of the original Wicker Man, this movie will be right for you.

Naturally, the good folks at A Good Story is Hard to Find have the courage to watch this movie and have given their comments here.

G/T Camp 2016

My school-aged children went to this year's Gifted and Talented Summer Camp held in Howard County. They were in different tracks and so had different experiences.

My daughter was in "Talking Tangrams" which blended learning about folk tales with craftily creating characters out of tangrams. The folk tales came from countries all over the world and included the challenge of recreating characters in the stories.

Cuban myth

The final project was two-fold: narrating a folk tale for presentation to parents on the last day and creating an original folk tale with tangram figures. My daughter wrote the tale of a duck whose garden is attacked by a naughty rabbit. Other animals come to the rescue at the end.

Cover of my daughter's book

The villain!

One of many victims

My son was in the "Math Patterns and Problem Solving." That course included solving pre-algebra problems as well as playing a variety of mathematical games. The range of games ran from Sudoku and Kenken to the popular card games Set and Swish.

Sudoku in progress

Kenken complete

Demonstrating Swish

Playing Swish

He also worked on geometric puzzles, such as creating a mirror image.

Hand drawn

Our youngest son came on the last day and wanted to join in the fun!

Climbing to new heights in academia!

Book Review: The Devil Went Down to Georgia: Stories by Charlie Daniels

The Devil Went Down to Georgia: Stories by Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels is a country/southern rock musician most famous for his fiddle-duel song The Devil Went Down to Georgia. He's had a long career as a song writer and this is his first foray into literary writing rather than song writing. Some of the stories are based off songs from the band (like The Devil Went Down to Georgia and Uneasy Rider) and some are character sketches or scenes from life. The stories work fairly well though the titular story doesn't work as well as the song on which it is based. On the other hand, he nicely expands the Legend of Wooley Swamp into a longer story with well-crafted bookends.

Comedy is prevalent and Daniels has a natural hand at it. The story of two cowboys escorting some bulls to New York City is particularly enjoyable. He's quite good at poking fun at both Southerners and Northerners, rich people and poor people, smart people and dumb people. The even spread of comedic targets shows a certain amount of class and that he just loves telling stories rather than scoring points. It's not a great book but is enjoyable.