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(4)
K-3
Multicultural Fairy Tales series.
Meister gathers Beauty and the Beast stories from France, China, and Switzerland and Hansel and Gretel tales from Germany, Russia, Italy, and the Philippines. Each collection begins with a familiar Western version and then encourages comparison via appended writing prompts. While the retellings and illustrations are undistinguished, the variants are well chosen to highlight folktales as a global genre. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers the following Multicultural Fairy Tales titles: Beauty and the Beast Stories Around the World and Hansel and Gretel Stories Around the World.
32 pp.
| Kids Can
| April, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-1-77138-013-3$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Josée Bisaillon.
Every Sunday Leo and his family gather at Nonna's for lunch. Leo isn't interested in eating; then Nonna tells him stories about the pasta shapes. Leo's hunger for stories whets his appetite for eating. The dialogue is spiced up with some Italian words (zuppa, stelline, chiancaredde); a pronunciation guide/glossary is included. Mixed-media illustrations intersperse folktale-like spreads with warm family scenes.
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Traci Van Wagoner.
A fisherman from the Venetian island of Burano ventures out on a stormy day, desperate to feed his starving community. He capsizes and is saved by a mermaid who also provides a delicately woven lace veil for his waiting bride, which Burano's women use as a guide to create new commerce. This sixteenth-century Italian tale is dramatically told with old-fashioned gouache paintings.
32 pp.
| Simon
| August, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-1666-6$9.99 New ed. (1975, Prentice)
(2)
K-3
Big Anthony gets into some trouble after attempting to replicate Stega Nona's pasta recipe. This paper-over-board edition of dePaola's wonderful Calabrian magic-cooking-pot tale is notable for its bargain price.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
October, 1975
32 pp.
| Godine
| December, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-1-56792-393-3$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Jane Marinksy.
Disgusted by her daughter's laziness and vanity, a sorceress gives her the face of a goat--unbeknownst to the young woman as she tries to woo Prince Rupert. It's a meaty, amusing plot, and the winking anachronistic jokes (e.g., the sorceress is shown reading a book called Child Rearing) add to the humor.
32 pp.
| August/Little Folk
| May, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-87483-778-9$16.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
John Kanzler.
A kind Italian merchant traveling in the Orient is thanked royally after solving the kingdom's rat problem. A greedy trader expecting the same treatment gets his comeuppance after the king rewards him with a kitten. There's a lot of set-up and the subsequent pacing is off. Textured gold-toned paintings are appropriately sumptuous and also include humorous details.
32 pp.
| Godine
| October, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-1-56792-320-9$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ilse Plume.
When the Italian town of Gubbio is terrorized by a wolf, Brother Francis fearlessly meets "Brother Wolf" as an equal, offering it a deal that would ensure both the wolf's and the townspeople's security. The simply retold legend is well matched by meticulously detailed, unobtrusively bordered colored-pencil illustrations that are reminiscent of Renaissance paintings. There are no source notes.
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Mary GrandPre
&
Mary GrandPre.
Originally published in 1958 as Old Italian Tales, then reillustrated in 1995, this reissue features stories--often witty, sometimes philosophical or sentimental--told in elegant, readable language. Interestingly, justice and just rewards figure in many of the tales. The vigorous artwork, with its simplified, sculptural faces and rich, out-of-the-ordinary colors, adds to the appeal.