Worst cover ever!!! This isn't the edition I ended up buying, but I had to use it here for its pure hideous camp value. And the funniest part is that it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the actual book! Who on earth is that blond man supposed to be? He looks like the creepy boyfriend in Valley Girl! And the kids paying rapt attention to his story - Ha! That's a laugh! There's a good reason why this is one of the few Newbery Medal winners to go out of print. Actually, if you look closely the blond girl does look pretty bored.
Okay, I'll get serious - when I really step back and think about this book I feel like my distaste is a little unfair. Some of the stories really were unique and enjoyable. But then again, if I'm honest, reading this was mostly drudgery. I never once got excited about picking this up. And the really sad part is that I am a big folktale enthusiast and so if it can't capture a geek like me how on earth is it going to do anything for its younger target audience. I'm really starting to think kids in the 1920s were an entirely different breed. Either that or not very many of them actually read books for fun.
About the actual book - it is 19 stories supposedly collected by Charles Finger on his travels to South America. I wish I knew more about Mr. Finger and his travels and the real origins of these stories because frankly I'm not buying much of what he's selling. But since I have no basis for any of that I'll just drop that line of thought right here and now. I think the collection's downfall is that it's simultaneously inconsistent and repetitive. Weird right? In some of the stories he uses a mildly annoying folksy style that attempts to recreate a oral storytelling experience. It didn't really work for me. Also, many of the stories are actually stories within stories - with an explanation of how he collected the story - this just serves to make it all longer and more rambling than it already is. As for the good - a few of the stories are actually quite good and I feel like with some reworking and fresh illustrations could be successful today. But last I checked no one asked me! Anyway, I've marked my favorites with an asterisk.
The Stories:
*A Tale of Three Tails - explains the origins of the armadillo as well as the story behind the tails of the rat, the rabbit and the deer.
The Magic Dog - How the evil witch Tlapa tries to thwart the Sea Shell king.
The Calabash Man - A gentle fisherman's quest to discover the origins of a sad and mysterious maiden.
Na-Ha the Fighter - How Na-Ha subdues the wild hairy sea people and they are turned into seals.
The Magic Ball - A strange story with parallels to Hansel and Gretel involving a witch, two children and the origins of the flamingo.
*The Humming-Bird and The Flower - a funny dialogue between the two title characters which explains how the hummingbird got her colors.
El Enano - A clever fox helps a kind old lady get rid of an unwanted guest.
The Hero Twins - And how they defeat pesky giants
The Four Hundred - picks up where the previous story left off and describes how they kill even more giants.
Rairu and the Star Maiden - A young man who values beauty above all else and yearns to possess the 'Silver One' of the skies.
The Tale of the Gentle Folk - how a Utopian people protects their way of life by transforming into a gentle animal.
The Tale that Cost a Dollar - Basically George MacDonald's Day Boy and Night Girl....interesting.
The Magic Knot - Four children find a magic feather and one named Borac must use it to defeat the last of the evil birds....mmmmkay.
*The Bad Wishes - A woman who wishes desperately for children is grief stricken when her wish is answered, but the children she receives are severely disabled.
The Hungry Old Witch - A brave boy stands up to the cruel old witch who has been devouring the village's livestock for centuries.
The Wonderful Mirror - The only tale of the bunch to incorporate the very familiar evil step-mother motif.
*The Tale of the Lazy People - A lazy village's dream becomes a nightmare when a wise man creates manikins to do all the work.
The Killing of Cabrakan - Yet another story of the infernal giant slaying twins.
The Cat and the Dream Man - An cat so evil even his dreams cause mischief!
Okay, I'll get serious - when I really step back and think about this book I feel like my distaste is a little unfair. Some of the stories really were unique and enjoyable. But then again, if I'm honest, reading this was mostly drudgery. I never once got excited about picking this up. And the really sad part is that I am a big folktale enthusiast and so if it can't capture a geek like me how on earth is it going to do anything for its younger target audience. I'm really starting to think kids in the 1920s were an entirely different breed. Either that or not very many of them actually read books for fun.
About the actual book - it is 19 stories supposedly collected by Charles Finger on his travels to South America. I wish I knew more about Mr. Finger and his travels and the real origins of these stories because frankly I'm not buying much of what he's selling. But since I have no basis for any of that I'll just drop that line of thought right here and now. I think the collection's downfall is that it's simultaneously inconsistent and repetitive. Weird right? In some of the stories he uses a mildly annoying folksy style that attempts to recreate a oral storytelling experience. It didn't really work for me. Also, many of the stories are actually stories within stories - with an explanation of how he collected the story - this just serves to make it all longer and more rambling than it already is. As for the good - a few of the stories are actually quite good and I feel like with some reworking and fresh illustrations could be successful today. But last I checked no one asked me! Anyway, I've marked my favorites with an asterisk.
The Stories:
*A Tale of Three Tails - explains the origins of the armadillo as well as the story behind the tails of the rat, the rabbit and the deer.
The Magic Dog - How the evil witch Tlapa tries to thwart the Sea Shell king.
The Calabash Man - A gentle fisherman's quest to discover the origins of a sad and mysterious maiden.
Na-Ha the Fighter - How Na-Ha subdues the wild hairy sea people and they are turned into seals.
The Magic Ball - A strange story with parallels to Hansel and Gretel involving a witch, two children and the origins of the flamingo.
*The Humming-Bird and The Flower - a funny dialogue between the two title characters which explains how the hummingbird got her colors.
El Enano - A clever fox helps a kind old lady get rid of an unwanted guest.
The Hero Twins - And how they defeat pesky giants
The Four Hundred - picks up where the previous story left off and describes how they kill even more giants.
Rairu and the Star Maiden - A young man who values beauty above all else and yearns to possess the 'Silver One' of the skies.
The Tale of the Gentle Folk - how a Utopian people protects their way of life by transforming into a gentle animal.
The Tale that Cost a Dollar - Basically George MacDonald's Day Boy and Night Girl....interesting.
The Magic Knot - Four children find a magic feather and one named Borac must use it to defeat the last of the evil birds....mmmmkay.
*The Bad Wishes - A woman who wishes desperately for children is grief stricken when her wish is answered, but the children she receives are severely disabled.
The Hungry Old Witch - A brave boy stands up to the cruel old witch who has been devouring the village's livestock for centuries.
The Wonderful Mirror - The only tale of the bunch to incorporate the very familiar evil step-mother motif.
*The Tale of the Lazy People - A lazy village's dream becomes a nightmare when a wise man creates manikins to do all the work.
The Killing of Cabrakan - Yet another story of the infernal giant slaying twins.
The Cat and the Dream Man - An cat so evil even his dreams cause mischief!
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