Folklore/Legend/Myth Archives - Page 4 of 9

Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan [in Christian Science Monitor]

14 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Arab, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, Short Stories, South Asian, South Asian American

'Temporary People' depicts the lives of guest workers in the UAE The sense of displacement, of disconnect begins on the cover: The words “A Novel” written sideways, unobtrusively stamped along the left side under the title Temporary People, might be considered misleading. Made up of three...

Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang + Author Interview [in Bloom]

21 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Repost

Ever since she was a child, Janie Chang was steeped in family tales she inherited from her parents about the generations that came before. For decades, she remained the family’s repository until, at age 53, she presented the world with her debut novel, Three Souls,...

The Devourers by Indra Das [in Library Journal]

13 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Equal parts romance, fairy tale, horror, history, travelog, and treatise on the transformative power of storytelling, Indra Das’s debut combines a dual narrative about the developing relationship between two strangers with a fantastical tale set seemingly long ago. One December evening in Kolkata, Alok, a history...

The Year of the Rooster: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Juan Calle

27 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction

Well holy, moly! How did a dozen years fly by so quickly?! San Francisco indie press Immedium’s 12-part Tales from the Chinese Zodiac, written by founding publisher and author Oliver Chin, comes full circle with a final, rousing cock-a-doodle-dooooo!! Mama and Papa welcome Ray to their flock, earning his name...

Wacky and weird, writing and literature professor Sequoia Nagamatsu’s fiction debut is a 12-piece collection that defies easy categorization as an amalgam of sci-fi/fantasy, horror, and black comedy overlaid with ancient-to-contemporary Japanese myth and culture. Nagamatsu’s atypical characters include the “Margaret Mead of the Kaiju [strange...

Princess Li | La Princesa Li by Luis Amavisca, illustrated by Elena Rendeiro, translated by Robin Sinclair

26 May, by SIBookDragon in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Spanish, Translation

Here's a "Once upon a time"-sort of tale most of us old folks didn't grow up with! Brave new world indeed! Meet Princess Li who lives somewhere "far away in the East" in a gorgeous palace with her King-ly father. Being admired for her great beauty...

Good Night, Baddies by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Juli Kangas [in Booklist]

24 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

They might be “baddies” by day, but by evening, all the familiar villains (witches, wolves, giants, dragons, trolls, and so on) who make fairy tales so exciting shed their evil ways: “All day long they must be vile; / now, at night, they chat and...

Rattlestiltskin by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Erin Camarca [in Booklist]

05 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Repost

Grimm’s familiar tale gets a Southwestern rendering in Caldecott Honor-winner Eric A. Kimmel’s retelling, with “the best tortillas” as the golden standard. Señora Gonzalez boasts that her daughter Rosalia’s tortillas “are so light, they float like clouds.” The town’s richest man, Don Ignacio, summons Rosalia...

The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi

18 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

Perhaps "fractured fairy tale" isn't the most inviting descriptor, but the growing genre of parodied, subverted new versions of familiar stories can be fabulously enticing, not to mention downright inventive and – oxymoronic as it sounds – incredibly original. Thanks to Canada's marvelous indie Kids Can...

A Wild Swan and Other Tales by Michael Cunningham, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu [in Library Journal]

16 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Short Stories, Young Adult Readers

If Bruno Bettelheim's classic The Uses of Enchantment posited that fairy tales could help children understand their darkest fears, then Michael Cunningham's (The Hours) reenvisioned Other Tales charges adults to challenge perspectives. Ten stories are turned every-which-way by the author, who deftly subverts with both...

Once Upon a Time in Japan, translated by Roger Pulvers and Juliet Winters Carpenter, illustrated by Manami Yamada, Tomonori Taniguchi, Nao Takabatake, and Takumi Nishio

21 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Short Stories, Translation

A "cheapskate" who longs for a wife who will work hard but never eat, a greedy young man who attempts to steal his brother's good fortune, a magic "hood" that allows the wearer to understand animals, a boy whose nap lasts three years, a wily fox who...

Strange Light Afar: Tales of the Supernatural from Old Japan by Rui Umezawa, illustrated by Mikiko Fujita

01 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Japanese, Short Stories, Young Adult Readers

How did we get to the month of Halloween already? To get you ready for the upcoming fright-fest, check out these eight spooky tales that have managed to stay scary for generations. Lost ghosts, evil spirits, deceptive other-worldly beings, hauntings, murders and worse. Goosebumps gotcha...

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

12 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

For the most magnificent experience, choose to go aural with a pitch-perfect quartet to narrate the four distinct stories that make up this stupendous new novel from award-winning Pam Muñoz Ryan. Then – in another reason to visit your local library often – make sure to at least...

The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubuc, edited by Yvette Ghione

24 May, by SIBookDragon in Canadian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Translation

"This is the first time I'm taking the bus by myself," Clara announces. With basket in hand – which holds her snack and a red sweater at the insistence of her mother in case she gets cold – Clara is off to visit her grandmother. The number 18...

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro [in Christian Science Monitor]

03 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Fiction, Repost

The Buried Giant – the much anticipated seventh novel of Kazuo Ishiguro – does not disappoint The first question readers will most likely be asking about Kazuo Ishiguro’s seventh novel, The Buried Giant, will be, “Is it worth the decade-long wait?” The short answer is a...

The Dinner That Cooked Itself by J.C. Hsyu, illustrated by Kenard Park

13 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Fiction, Korean American, Taiwanese American

"Long ago in China there lived an honest, respectful and hard-working man named Tuan." He hasn't had the easiest life, having lost his parents as a child. But he was blessed with kind neighbors who raised him. He's left his adopted nest, and lives by...

Noodle Magic by Roseanne Greenfield Thong, illustrated by Meilo So

01 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction

After such a bountiful weekend, food might not be the first thing on your mind this Cyber Monday morning ...

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Rashin

20 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Iranian, Iranian American, Persian, Persian American

The text is not new: you probably recognized the kiddie tune from the title. The origin information appears on the copyright page, so you'll know immediately that "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a beloved children's folk song written in the...

BookDragon Folklore/Legend/Myth Tag

Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan [in Christian Science Monitor]

Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang + Author Interview [in Bloom]

The Devourers by Indra Das [in Library Journal]

The Year of the Rooster: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Juan Calle

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Akiko Miyakoshi’s The Tea Party in the Woods

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Echo

Where Do We Go When All We Were Is Gone by Sequoia Nagamatsu [in Booklist]