Lest you're tempted to dismiss this as just another gender-bender version of a familiar tale, banish that thought immediately! Yes, our hero bursts forth from a peach to become the child of an until-then childless older couple, and yes, her name is Momoko – literally...
"This is the story of a cruel mother, her daughter, and her blind son." That 'cruel' is fair warning that this is not a happily-ever-after fairy tale. It is, however, "one of the most ancient and commonly told [stories] in Inuit history," filmmaker/creator Alethea Arnaquq-Baril writes in...
Welcome to Peach Blossom, a faraway ancient farming village known for its peaches and almonds. The inhabitants rely on Dragon Bridge to get in and out, especially during the harvest season when they sell or trade their bounty in the neighboring town. One autumn, disaster occurs: Dragon...
While you're preparing for Eid– which should begin next week on July 29 (the moon has a calendar all its own!) – add ordering, buying, or borrowing this book to your list of to-do's right now. Nabeel and his family are about to provide quite the nourishment for the soul. Ramadan,...
Welcome to Choctaw country: native storyteller Greg Rodgers re-introduces a "hidden away" tale transcribed from the 1930s to "the living world of Choctaw literature," while native artist Leslie Stall Widener animates Rodgers' words with whimsical renditions of the animal characters garbed in Choctaw-inspired colorful duds. Young (and old, ahem!)...
And you thought you knew Little Red and the Big Wolf? Look again ...
So this might seem like a Chinese New Year title (because it is – although I just received a copy; the first print run sold out almost immediately, yippee!), but it's even more about sharing, forgiveness, and friendship. Which means don't read it just once a...
Confession: this post appears today only because of the word "Mother" in the title. In the U.S. and many countries around the world, the second Sunday in May is designated "Mother's Day" [check out this comprehensive chart for a Mother's Day near you!]. So here's the warning: if you're...
According to a note at book's end, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī of 13th-century Persia, also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, or simply Rumi, "...
When I say 'brought to you by popular demand,' I have indisputable proof here: 715 supporters put up almost 150% more than the requested funds in answer to Digital Manga's 2012 Kickstarter campaign to bring Triton of the Sea (along with two additional Tezuka titles, Unico and...
Okay, so we're skipping ahead here, because I had to read this for a book judging requirement – and, in reading out of order, also confirm that it can narratively stand alone even without its prequel. I can't reveal any trade secrets, but I can...
Here's the perfect companion to Mar Pavón and Nívola Uyá's A Very, Very Noisy Tractor which posted Saturday. Young Nasreddine's answers his father Mustafa's request to ready the donkey for their journey to the market. Mustafa and their large sack of dates sit atop the donkey, while a...
The brilliant Satoshi Kon clearly left us too early – he passed away at age 46 of pancreatic cancer in 2010. Surely, his fertile imagination had many, many more stories left to tell. Thankfully, he did leave quite a visual legacy, including such intriguing anime films...
Magic happens when narrator George Guidall says "and yet ...
When I recently caught up with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, she was in one of her rare lull periods at home in Houston, Texas, having finished almost three solid months of book touring for her latest novel, Oleander Girl. Like her latest protagonist, Korobi Roy, a...
Internationally renowned for her two bestselling novels, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger is also a splendiforous artist with double the graphic titles to her lauded name. Her fourth and latest is "a new fairy tale" with origins that begin with movement: "Awhile ago, Wayne...
Award-winning Japanese crime fiction writer Natsuo Kirino (Out; Grotesque) contributes to the latest installment of the "The Myths" series, originally published by Britain's Canongate, in which contemporary writers retell myths. Previous volumes have included Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus and...
Every once in a while, being formulaic can produce splendid results. Take Grace Lin's 2010 Newbery Honor book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – what made it so successful? Spunky, independent-minded young characters, intricately layered storytelling within the story, and, of course, Lin's signature whimsical, illuminating illustrations. Lin's latest has all...
As the e-publishing world is shrinking our stories into little mobile devices, storyteller, teacher, and author Steve Light brings back some delightful heft with his new Storybox collection that features classic tales from around the world that your youngest readers can bring immediately to life ...
In between "Long, long ago ...
