FAVORITE FOLKTALES

There are many wonderful folktales that come from India.  One Grain of Rice is a story of how a peasant girl outwits the mighty Raja.  I love the beautiful illustrations and this tale teaches a useful content concept – exponential growth – as well as offering a great example of how humility mixed with wisdom can get you far.

 There are lots of American Indian stories about Coyote and his role in what exists and why.  Coyote Places the Stars is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the idea of constellations.  I have read this with kids and then had them create their own constellation and its story.

Ask any Mexican kid about La Llorona and their eyes will get really big!  They all know at least one of its numerous versions.  Only recently was it made very gruesome in a movie version.  Before that it was not told as something gruesome, but just a scary ghost story – with a warning that infidelity might be very costly!  This version is good because it is written by native Spanish speakers and has a very authentic Mexican flavor.

I’ve actually never read The Mud Pony in English, but I like the Spanish version (El Poni De Barro).  It captures the closeness to the earth that Native Americans have had in way that is accessible to kids – through the horse.