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May 1, 2003/in Fiction 5-8 Infant/Junior /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 140 May 2003
Reviewer: George Hunt
ISBN: 978-0711219496
Price: £12.99
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 5-8 Infant/Junior
Length: 48pp
  • Edited by: Shena Guild
  • Retold by: Antonia Barber
Buy the Book

Hidden Tales from Eastern Europe

Illustrator: Paul Hess

 

Review also includes:

The Clever Rat and other African Tales, ****, retold by Suzi Lewis-Barned, ill. Karen Perrins, 112pp, 978-1857142532

 

These two books both contain retellings of traditional stories most of which have not had a particularly wide circulation before the current publications. The former offers a story each from Croatia, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Russia, Slovakia and Romania; the agricultural labouring traditions from which they emerge are evident in tales of toiling peasants, shepherd kings and the implacable rule of the seasons. This is a timely selection which might help to interest children in less familiar regions of Europe. The latter collection is drawn from a 1930s collection of Swahili stories with borrowings from the Arabian Nights, and it consists of cleverly concise fables mingled with tales of human trickery.

Both books are very good value: they are robust and large format, with clear texts and expansive, colourful, dramatic illustrations.

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http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2003-05-01 12:23:332023-07-06 12:29:04Hidden Tales from Eastern Europe

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