Madalina Andronic

Confession time. Once August knocks on our door and long before my summer holidays are completed, I begin to think of Halloween reads, Halloween decorations, Halloween films and pretty much Halloween everything. This beautiful volume is a perfect addition to the autumnal festive atmosphere (and yes, I am hasty and weird…) of the most wonderful time of the year and an exciting choice for the fairytales/myths aficionado.

Tales of the woods and the water. Enchanted places, farms and fields, show more oceans and frozen lands. Stories of spirits, graveyards and the strangers at the door, from every corner of the world. Absolutely beautiful illustrations by Mandalina Andronic. They reminded me of the decorative pictures found in Medieval manuscripts and made the book a pure joy to read.

The reader finds classics like Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Rumpelstiltskin from Germany, Vasilissa the Beautiful from Russia, the Scottish tale of Tam Lin and the Elf Queen, the Seal Wife, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. But the real treasure of this collection lies in lesser - known gems a few of which I’ve chosen to present you:

Yara: A spirit of the forest lures young men on the eve of their wedding. A tale from Brazil.

The Cold Lady: A sad wintry tale from Japan.

Morag and the White Horse from Scotland.

The Dance of Death: A tale of a young girl’s foolishness from Canada.

The Water Witch: A French tale of transformations and the intelligence of a brave girl.

The Enchanted Apple Tree: A tale from Flanders. An old lady called Misery, who tricked Death, bargained with him and gained immortality. If you’ve ever wondered why there is still such an awful misery in the world, you’ll find one of the answers in this tale.

The Blacksmith and the Devil: ‘’If I respect God, I ought to respect the Devil too’’, said an old blacksmith. But his son had a different idea...A very interesting tale from Russia.

The Blind Man and the Demons, an eerie tale from Korea.

Old Nick and the Girl: A battle of dances, running races and wits, from Norway.

Herne the Hunter, a haunting tale from England.

Counting Out the Bodies: A funny tale of misunderstandings from Bermuda.

The Giantess and the Stone Boat, an Icelandic tale of an unfortunate queen.

Esteban and the Ghost, a humorous tale from Spain.

The Old Ogre: The story of a brave mother from Tibet.

These are only a handful of the beautiful tales, legends and didactic myths included in the collection. My only gripe is that I would have loved to see tales from the Balkans. Greece, Serbia and Romania have given birth to some of the darkest tales and yet the Balkan region was totally overlooked…

Angela McAllister has included a handy Sources section and overall, she has done a marvelous job. Many of the stories don’t have a traditional happy ending and I loved that. Life itself isn’t a particular friend of happy closures, after all. Having said that, I am not certain that young children will be able to fully comprehend and appreciate the themes of the stories but middle-graders will definitely adore them. The writing is vivid and not simplified and I intend to use the volume for my classes.

This is a book that is pleasing and special both in terms of writing and aesthetics. A brilliant work by two very talented artists.

Many thanks to Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less

This book is an entertaining and colorful collection of child-friendly spooky tales & folk lore from around the world. From familiar stories like Baba Yaga to ones completely new to me (The Girl Who Turned to Stone), I loved each and every story in this book!

The content and length of these stories are completely appropriate for middle grade students. Most of the tales are about two pages long and artwork accompanies each one. The illustrations are gorgeously bright and creative. The layout show more is easy to read and visually appealing. This would be a great book to coax reluctant readers to enjoy a book, or for supplemental reading in a classroom setting. Or....just "for fun'' reading for anyone who enjoys folk lore or slightly scary stories! The stories are not graphic or overly frightening.....just lightly creepy/strange.

Angela McAllister has written two other story collections - A Year Full of Stories: 52 Classic Stories from Around the World and A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories, plus several other children's books. I'm definitely going to read more by this author! Madalina Andronic's illustrations are fabulous! Her art really made the stories pop out of the page! I hope to see more children's books featuring her art!

I love spooky tales, so I enjoyed this story collection! I'm already reading anything even slightly scary to prepare myself for Halloween -- my favorite holiday! :) Very enjoyable book!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Quarto Publishing Via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. ** show less

This is a good mix of spooky stories for an anthology, but the stories themselves are very simplistic. That being said, the simplicity might appeal to young readers.

A World Full of Spooky Stories by Angela McAllister is a collection of twenty-four creepy legends and folktales from around the world. It is divided into several sections by theme- Into the Woods, Down by the Water, Enchanted Places, Strangers at the Door, In Farm and Field, Home of the Spirits, Upon the Ocean/Under the Sea, In Castle Hall Sorta… There were some, like Treasure Thief, that didn't seem to fit the theme. Many were familiar and some were new to me. Favourites among my cubs and show more I include: Grandfather's Eyes (Czechoslovakia), The Cold Lady (Japan), The Snake Prince (India), The Dance of Death (Native American), The Talking Skull (West Africa), The Clever Goldsmith (Syria), The Sea Goblins (New Zealand), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (England), and The Girl with the Stone Face (Chilé). While sometimes brutal, or creepy, none felt spooky to my cubs and I. It's definitely worth a place in a folktale collection!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. show less