Joanna TroughtonReviews

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A very determined quail mobilizes a series of attacks when denied help rescuing her errant egg. A take on½

This folk story is interesting and attractively illustrated. Its basic take-away message, however, is that the Sami people are hostile sorcerers and deserve what they get -- the plot in brief is Good Finnish magical smith forges magic mill, evil Sami witch steals magic mill, good Finnish smith steals mill back, evil witch curses Finland, curse rebounds upon Lapland. I was vaguely aware that there was, historically, racist stereotyping about the Sami, but this story makes it rather explicit. It could be profitably used in a classroom study of racism; for North Americans both the Finns and Lapps are remote and glamourous enough to make it objective. But I wouldn't put the book where children could randomly access it. In my opinion, it needs to be discussed and placed in context.

When his six elder brothers go hunting one day, never to return, young Prince Chandra vows to find them when he is grown. Setting out for the north when the time comes, seeking the evil wizard Punchkin, Prince Chandra discovers a wasteland filled with enchanted stone statues, and a beautiful princess in captivity. Together with Princess Laili, he learns the secret of Punchkin's power, and defeats the wicked wizard, freeing his brothers and winning his bride...

I enjoyed The Wizard Punchkin, which was published by Bedrick/Blackie in the 1980s as part of their Folk Tales of the World series. Joanna Troughton's smooth narrative and appealing illustrations make this a worthy addition to any folklore library. I was glad to see that attribution was given at the front of the book, where Troughton notes that this tale was first published by Mary Frere in the nineteenth century.

I was particularly fascinated by the idea of storing the soul outside the body, which appears here, and in many other folk traditions. This is clearly an idea that J.K. Rowling utilized in her Harry Potter series, with Lord Voldemort's many horcruxes. Yet another connection between fantasy and folklore!

Genre: Folktale because story explaining how the world was created through Amazon culture.

Summary: The Great Snake ruled the world below and kept night prisoner, but when his daughter was ill and needed sleep, he gave the night to her. Only the servants let the night loose, animals were created, and now there was half light, half dark in one day.

Media: water color

Critique:

Summary: The Great Snake lived in the world below the waters and kept night a prisoner, such that earth only had light. It was only a forest at that time, with no creatures living in it, and he sent his daughter up to parry an Indian. However, she soon grew ill due to the lack of night as she couldn't sleep. Three servants were sent to ask her father to set night free. They traveled to the world below the waters and did so, and he gave them a sealed palm nut which contained night. However, he told them only his daughter was to open it. As they returned, they were intrigued by the nut and opened it, forgetting his warning, and night fell. Animals came to life from sticks, leaves and stones, and the three servants turned into monkeys since they hadn't obeyed. The daughter was finally able to rest, and she made two birds-one to sing at the beginning of the day and one at the end of the day so that half of the day has light and half dark, because during the day the night sleeps beneath the water.
Genre Critique: This is an example of a myth because it explains how darkness came to be here on the earth- something that the human mind cannot comprehend, it is historically accurate based in the cultural beliefs of the Tupi Indian tribe of the Amazon in Brazil, and the acts of gods are a staple of the story.
Theme: The main theme that I got from this story was the importance of heeding instructions given to you because there are reasons for these things. I think that this theme was portrayed in a very natural way, and that it was not done in a way that made it excessively obvious.
Media: Watercolors and Oil Pastels

This is an African tale in a range of stories under a banner of Folk Tales of the World. It’s a lovely story which reminded me of reading things like Aesops Fables when I was little. It’s a kids story with a moral where once again the slow and steady tortoise wins the day much like in The Hare and The Tortoise. It wouldn’t surprise me if it actually was a variation on that story though which came first I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess.
Anyway the story is about how Tortoise has a dream about a mythical tree called the Omombo-Rombonga tree which has all the fruits of the earth and the story is about which animal will be clever enough to find it.
The story is a good one to read aloud with kids as it uses lots of repetition so kids will very quickly be able to join in with the key phrases in the book.
We have had this book on our library shelves for a while and have recently revisited it because my daughter is learning about Africa and they had the story at school so it is now our current bedtime favourite and explained why my daughter came home from school banging on about millet and yams so much (millet and yams are two of the fruits on the Omombo-Rombonga tree if you haven’t read the book!)

Age Appropriateness: Primary and Intermediate
Genre: Myth
Review: This is a good example of a myth, because it is about how the Native Americans believe how the sun came about.
Comments: - Talk about different Native American myths and legends
- Create a KWL chart of waht students know about Native American Legends
Meidia: Watercolors

This book is a great example of a myth because it is a story belongs to a culture/region in Africa that explores creation of the different kinds of fruit trees that we have.
Media Used: Water Color
Age Appropriateness: Primary and Intermediate

This is a great book for kids.

Easy reader version of the story of the Chinese zodiac -- how all twelve animals wanted the New Year to be named after it. The king's daughter decided they would have a swimming race. The clever rat jumped on the ox's back and then leapt ashore first -- with the final order being Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit