Stories to Solve

I love these puzzles. I particularly like Shannon's collections because he notes original cultural sources. In this one I did solve the Clever Bride that stumped others, but did not figure out One Word, the penultimate story about the murderous boatman. I will def. continue to look for more in the series.

This book is a collection of folktales, in which Shannon has removed some crucial element on which the whole story hinges. He then makes it into a riddle, asking the reader to figure out what the character said or did to accomplish the particular feat of that story. I love folk tales and am a fan of mysteries, so these stories are great; they're especially good to share with friends on long road trips. My only gripe is that some of the solutions are far too easy - these are for kids, though, so it's understandable. And some of the tales are real head-scratchers, even for us grown folk. Altogether, a fun series of brain teasers, and I can't wait for my own children to try them out when they're older.

Includes resource notes.

1. Fishing
2. Crossing the River
3. Two Mothers
4. A Drink for Crow
5. Which Flower?
6. The Clever Bride
7. The Sticks of Truth
8. Three Rosebushes
9. The Cleverest Son
10. Working the Field
11. The Guilty Stone
12. Dividing the Horses
13. One Word Solves a Mystery
14. Heaven and Hell