Gecko may be small, but he has a giant-sized problem. Every night he is awakened by the fireflies outside his window. And when Gecko doesn't get his rest, he gets a little grumpy. So he goes to Elephant, the head of the village, to complain. His request that the fireflies stop working at night sets off a comical chain of problems for everyone in the village and complicates everyones life. Through this cumulative tale from the Balinese tradition, Gecko learns that his well-being depends on that of the entire village and he finally goes to sleep, a little wiser.
This lyrical picture book of 20 clever riddles challenges young readers to use their imagination to solve the word and picture puzzles.
This story is a retelling of a traditional Bengali tale in which a kind and generous Indian barber, pressed by his father and then his wife to earn more money, cleverly persuades a ghost to bring him riches.
In this timeless tale from Thailand, a girl cannot decide which of her many silken dresses and lavish jewels to wear to the dance. So she wears them all. Her foolish decision teaches her a valuable lesson.
A colorful romp celebrating traditional festivals and holidays in Latino culture with a festival for each month of the year, written in both English and Spanish.
When the animals get together in the jungle, they discover that the noise that they have been making is indeed music. Celebrated author and master storyteller, Dylan Pritchett weaves a tale that helps us discover that we all have music inside just waiting to come out when the time is right. This original award winning story is based on the model of traditional African folktales.
In Mus White's skillful adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic folk story, "There Is No Doubt About It", the news that a hen has lost a feather grows into a humorous tale of five chickens engaged in battle as the story spreads from coop to coop and from hen to hen. Stefan Czernecki's bright primary illustrations and panel design reflect the comic boldness as each chicken passes along the story, until it is no longer recognizable to the original hen who started it in the first place.
Have you ever heard the saying, Your eyes are bigger than your stomach? Well, Cat's stomach is bigger than a lot of things. He is always hungry, and living with culinary-inclined Mouse, who makes thirty-five pies in one day, just makes it worse. Fat Cat swallows everything in sight, including the washlady and her washtub, a troop of soldiers and their swords, even a king and his elephant! But when Cat swallows Mouse and her sewing basket, that's the last straw. Tiny Mouse cuts to the heart of the situation, taking an upside-down world and turning it right-side-up again. Greedy Cat learns his lesson and turns fat into fancy, fabulous, and fantastic. Margaret Read MacDonald's infectious energy combines with Julie Paschkis's folk-inspired gouache paintings to create a new retelling of a favorite comic cumulative tale.
A wise rabbi uses a pillow full of feathers to teach a gossipy villager a lesson on what happens when a person's reputation and trust are harmed by someone's negative, mean-sprited remarks.
Turtle loves to dance and play the flute. But her exuberance puts her at risk when her music attracts the attention of a brave hunter who brings her home to make turtle stew. After she is caught, her only hope for escape is the hunter's children ... and her own wit. This folktale, first told by the indigenous people of Brazil, is now told throughout Latin America. Like the people of Latin America, Turtle always seems to survive any challenge by using her courage and wit. Beautiful watercolors radiant with the dense foliage and hardy wildlife of the Amazon rain forest, guides the reader through this timeless adventure story.
A splashy, colorful, rhythmic illustration of numbers 1-10 in both English and Spanish
Based on a fable from Aesop, the Sun and the Wind test their strength by seeing which of them can cause a man to remove his coat, demonstrating the value of using gentle persuasion rather than brute force as a means of achieving a goal.
In this action packed folktale from Panama, a clever little rabbit and his Tía Mónica find ways to outwit a fox, a tiger, and a lion, all of whom want to eat him for lunch.
This hilarious Maynard Moose tale as retold by master storyteller Willy Claflin takes us on another whimsical journey with the misadventures of a Bully Goat who suffers from Random Hostility Syndrome. The Bully Goat clashes with a three headed troll family and is undone by a baby girl troll when she suddenly realizes that everybody ought to mess with him! Her inspiration leads to a confrontation with the Bully Goat using only a pillow and three raggedy old bed sheets. After she cleverly outwits the Bully Goat, all of the forest animals follow her example and the threat of the bully is eliminated. Fortunately, everyone lives happily for never afterwords except for the Bully Goat since nobody likes a dubnoxious beastly. A Moose-English Glossary is included along with Hoofnotes to help guide you through the translation. This latest fractured fairy tale from the Piney Woods marks the third collaboration from the creative team who brought you the 2011Texas Bluebonnet Award winning book, The Uglified Ducky and the award winning Rapunzel & the Seven Dwarfs. James Stimson has worked his magic once again with his eclectic stylized illustrations that depict the humor of the offbeat trolls and capture the joy of the forest animals inhabiting the Piney Woods.
Every night when Billy Brown's mother puts him to bed, she tells him to keep his covers on his bed but he ignores her advice, then the belly button monster steals his belly button and the fun begins.
With a tiny, cluttered house, giggling children, and a snoring wife, the poor man can't get a good night's sleep. If only, he thinks, I had a big quiet house! He throws off his covers and goes to visit the wise old woman at the edge of the village. Surely she can help him solve his problem. And she does, but not without giving him some very unusual advice. Bring a chicken into your house, she suggests. And when that doesn't work, she has him add a goat, a horse, a cow, and even a sheep. The ending of the story proves, as so many ancient folktales do, that quite often, nonsense makes the best sense of all.
Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux has compiled highly engaging animal stories, fairy tales, ghost stories, and humorous tales from her native Cajun culture.
This global collection of 80 very short tales from Europe, Asia, the Americas and even a story from Africa include chants, scary ghost stories, humorous stories and more.
This collection of 31 stories comes from all over the world and different variations can be found in a variety of cultures that have been passed over the grapevine and adapted in different cultural traditions.
This collection of delightful tales from around the world and through the ages explains why an animal, plant, or natural object looks or acts the way it does.
This collection of world tales focuses on stories originating from nearly every continent. They are short, gripping stories that "kick in fast including comedy, trickster, tall tales and family themes for middle and young readers.
As a companion to her award-winning story collection Three Minute Tales, Margaret Read MacDonald has compiled another delightful collection of entertaining stories from around the world edited especially for the tastes and interests of young readers.
Kids love to tell stories among themselves, and the two most popular types are funny stories and scary stories. Scared Witless delivers double dividends - it contains thirteen stories that are funny and scary. These tales are surefire entertainment for sleepovers, summer camp and parties. 3-5 Summer Playlist 2025
This collection of humorous folktales from around the world share one common feature: the character of a fool.
In this book, the award winning author shares humorous childhood memories of Christmas with his family in rural Appalachia.
