Earth Care: World Folktales to Talk about - Softcover

MacDonald, Margaret Read; MacDonald, Margaret, R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0208024263 ISBN 13: 9780208024268

Publisher: Linnet Books, 1999

Synopsis

A collection of traditional tales and proverbs from over twenty countries or ethnic groups, touching upon both human and ecological themes such as environmental protection and the care of other creatures.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-MacDonald is a grande dame of storytelling, and this is a grand collection. These 41 selections from 30 countries all focus on "the problems in our relationship with nature." The stories range in length from a few paragraphs to seven pages. Each one is preceded by a comment about the theme of the piece and, often, remarks addressed to storytellers. A proverb related to the selection follows each entry. Arranged in 13 thematic groupings, the tales, legends, poems, and fables are all credited to a specific culture, country, or author. Five other well-known storytellers have contributed retellings to the collection. As befits stories from many places, the writing/telling style is noticeably different in each one, reflecting the flavor of the tellers and the language and people of those places. Easy connections between the stories and social-studies units could be made. A delightful choice.
Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6 and up, younger for reading aloud. MacDonald, noted storyteller and author of Peace Tales (1992), brings the same high-minded, down-to-earth sense of humor and methodical scholarship to this companion volume of folktales, proverbs, poetry, and twentieth-century stories on themes related to nature and the generally disastrous consequences of meddling with it. Most of the selections will be new even to veteran story collectors. Highlights include a funny Hmong tale about vegetables coping with a lazy farmer on one side and pushy weeds on the other. A succinct introduction opens each story, an appropriate proverb closes it, and MacDonald uses simple, breath-conscious phrasing that will be great for story tellers. Enhanced by lists of additional stories and a cultural index, this is an invaluable resource for both environmental studies and general consciousness-raising. Endnotes John Peters

Edition details

• Publisher: Linnet Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0208024263
• ISBN 13: 9780208024268
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128