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Silly & Sillier: Read Aloud Tales from Around the World

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This big, beautiful book offers 20 favorite tales from around the world that will tickle the funnybone of young listeners. While most of the tales are totally new to Americans and come from countries as far flung as Iran and Italy, the Bahamas and Borneo, children will be delighted to discover some tales with themes similar to their favorites, such as “Rumpelstiltskin” and “The Three Little Pigs.” The brief, lickety-split retellings beg to be read aloud and the nearly 90 lively, colorful illustrations invite children to look at the book again and again.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

21 people want to read

About the author

Judy Sierra

87 books64 followers



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5 stars
11 (26%)
4 stars
20 (47%)
3 stars
10 (23%)
2 stars
1 (2%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Joy.
2,054 reviews
May 14, 2024
These are really more of fables than tales… and some of them aren’t all that silly! It was an interesting collection for sure, and while the fables weren’t nearly as light-hearted as I expected, I’m rounding up to 4 stars because this book was really a cross-cultural experience for me.
Profile Image for Beverly.
6,090 reviews4 followers
August 8, 2017
An excellent collection of humorous folktales from many different cultures. Includes a bibliography of sources in the back.
Profile Image for Ashley.
24 reviews1 follower
November 15, 2012
Grade/interest level: Primary (K-2nd)
Reading level: I could not find it for this book, but I do know that this is not meant to be read independently but rather read aloud to the class
Genre: Traditional literature

Silly & Sillier is a compilation of folktales from around the world from twenty different cultures. Each story is popular tale from a specific country and contains a funny twist to suit the attention of younger readers. A few of the stories include familiar themes that have been heard of here in America like “The Three Little Pigs”. The book is filled with talking animals and silly monsters that will surely capture the hearts of young readers!

I would love to use this book in my classroom to expose my students to stories from different cultures. The students can compare and contrast these tales to ones from America and even from their own cultures. I believe this is a great segue to begin talking about my students’ cultures and incorporating them in the classroom.
Profile Image for Michaela.
50 reviews
August 20, 2016
Genre: Folktales

Ages: 4-9yrs

This is a collection of folktales from around the world told by Judy Sierra with illustrations by Valeri Gorbachev. The selections are interesting, exciting, funny, and entertaining. The illustrations are classic Gorbachev fun, lively and in-tune with the story. Two of my favorites from this collection are Argentina's, "Juan Bobo" and Mexico's "One Good Turn Deserves Another." I would take these and read them to any class any day! Folktales would be a good starting point to talk about different cultures and use research tools to study about them.
Profile Image for Katrina Cole.
42 reviews
March 22, 2014
I read this book because I was looking for a multi-cultural text that I could use in my future classroom. I liked this choice because it represents a variety of countries and stories from each particular culture. I especially liked that they include some native language in each story. I think this would be a great way to introduce culture and other languages, especially if there is a student in class who also speaks that language at home. Luckily there are many online translators that also help with pronunciation. This would definitely make a good addition to a classroom library.
Profile Image for N.
912 reviews13 followers
November 20, 2008
love it. great collection of simple but curious retellings. . .

the introduction from Judy Sierra highlights to the reader the wonderful diversity in story introductions, from:

"once upon a time, when pigs where swine and birds made their nests in old men's beards"

to the lesser known (er, to me)

"once upon a time, in the old people's time when the monkey chewed tobacco and spit white lime"
Profile Image for Kelsey.
2,354 reviews66 followers
April 9, 2011
Age: preschool-4th grade

Filled with tricksters and sillies. Excellent for beginning storytelling and a quick story to learn on-the-go (shorter stories with memorable plots).
Profile Image for Carissa.
676 reviews
June 20, 2013
It was an interesting collection of tales from around the world. A few of the stories were recognizable, just with different characters and circumstances.
626 reviews4 followers
September 16, 2013
Fun tales from around the world that will get giggles out of children and adults.
Profile Image for Christine Turner.
3,560 reviews51 followers
Read
April 25, 2017
HCPL Juv Nonfiction 398.2 Sie

This big, beautiful book offers 20 favorite tales from around the world that will tickle the funnybone of young listeners. While most of the tales are totally new to Americans and come from countries as far flung as Iran and Italy, the Bahamas and Borneo, children will be delighted to discover some tales with themes similar to their favorites, such as "Rumpelstiltskin" and "The Three Little Pigs." The brief, lickety-split retellings beg to be read aloud, and the nearly 90 lively color illustrations invite children to look at the book again and again.

Notes
Judy Sierra is the author of Tasty Baby Belly Buttons, Antarctic Antics, and Monster Goose . Valeri Gorbachev is the author-artist of Nicky and the Big, Bad Wolves and other Nicky books.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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