A Book of Magic Animals

by Ruth Manning-Sanders

Eleven folktales from around the world featuring animals possessing magical qualities.
1. The North-west Wind (Brittany)
2. The Little Humpbacked Horse (Russia)
3. Mainu the Frog (Africa)
4. Lilla Rosa (Sweden)
5. Eh! Eh! Tralala! (Russia)
6. The small-tooth Dog (England)
7. The Dolphin (Mallorca)
8. Little Barbette (Brittany)
9. Jon and his Brothers (French Canada)
10. Bull’s Winter House (Russia)
11. Elsa and the Bear (Germany)

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

127 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Ruth Manning-Sanders, youngest daughter of an English minister, describes her childhood as “extraordinarily happy. . . with kind and understanding parents and any amount of freedom.” She read omnivorously, and she and her two sisters wrote and acted their own plays. A Shakespeare scholar at Manchester University, she later married Cornish artist George Manning-Sanders. They began married life in a horse drawn caravan, and traveled to all parts of the British Isles.
Mrs. Manning-Sanders has collected folk and fairy stories from around the world and she published more than 90 books during her lifetime.

Reviews

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairy tales about the world, with country sources (but no more) and nice illustrations, retold for children.

A number of animals. Some are bridegrooms, some are magical helpers -- three doves put characters to test in the kind and unkind girls tale -- a frog is a go-between -- some feature in straight animal tales, and more.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

All her books are splendid, I have no favourites really. The illustrations are perfectly suited, and I appreciate how she pulls her tales from several different cultures. I adored these as a child, and have read them to my children, and they hold up well.

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stories from several cultures, mostly stories that are less familiar, and which don't have multiple picture book versions. Robin Jacques' black and white illustrations are excellent.