Tales of Wonder and Magic

by Berlie Doherty

Compelling full-color illustrations highlight a compilation of ten magical folktales from countries all over the world, including stories from Africa, Canada, the British Isles, the United States, and Australia.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Fairy Tales

128 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Berlie Doherty née Hollingsworth is an English novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for children's books, for which she has twice won the Carnegie Medal.She has also written novels for adults, plays for theatre and radio, television series and libretti for children's opera.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, and the tales included certainly do evoke wonder. They are the sort of fairy tales that, in fact, leave one wandering in wonder, plopped into the middle of worlds that seem to operate on laws beyond our ken. It is futile to approach such tales with rationality. Rather, one reads and keeps silent, trusting that something greater is at work than can quite be grasped by the rational mind.

I will say that this collection confirmed for me that I find fairy tales from Western culture much more compelling than those from other places. To me, the stories from Aboriginal or Canadian or American slave culture lacked some of the wonder that so pervaded those from the British Isles. Nevertheless, I can appreciate the eclectic contrasts Ms. Doherty has presented in this collection.

[LaCitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si tratta di una raccolta di fiabe dal mondo ciascuna scritta (ma forse è meglio dire trascritta perchè immagino si tramandassero oralmente) da un autore diverso. L'area è principalmente anglosassone (Scozia e Irlanda), ma ci sono anche una fiaba australiana (ohimè quella che mi è piaciuta meno) e due africane (di cui una davvero carina ambientata tra gli schiavi neri nell'America dell'800 che prendono il volo... letteralmente!). Lo consiglio.

[Debora Delia P · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few childhood books that I've kept with me until now, the analogies of tales from a variety of countries from around the world really opened my mind about what tales from other cultures were like. Even after all this time, this book is still magical and wonderous to read even with that one particular original story.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are amazing, beautiful, and well written for the most part. One was stumbly to read aloud, but it stood out among the rest. My only complaint about this book is that the beautiful illustrations are too few and far between. It's definitely a classic.

[Charis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always liked reading folklore and fairy tales, so I enjoyed reading this collection. I appreciated the European folk tales more than the African/American, perhaps because they are more what I am used to.

[Kelly Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great mix of old stories from around the world. most with a newer spin to them.

[Anina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Some unique folktales I haven't seen anywhere else. Not my favorite as far as the tellings go, though.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic selection of folktales and gorgeous illustrations to accompany them.