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World Full of...
A Year Full of Stories: 52 folk tales and legends from around the world
52 folk and cultural stories from around the world, arranged by months with 4 stories for each months. A great resources for children to learn about world cultures. Vietnamese translation by Thanh Hoa.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2020
165 people are currently reading
892 people want to read
About the author
Angela McAllister
124 books49 followersAngela McAllister is an award- winning author of over eighty books for children, including picture books, junior fiction, non-fiction and novels. Her work has been adapted for the stage and is widely used in schools. It has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in the south of England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
November 28, 2020
This was a cute book containing numerous folk tales from around the world. It's a light read, with almost all of the stories being 1 or 2 pages long, and without being nearly as dark as the Grimm fairy tales. The artwork was stunning in its use of color, and as near as I can tell--I'm no artist--done in a naive folk art style. I genuinely enjoyed at least half of the stories, with the rest being decent, and only three that I didn't like. My favorite stories were The Raja and the Rice--an Indian tale, The Bell of Atri--an Italian tale, and Uncle Martin--a French tale. The ones I wasn't really a fan of were The Bird Wife--an Inuit tale, Why the Bananas Belong to the Monkeys--a Brazilian tale, and my least favorite, of course, was Gelert the Hound--a Welsh tale. I highly recommend this book for ages 8 and up.
October 1, 2022
A lovely collection of 52 folktales and legends from various countries and cultures from across the world.
The books is organised in terms of months. So there’s a mention of the month, and some special days/festivals/celebrations that occur in that month. For each special day, there are one-two stories. Many of these tales are linked to the event. For instance, Friendship Day comes with the Roman story of ‘Androcles and the Lion’, while Human Rights Day connects with the tale of ‘The Bell of Atri’.
There are a couple of mythological tales, but most of the stories are folktales. As such, a few of them feel somewhat outdated due to their focus on the hackneyed ideas of princesses wanting a prince and girls looking for husbands/wanting babies and frogs wanting to be kissed and so on. They are entertaining, no doubt. A part of me feels that such content should be “retired” from children’s fiction. They have had a long enough run, and it is high time children’s fiction looks beyond old-fashioned thinking.
The special days in the book are quite varied, ranging from festivals such as Easter, Diwali and Chinese New Year, to special days such as World Water Day and April Fools’ Day, to celebrations such as Midwinter and Harvest, to localised occasions such as Pirim, St. Swithin’s Day and Kwanzaa. A brief explanation of every single special event is provided at the end of the book. It would have been better had the details been provided in the same page as the name of the event appears on. The meaning would have come out clearly, and the related story would have also liked better in its theme.
The illustrations are charming and definitely match the spirit of the book well.
Angela McAllister is one of my favourite authors when it comes to children’s anthologies, but this wasn’t my favourite, though I did like it to a great extent.
3.75 stars.
The book is available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
The books is organised in terms of months. So there’s a mention of the month, and some special days/festivals/celebrations that occur in that month. For each special day, there are one-two stories. Many of these tales are linked to the event. For instance, Friendship Day comes with the Roman story of ‘Androcles and the Lion’, while Human Rights Day connects with the tale of ‘The Bell of Atri’.
There are a couple of mythological tales, but most of the stories are folktales. As such, a few of them feel somewhat outdated due to their focus on the hackneyed ideas of princesses wanting a prince and girls looking for husbands/wanting babies and frogs wanting to be kissed and so on. They are entertaining, no doubt. A part of me feels that such content should be “retired” from children’s fiction. They have had a long enough run, and it is high time children’s fiction looks beyond old-fashioned thinking.
The special days in the book are quite varied, ranging from festivals such as Easter, Diwali and Chinese New Year, to special days such as World Water Day and April Fools’ Day, to celebrations such as Midwinter and Harvest, to localised occasions such as Pirim, St. Swithin’s Day and Kwanzaa. A brief explanation of every single special event is provided at the end of the book. It would have been better had the details been provided in the same page as the name of the event appears on. The meaning would have come out clearly, and the related story would have also liked better in its theme.
The illustrations are charming and definitely match the spirit of the book well.
Angela McAllister is one of my favourite authors when it comes to children’s anthologies, but this wasn’t my favourite, though I did like it to a great extent.
3.75 stars.
The book is available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
May 24, 2025
I believe the intention of this book is that you take a year to read these stories either with your children, grandchildren, or young students. But when it is a library book, you take whatever time you have during your check-out period, or in-between reading your other novels, to sneak in one of these folktales to enjoy.
I want to thank Goodreads friend, Rosh for recommending this author and this series of books. I would never have been aware of the author’s many books, had I not read one of Rosh’s reviews.
Apparently, this author has quite the series for young readers, which are also creatively illustrated. With this book, the illustrator is Christopher Corr.
In this book, there are 52 folktales and legends from around the world. The idea is that each short, concisely-written story represents a season or a holiday, that is also representative of that country.
The author also includes an appendix with a year full of events that defines those celebrated special days and seasons.
This is a thoughtful, well-researched book that will provide many teachable moments.
Age level: 6 – 9 years+ - Grade Level: 1st – 4th+
I want to thank Goodreads friend, Rosh for recommending this author and this series of books. I would never have been aware of the author’s many books, had I not read one of Rosh’s reviews.
Apparently, this author has quite the series for young readers, which are also creatively illustrated. With this book, the illustrator is Christopher Corr.
In this book, there are 52 folktales and legends from around the world. The idea is that each short, concisely-written story represents a season or a holiday, that is also representative of that country.
The author also includes an appendix with a year full of events that defines those celebrated special days and seasons.
This is a thoughtful, well-researched book that will provide many teachable moments.
Age level: 6 – 9 years+ - Grade Level: 1st – 4th+
December 31, 2021
So this is the end of the year and, thus, also the end of this year-round read. I gotta say, it was far from the best.
There isn't a story for every day but several per month. Often, the stories go with special days in any given month. What appealed to me was the fact that the stories were from all manner of cultures from around the world. And it has to be said that I DID find some as-yet unknown ones, which was nice. However, I only liked most, had only one or two actual delightful reading experiences and the rest even fell flat (as in, it was hard to see the moral of many).
Moreover, and it pains me to say this, the art was downright ugly. At first, I honestly thought that the publisher/curator might have collected children's art submissions for the stories, but no. This is specially commissioned art. One could make the case that child-like art is supposed to go well with stories for children, but it definitely didn't seem like that or work for me.
My favourite story was in February. A Jewish story, called Joseph Had a Little Overcoat that starts with a coat and ends with a button. A story about always making the best of things and that you can indeed always "make something out of nothing".
However, upon researching I unfortuantely had to find out that the story had been abbreviated for this book. You know how much I hate abridged books/stories. *growls*
Therefore, this was a sad choice, albeit not a total loss, that I nevertheless cannot recommend to anyone.
There isn't a story for every day but several per month. Often, the stories go with special days in any given month. What appealed to me was the fact that the stories were from all manner of cultures from around the world. And it has to be said that I DID find some as-yet unknown ones, which was nice. However, I only liked most, had only one or two actual delightful reading experiences and the rest even fell flat (as in, it was hard to see the moral of many).
Moreover, and it pains me to say this, the art was downright ugly. At first, I honestly thought that the publisher/curator might have collected children's art submissions for the stories, but no. This is specially commissioned art. One could make the case that child-like art is supposed to go well with stories for children, but it definitely didn't seem like that or work for me.
My favourite story was in February. A Jewish story, called Joseph Had a Little Overcoat that starts with a coat and ends with a button. A story about always making the best of things and that you can indeed always "make something out of nothing".
However, upon researching I unfortuantely had to find out that the story had been abbreviated for this book. You know how much I hate abridged books/stories. *growls*
Therefore, this was a sad choice, albeit not a total loss, that I nevertheless cannot recommend to anyone.
February 11, 2021
Un volum cât se poate de frumos - cu siguranță l-ar aprecia cititorii mari și mici.
Recenzia, aici.
Recenzia, aici.
April 22, 2024
- pre deti +3
- 52 príbehov o sviatkoch z celého sveta sformovaný do rozprávok
- veľký formát, papierové strany
- každý príbeh má svoju dvojstranu
- krásne ilustrácie
- spracovanie sa bude páčiť aj dospelým
Hovorili ste si niekedy, ako asi oslavujú Veľkú noc v Číne ? A čo takto Vianoce v Nórsku ? Aké sviatky existujú mimo našich slovenských hraníc a ako ich ľudia oslavujú ? A aké rozprávky, či príbehy sa s nimi spájajú ? Ja som mnoho odpovedí našla práve v tejto pestro ilustrovanej knihe pre deti a mládež.
Veľká kniha rozprávok o sviatkoch je zbierka nádherných príbehov zo všetkých kútov sveta, ktorú som si zamilovala.
Obálka pestrá ako veľkonočné vajíčko upúta okamžite, no rovnako farebná je kniha aj vo vnútri. Skladá sa z 52och rozprávok, ktoré sú doplnené ilustráciami. Rozprávky sú kategorizované podľa mesiacov v roku a sú usporiadané chronologicky. Kniha je veľmi priehľadná a príbehy tak krásne do seba zapadajú.
Nájdete tu známe rozprávky ako napríklad - mrázik príbeh z Ruska - no aj menej známe až exotické . Rozprávky su krátke, max na dve strany a preto knihu odporúčam aj ako knihu na dobrú noc.
V tejto nádherne ilustrovanej knihe pre deti sa zoznámite nielen s krásnymi príbehmi, ale aj so sviatkami, ktoré sú slávené medzi národmi počas celého roka.
- 52 príbehov o sviatkoch z celého sveta sformovaný do rozprávok
- veľký formát, papierové strany
- každý príbeh má svoju dvojstranu
- krásne ilustrácie
- spracovanie sa bude páčiť aj dospelým
Hovorili ste si niekedy, ako asi oslavujú Veľkú noc v Číne ? A čo takto Vianoce v Nórsku ? Aké sviatky existujú mimo našich slovenských hraníc a ako ich ľudia oslavujú ? A aké rozprávky, či príbehy sa s nimi spájajú ? Ja som mnoho odpovedí našla práve v tejto pestro ilustrovanej knihe pre deti a mládež.
Veľká kniha rozprávok o sviatkoch je zbierka nádherných príbehov zo všetkých kútov sveta, ktorú som si zamilovala.
Obálka pestrá ako veľkonočné vajíčko upúta okamžite, no rovnako farebná je kniha aj vo vnútri. Skladá sa z 52och rozprávok, ktoré sú doplnené ilustráciami. Rozprávky sú kategorizované podľa mesiacov v roku a sú usporiadané chronologicky. Kniha je veľmi priehľadná a príbehy tak krásne do seba zapadajú.
Nájdete tu známe rozprávky ako napríklad - mrázik príbeh z Ruska - no aj menej známe až exotické . Rozprávky su krátke, max na dve strany a preto knihu odporúčam aj ako knihu na dobrú noc.
V tejto nádherne ilustrovanej knihe pre deti sa zoznámite nielen s krásnymi príbehmi, ale aj so sviatkami, ktoré sú slávené medzi národmi počas celého roka.
February 5, 2020
Beautiful book, I enjoyed most of the stories and artwork, some stories were cut way too short for my taste but it's a children's book... I found the strangest stories and the saddest to be Inuit... I would love to read more of their myths.
March 16, 2021
Poveștile au o simplitate feerică, care cucerește inimile tuturor cititorilor, indiferent de vârstă. Eu o recomand pentru momentele aglomerate, când o poveste plăcută și scurtă poate face minuni în ceea ce privește dispoziția celui ce se lasă purtat pe aripile imaginației.
November 28, 2024
Buen libro para abrir la mente a diferentes historias y culturas, pero honestamente pensé que iban a estar más relacionadas con las fechas que mencionan (ya que decidieron hacerlo por fechas conmemorativas a lo largo del año).
También ya poniéndome picky y muy posiblemente porque soy parte de, pero sentí que faltaron historias de LATAM. Y no es por pedir una de cada país, pero había ciertos países que se repetían hasta 3 veces y me ocasionó un ligero tic nervioso.
También ya poniéndome picky y muy posiblemente porque soy parte de, pero sentí que faltaron historias de LATAM. Y no es por pedir una de cada país, pero había ciertos países que se repetían hasta 3 veces y me ocasionó un ligero tic nervioso.
February 18, 2019
A lovely book with many stories, quick and even quicker to read—such as “The Shortest Ghost Story in the World.” Some tales are familiar but many are new. There is culture and variety from one story to the next. Pages are large, filled with colorful, decorative illustrations. Entertaining and beautiful.
July 1, 2025
While each story is paired with a holiday, the stories themselves have very little to do with said holiday.
The stories weren't bad, definitely short. The illustrations were okay. I think I was just expecting more from this book.
The stories weren't bad, definitely short. The illustrations were okay. I think I was just expecting more from this book.
December 23, 2024
Výborné tematické krátké příběhy z celého světa, na každý týden v roce jeden.
March 10, 2021
Wasn't quite all around the world.
December 20, 2023
This book is technically for children but I could not resist keeping it for myself – after all, it’s a collection of 52 folktales and legends from around the world!
Beautifully illustrated, A Year of Stories contains one story for every week of the year. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would truly be global since most “global” collections tend to focus on Greek and Roman mythology (or Western ones) but I was pleasantly surprised by this! I saw:
Iraqi stories
Korean stories
Japanese stories
Buddhist stories
Christian stories
Jewish stories
West African stories
French stories
Chinese stories
Mexican stories
Indian stories
And more! I really had fun with all the stories; some were familiar but many were new to me. I really did think that the author tried to choose a well-rounded selection of stories. Some of the stories were rather obscure too; for example I’ve never heard of The Buried Moon (wiki link), and I’m not familiar with her version of why there’s a rabbit on the moon (I know the Chang Er variation better).
Most of the stories come with very cute illustrations as well! The illustrations are by Christopher Corr and they match well with the tone of the stories.
Overall, I thought this was a very charming collection of folktales from around the world. I did wish the authors put in the sources/original titles somewhere because I would have liked to look some of them up, but I think parents/readers looking for a well-rounded collection of folktales will enjoy this collection.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
Beautifully illustrated, A Year of Stories contains one story for every week of the year. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would truly be global since most “global” collections tend to focus on Greek and Roman mythology (or Western ones) but I was pleasantly surprised by this! I saw:
Iraqi stories
Korean stories
Japanese stories
Buddhist stories
Christian stories
Jewish stories
West African stories
French stories
Chinese stories
Mexican stories
Indian stories
And more! I really had fun with all the stories; some were familiar but many were new to me. I really did think that the author tried to choose a well-rounded selection of stories. Some of the stories were rather obscure too; for example I’ve never heard of The Buried Moon (wiki link), and I’m not familiar with her version of why there’s a rabbit on the moon (I know the Chang Er variation better).
Most of the stories come with very cute illustrations as well! The illustrations are by Christopher Corr and they match well with the tone of the stories.
Overall, I thought this was a very charming collection of folktales from around the world. I did wish the authors put in the sources/original titles somewhere because I would have liked to look some of them up, but I think parents/readers looking for a well-rounded collection of folktales will enjoy this collection.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
November 12, 2020
Some of the stories only had a passing reference to the holiday they were timed for. And several stories were from parts of the world that didn’t celebrate that particular holiday. I was hoping to learn more about some of the holidays in this book, but the stories just didn’t match up. It did prompt me to look up more about the holidays. I also found a lot of the stories to just be way too short and truncated for my likes. I read to learn more and a lot of these left me hanging. However, I did appreciate the diversity represented. Stories from all over the world and including indigenous stories, which I loved!
October 19, 2022
Beautiful, colorful book filled with enthralling stories for each month. They are abbreviated, but if they were much longer, the story and illustrations would lose their charm. Some of them are kind of sad for kids to be reading, so I recommend parents pre read each story before reading to kids under nine, but most of them aren’t too bad, especially for older kids.
I’m twelve, and I read the book with my ten year old brother, who immediately begged to read ahead of the time of year. Also-at the end there’s a glossary that explains each holiday. Fun bonus to read about after hearing each tale!
I’m twelve, and I read the book with my ten year old brother, who immediately begged to read ahead of the time of year. Also-at the end there’s a glossary that explains each holiday. Fun bonus to read about after hearing each tale!
November 8, 2020
A really aesthetically pleasing book full of great educational, cultural and accessible stories. The book has 52 stories (one for each week) which are the perfect length for a bedtime read or an end of the school-day story. The book has many teaching and learning opportunities. For example on page 102 'the shortest ghost story in the world', children could write the next line of the story. The stories could also be used for RE lessons, reading comprehensions, interpretive drawings and much more.
January 31, 2024
I enjoyed reading this book with my daughters and was between 3 and 4 stars for it. I loved that the stories came from multiple cultures and that they were spread out of the course of a year. It was a fun idea! However, I often found the language a bit overly simplified, and the art wasn’t my style although it was fun and colorful.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read for morning time to talk about folktales of different cultures, and I’m glad my library carries it. But it is probably not a book I will purchase for my home library.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read for morning time to talk about folktales of different cultures, and I’m glad my library carries it. But it is probably not a book I will purchase for my home library.
August 22, 2025
52 Tales for the Year is a beautifully curated collection of myths, fairy tales, and legends from around the world, offering a story for every week. Organized by month and linked to cultural holidays, seasonal events, and international celebrations, it introduces readers to global traditions and timeless stories. Collected by Angela McAllister and illustrated by Christopher Corr, this treasury is perfect for families, teachers, and librarians seeking to inspire wonder and cultural curiosity all year long.
August 5, 2019
I’ve had one of these each night for almost two months. Many of the stories were familiar, however; I didn’t know the origin of some of them. This book is very well laid out, and gives enough basic information that one could explore each story’s origin or adaptation of wanted. My children would beg me tonight to read more than one. Illustrations are decent, they add to the book but it’s overall value is in storytelling. So glad I found this one at the local thrift shop for a dime!
August 16, 2025
What a cute collection of 52 folktales and legends from various cultures across the world. I just had to browse through it in my library to pick up a few stories for my kid.
The illustrations are a class apart and you would want to touch and feel them.
The book is marked by months and children do get to know more about each month. Many parts of the world are covered though not sure of the stories originate from those countries mentions.
But surely a cute read if not an alltime favourite.
The illustrations are a class apart and you would want to touch and feel them.
The book is marked by months and children do get to know more about each month. Many parts of the world are covered though not sure of the stories originate from those countries mentions.
But surely a cute read if not an alltime favourite.
October 19, 2017
Meh. Didn't do it for me. It's nice to read 1 or 2 of these, but not to just sit down with and read. Also, why is everybody's nose white? They look like they're wearing old-fashioned sunblock. On the whole though, the illustrations were nice and I enjoyed the colorful, folk art style of them. Left off p. 30, 10/18/17
July 27, 2025
Milujem túto sériu, dobrý výber príbehov, napísané štýlom, čo zvládne aj menšie dieťa a krásne ilustrácie. Len sa mi zdá , že tento diel (tretí, čo máme) má podstatne viac preklepov než druhé dva, škoda. Aj tak sa už teším na príležitosť dokúpiť ďalšie diely, čo si budeme navrávať, viac pre mňa než pre deti.
September 12, 2017
International folk tales and stories organized around the calendar! The stories are great, the illustrations are pretty and the stories are short enough that even the youngest readers/listeners don't lose interest.
November 10, 2017
A beautiful book filled with interesting and fun stories. I read a story out of this book each week to my third graders and they are enthralled! A classic for families and classrooms or anyone who appreciates a good story and beautiful artwork.
December 26, 2017
A very pretty book of folktales and legends from around the world, covering a variety of significant dates and holidays. The illustrations are colorful and childlike, making this a good choice for reading aloud to kids.
January 19, 2018
An even 4 stars. I love fairytales and folktales in particular. So this was a quick little read. I imagine it would be fun to read each of the stories over the course of a year in their intended week. Most of these I had actually heard before, but if you were new to me.
December 8, 2020
Some of these have religious or spiritual content, which I wasn't prepared for, however, it's a beautiful collection. We just made time to explain and reiterate our own beliefs while discovering these stories.
November 22, 2017
Nice collection of stories from around the world. Good mix of folk stories and art.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews