Earth, Sea & Stars

by Isabel Otter (Adapter)

This collection of 20 engaging stories about the natural world is drawn from global cultures and reminds readers of everyone’s responsibility to care for and respect Earth. 
 

In this collection of 20 stories from many global cultures readers will journey all around across the wide savanna, into deep forests, over majestic mountains, into the ocean depths, and high into the skies above.  These unique tales feature bold, adventurous characters as they sail to the moon, create the first fire, and grow orchards of friendship. The ancient wisdom in these stories resonates today more than ever, highlighting the need to care for and respect Earth.
 
Includes background information on each story, a story map, talking points, and a bibliography.
 

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Isabel Otter is a children's book editor and writer. She grew up in rural Herefordshire and is happiest climbing mountains in muddy boots. Isabel loves weaving stories and writing about the world around her.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've loved traditional tales since I was very young, cutting my teeth on the Jack Tales and Grandfather Tales from the Southern portion of the United States, and finding the connections between those stories and others from different parts of the world quite interesting. In this collection of 20 stories from around the globe--from China, Tahiti, Norway, Nigeria, and the Sudan, among other places--readers will learn important lessons about how to treat the environment, becoming good stewards and caretakers with a conscience, not just individuals who take what they want from the land, air, and sea without a thought about the future. "Seeds of Friendship" from Kazakhstan and "The Fox and the Armadillo" from Argentina are two of my favorites. The illustrations that accompany some of the stories are colorful and complement them well, but I wish there had been more illustrations and larger text for visual appeal for all the tales. Still, the contents are definitely worth perusing, supported by a map showing the stories' origins, succinct background information on each tale, and brief points for discussion of each one. While the stories can be enjoyed on their own merit, it might be necessary to unpack some of their messages or lessons and discuss with others why a character behaved as he/she/they did or talk about similarities between these stories and those with which readers are already familiar.

[Siarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is comprised of about 20 folk literature stories about Earth, the sea, and the sky above. I read the folk literature story called "The Corn Girl", which is an Iroquois story from North America. Based on this single story, I think the book holds so many great examples of folk literature stories that students can learn from. Each story has illustrations that accompany it and adds detail to the story. I would place this book in my future classroom library for students to take part in and enjoy. They could choose to read the entire book or just read a couple of the short stories on their own time.