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The Elves and the Shoemaker

The Elves and the Shoemaker story adapted by Lucy Kincaid, illustrated by Gillian Embleton, 1981.

I loved to read this folktale when I was a kid! This particular copy was made specifically for beginning readers with large type and a section in the back that shows key words in the story with little pictures to explain what they mean. Aside from my nostalgic associations with this book, I also really enjoy the detailed, realistic pictures.

There was a shoemaker who worked very hard but never seemed to get much money for the shoes he made. He and his wife are on the verge of starvation, and he only has enough leather to make one final pair of shoes.

Before going to bed, he cuts out the leather for the last pair of shoes, planning to sew them in the morning. However, in the morning, he discovers that someone else has already sewn the shoes together, and the shoes are very fine quality. The shoemaker has no idea who finished the shoes for him, but they did an excellent job, and he is able to sell them for enough money to buy food and enough leather for two more pairs of shoes.

Once again, he cuts out the leather for the shoes, and again, in the morning, he discovers that someone else has sewn the shoes together. The shoes are excellent, and he is able to sell them for enough to buy leather for four more pairs.

This continues night after night, and the shoemaker’s business begins to prosper, but he and his wife wonder who is helping them. One night, they hide and watch to see who will come to do the sewing. As they sit up, waiting, they see a pair of small elves who enter through the window and begin sewing the shoes together.

The shoemaker and his wife want to thank the elves for their help. Noticing that the elves are wearing ragged clothes and have no shoes of their own, they decide to make the elves their own sets of clothes and shoes.

On Christmas Eve, they put the elves’ new clothes on the table where the shoemaker usually puts the shoes that need to be cut and watch to see what the elves do. The elves are overjoyed to see the new clothes, realizing that they are presents for them. They immediately put the clothes on and dance around with happiness, singing that they don’t need to work anymore.

That is the last time the shoemaker and his wife see the elves, but the shoemaker’s business continues to prosper.

In the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling used the device of gifts of clothing ending a house elf’s service to a particular household, but she didn’t invent that concept. It was already a feature of folktales like The Elves and the Shoemaker, which was one of the folk tales collected by the Brothers Grimm.

This book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive. There are also many other versions of the same story.

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The Legend of Old Befana

The Legend of Old Befana by Tomie dePaola, 1980.

The story is based on a Christmas story from Italian folklore. According to Italian tradition, Old Befana visits the houses of children on January 6th, the Feast of the Three Kings, and leaves treats and gifts. Legend has it that she is on an eternal search for The Christ Child.

Old Befana is a strange old woman who living in a village in Italy. She is a grumpy woman who spends almost all of her time sweeping. Sometimes, she bakes good things to eat and sings lullabies, although she lives alone, so there’s no one for her to bake for or sing to. People think that she is crazy.

One night, Old Befana wakes up to see a bright light. There is a dazzlingly bright star in the sky, and it makes it difficult for her to sleep.

The next day, as she is doing her usual sweeping, she hears the sound of bells. A strange and beautiful procession comes over the hill. Among the procession are three men in royal robes.

The three kings stop and ask Old Befana if she knows the way to Bethlehem. She says that she has never heard of the place. The kings say that they are looking for “the Child,” but Old Befana doesn’t know what child they mean. They explain to her that this Child is a king and that His appearance was signaled by a bright star in the sky.

Old Befana confirms that she has also seen the star. A boy among the procession tells Old Befana that they are bringing gifts to the Child because He has come to change the world. The boy urges Old Befana to come with them, but old Befana says that she is only a poor woman and continues her sweeping.

After they leave, however, Old Befana continues thinking about what they said, and she starts to think that maybe she should go see the Child. She bakes all kinds of cookies and candies as gifts. She also decides to take her broom so that she can sweep the Child’s room because His mother will be tired. However, she stops to do her usual sweeping before she leaves her home.

By the time she is finished with her sweeping, the procession is so far ahead that she is unable to catch up to them. Just as Old Befana laments that she cannot catch up to the procession, the angels declare that, “This is the night of miracles.” Suddenly, Old Befana can run fast, even running across the sky.

Unfortunately, Old Befana still doesn’t know the way to Bethlehem or who the Child is, so she doesn’t get to see the Christ Child. However, she still continues her search. Every year on January 6, she runs across the sky, carrying her broom and her basket of treats. At every house she finds with a child, she sweeps the room clean and gives the children gifts and treats because she never knows for sure which of them might be the Child she is seeking.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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Dragons, Dragons, and Other Creatures that Never Were

Dragons, Dragons, and Other Creatures that Never Were by Eric Carle, 1991.

This is a collection of poems and quotations about various mythical creatures from around the world. The poems and quotes come from various sources. Some are by famous authors and some are nursery rhymes and pieces of folklore. The quote about the leviathan is from The Book of Job.

The illustrations are what really make the book interesting. They are bright and colorful, and the middle section of the book folds out to reveal a particularly long picture of a Chinese dragon.

Although there are common mythological creatures, like dragons, unicorns, yetis, the phoenix, there are also less common ones that some children may not have even heard of, like the giant bird called the roc, the two-headed amphisbaena, the kappa, and the bunyip.

Most of the descriptions of the creatures are in the poems themselves and in the accompanying pictures, but there is a glossary in the back that explains more about what each creature is and where it is from.

The book is available to borrow and read online for free through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

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In a Dark, Dark Room

In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz, 1984.

This is a collection of classic scary stories based on folktales from around the world.  A special section in the back of the book explains more about where the stories came from.

This book was a favorite scary book of mine when I was a kid, and the stories are the type that kids commonly like to tell at camp or at sleepovers to spook each other.  Stories like these stay with you for years!

Sometimes, you can find individual stories from this book read aloud on YouTube. The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Stories in the Book:

The Teeth – A boy meets a series of strange people with increasingly long teeth.  Based on a story from Suriname. (Here is a video of someone reading this story as an example.)

In the Graveyard – A woman sees bodies carried into a graveyard. Based on the song “Old Woman All Skin and Bone.”

The Green Ribbon – A girl wears a green ribbon around her neck for her entire life, refusing to explain to even her husband why she wears it, until she is old and about to die.  Based on a European folk tale.  Originally, it was a red thread.

In a Dark, Dark Room – Classic slumber party story!  “In a dark, dark wood, there was a dark, dark house.”  What will it all lead to?  It is known in Europe and America.

The Night It Rained – A man gives a boy a ride home on a rainy night.  When he returns the next day to pick up the sweater he loaned the boy, he gets an eerie surprise.  Based on a class of ghost story known as “The Ghostly Hitchhiker,” which has many variants.

The Pirate – When Ruth visits her cousin’s house, her cousin tells her that her room is haunted by the ghost of a pirate.  Based on a British folktale.

The Ghost of John – A short poem. The author of this book first heard this from a young girl in California in 1979.

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Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters

Mufaro

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, 1987.

This story, based on an African folktale, is somewhat similar to other folktales and fairy tales from other parts of the world such as Cinderella, Mother Holle, and Vasilisa the Beautiful, where a girl with a kind, hard-working nature triumphs over a mean sibling because someone in authority recognizes her good nature and rewards it.

In a small village in Africa, a man named Mufaro has two daughters, Manyara and Nyasha.  Both girls are beautiful, strong, and clever, but they have very different natures.  Nyasha is kind, gentle, and patient.  Manyara is bad-tempered, jealous, and self-centered.  She frequently taunts Nyasha about how, one day, she will be the queen and her sister will be her servant.  When Nyasha asks her why she is so mean, Manyara says that she hates the way people praise Nyasha for her kindness.  She thinks that Nyasha is their father’s favorite child, and she wants to prove that Nyasha’s “silly kindness is only weakness.”

MufaroSisters

Since there is nothing that Nyasha can do to change her sister’s mind or attitude, she just continues doing her usual chores and being kind to people and animals.  In particular, she makes friends with a small garden snake, knowing that his presence in her garden will keep away pests.

Manyara is sneaky and always behaves herself when their father is present, so Mufaro doesn’t know about the troubles between his daughters.  When a messenger arrives, saying that the Great King is seeking a wife and that beautiful, worthy girls are summoned to his city so that he can choose from among them, Mufaro is proud and eager to present both of his beautiful daughters.  Manyara tries to persuade her father to send only her, but Mufaro is firm that both girls must present themselves for the king’s decision.

Manyara decides that the only way to get the better of her sister is to be the first to arrive and present herself to the king, so she slips out in the middle of the night and begins the journey alone.  However, both the journey and the king are not what Manyara thinks they are.  Along the way, Manyara encounters various strange characters who ask for help or offer advice, but thinking that a queen doesn’t need to pay attention to others or do anything she doesn’t want to, Manyara ignores them all.

Nyasha, on the other hand, gets ready to leave at the appointed time in the morning.  Everyone worries about Manyara but decides that the best thing to do is to follow her to the city, since she seems to have gone on ahead.  As Nyasha travels with the rest of their friends and family, she listens to the people Manyara ignored and shows them kindness.

MufaroCity

When they finally reach the city, Nyasha encounters a terrified Manyara, who hysterically insists that when she went to meet the king, she found a horrible monster instead.  However, like everything else, it’s just another part of the test, and Nyasha is the one who passes because she, like her sister, has actually met the king before, but unlike her sister, she actually paid attention to him.

MufaroSnakeKing

The pictures in the book are beautiful and colorful.  A note in the front of the book says that the buildings in the illustrations were based on an ancient city in Zimbabwe that is now ruins.  The note in the book also explains that the names of the characters in the story come from the Shona language.  The meanings of the names are clues to the characters’ natures.  Manyara means “ashamed”, and Nyasha means “mercy.”

The book is a Caldecott Honor Book.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.

MufaroWedding
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Ghosts, Witches, and Things Like That

GhostsWitchesThings

Ghosts, Witches, and Things Like That by Roderick Hunt, 1984.

This is a collection of information about the history of Halloween and other things related to Halloween, like folklore, games, recipes, crafts, and poems.  There are sections about specific topics, starting with the section about Halloween itself (spelled Hallowe’en, this is a British book).  The section about Halloween talks about the origins of the holiday and has tips for holding a Halloween party, including how to make costumes and decorations, the rules for games to play (including some old traditional games), and recipes for various Halloween treats.

Other sections of the book focus on various monsters and mythical creatures associated with Halloween, such as witches, ghosts, fairies werewolves, and vampires.  There is a section of ghost stories and some fascinating historical information about spiritualists and how people have faked ghosts in the past, including the Pepper’s Ghost illusion that is still used in the haunted house in Disneyland.  The sections about witches, fairies, and monsters also include a mixture of history and folklore along with some jokes and poems about the various creatures.

GhostsWitchesHistory

This is a fun book to read around Halloween.  It’s a mixture of historical background, folklore, party-planning tips, games, and recipes.  I think that the information about traditional games is still my favorite part.

GhostsWitchesApples

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Monster Manual

MonsterManual

Monster Manual by Erich Ballinger, 1989, 1994.

This book was originally written in German and then translated into English.  It’s not a story about monsters but a kind of guide to monsters and other creatures found in fantasy, horror, and science fiction books and movies.  There are articles about different types of monsters, fictional characters, and monster-related concepts that are organized in alphabetical order, like a encyclopedia.  The creatures in the book range from traditional monsters from folktales and classic literature, like vampires, mummies, dragons, ogres, and creatures from Greek mythology, to modern ones from popular fiction, as seen on this monster family tree.

MonsterManualFamilyTree

Some topics, like vampires, actually have more than one entry in the book.  There is the Vampires article, which talks about the general idea of vampires and traditional beliefs about them. Then, there are the articles about Dracula and Nosferatu, specific vampires from classic literature.  In the Nosferatu section, they tell you that the famous silent movie Nosferatu was actually based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, just with the location and character names changed.  Unlike the suave-looking Dracula, who is not obviously a vampire at first sight, the vampire in Nosferatu was also depicted as an unearthly creature.  One thing they don’t mention is that Bram Stoker’s widow sued the studio that made Nosferatu for copyright infringement.  The studio went bankrupt, and all copies of the movie were supposed to be destroyed.  The only reason that we can see the movie now is that copies of it had already been sent overseas and preserved.  It’s now considered a classic silent film and has a cult following.

MonsterManualVampires
MonsterManualNosferatuOgres

Some articles are also activities, like the one about Drawing Monsters and the quiz to see how fearful you are.

MonsterManualFearQuiz

All throughout the book, there are also segments of a comic strip at the bottoms of various pages in which a monster tries to frighten a young girl, who is unimpressed.  By the end of the comic strip, the girl and the monster become friends.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures

LegendaryCreatures

Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures by Tom McGowen, 1981.

This book is organized into brief encyclopedia-style entries, describing legendary creatures from around the world.  Everything is in alphabetical order, not organized by country or any other over-arching categories.

There are two things that I particularly like about this book.  One is that the mythological creatures in the book aren’t just limited to the common ones, like giants, vampires, werewolves, and unicorns (although they each have entries of their own); there are also some lesser-mentioned creatures like the Hulder Folk and the Abatwa People.  The Hulder Folk, who come from Norse folktales, look like ordinary humans, but they have tails like cows.  According to the book, they love to sing and dance, but their songs are always sad, which makes me think of country music.  They also can intermarry with humans, although their marriages are usually unhappy, which also, oddly, makes me think of country music.  The Abatwa People are part of the folklore of the Zulus in South Africa.  They are tiny people, but fierce warriors, and they get offended if people don’t treat them like they are the same size as humans.  (There are also real people in Africa called Abatwa who are pygmies.  The legendary people in this book may be connected to old legends about them, exaggerating their shorter-than-average height.)

LegendaryCreaturesNisse

The other thing that I really like about this book is the pictures.  There are many books about mythology and folklore that don’t have pictures of the creatures, and it really makes a difference being able to see what something looks like (or supposedly looks like, since these are legendary creatures) as well as read a description.

As a side note, there is an episode of the kids’ cartoon show, Arthur, where his friend, Sue Ellen, who isn’t usually frightened by scary stories, hears a strange noise that makes her think about various mythological monsters that she’s heard about in the different countries that she’s visited with her parents.  These unusual monsters, like Baba Yaga, Kappas, and Bashees, which most of her friends haven’t heard about before, do frighten her.  When I saw Kappas described in this book, it reminded me of that.

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The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed

JohnnyAppleseed

The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed by Margaret Hodges, 1997.

This American folktale was based on the life of a real person, John Chapman.

Johnny Appleseed was born as Johnny Chapman in 1774. His family lived in Massachusetts. There were plenty of apple trees there, and Johnny loved them. When he was grown, he started traveling west with the idea of spreading apple trees.

He carried very little with him, and some people said that he wore the pot that he used to cook his meals on his head as he walked. Everywhere he went, he planted apple seeds.

His reputation spread, and although people thought that traveling around just to plant apple seeds sounded crazy, they sometimes let him stay with them on his travels. Even Native Americans seemed to like him because he was friendly and helpful and interested in learning their languages. His legacy continued long after his death with trees that were enjoyed by generations of families across the Midwest.

There is a section in the back of the book that explains more about the history behind Johnny Appleseed’s story, including the end of the Revolutionary War and the beginning of westward migration in America. One of the things they mention is the effect that the War of 1812 had on relations between pioneers and Native Americans. Because pioneers were already pushing into the territory of Native Americans in the area that later became Ohio, the tribes there sided with the British in the war, hoping to push out the invading pioneers. After the war was over, though, the pioneers continued to come west, and when they did, they retaliated against the tribes that had been on the side of the British. The pioneers could be brutal, and part of the reason that Native Americans liked Johnny Appleseed was that he was different. He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone or take land for himself; he just wanted to plant trees. After he planted trees, he would build fences around them to keep animals from eating them while they were growing.

John Chapman’s life was unconventional.  He never married, and he acted as a Christian missionary in his travels as well as a planter.  Although he could be regarded as something of an oddball in the itinerant way he lived his life, he became a legend.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

PaulBunyan

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox by Jan Gleiter and Kathleen Thompson, 1985.

This story is based on an American folktale that was used to promote the logging industry. The book doesn’t explain the background to the story, but in a very literal sense, it is a “tall tale.”  The book is part of a series about legendary figures from history and myth.

Paul Bunyan is a giant of a man, and he was a giant since he was a baby, even though his parents were both of normal human size (no explanation given). Because he was never small enough to fit in his parents’ house, they made a large boat for him to sleep in as a cradle, rocking him to sleep on a river. Needless to say, having a giant baby complicates everything and can pose a real risk to everyone. His parents had to teach him early about what he could and couldn’t do so that he would avoid hurting people.

PaulBunyanBaby

However, Paul discovered early that he was skilled with an ax, and because of his great size and strength, he realizes that he is good at cutting down trees. Because this was the frontier days in America, good loggers were in demand because trees were plentiful and wood was needed to build houses and railroads. (Paul Bunyan would not be such a hero for cutting down whole forests today.)

However, a giant of a man can also be lonely when there’s no one around his own size. Paul finds a companion in a giant blue ox. (Yep, that’s part of the traditional story.) He found the ox partly buried in a blizzard. After he dug it out, he named it Babe, and the two of them became lifelong friends.

PaulBunyanBabe

Part of the story is that the Mississippi River and all the lakes in Minnesota were caused by Babe accidentally spilling water that he was carrying on his back. Paul also supposedly dug the Grand Canyon by accident by dragging his ax behind him when he walked to California.

PaulBunyanBabeSpill

Paul also meets a man named Hals Halvorsen who is almost his size. After trees get cut down, Paul and Hals pound the stumps into the ground with their fists to finish clearing the land. Then, they try planting some corn to see how good the land is for farming, but the corn stalk grows up so high that Hals nearly starves to death while climbing it to try to find the top of it.

PaulBunyanHals

The part of the story I liked the best as a kid was when they made gigantic pancakes for Paul Bunyan and Babe, greasing their giant griddle by basically skating across its surface with grease strapped to their feet.

PaulBunyanPancakes

I can’t say that this was one of my favorite folktales as a kid, and my feelings as an adult about deforestation don’t make me feel good about it now. Still, it is an interesting piece of Americana and a little nostalgic.  As a side note, Paul Bunyan was used as a mascot for a pancake restaurant in an episode of Disney’s Phineas and Ferb (which has also been done in real life).  In that episode, Norm, a giant robot, accidentally gets the head of the Babe statue outside the restaurant stuck on his head, causing Phineas and Ferb to think that they are being chased by a Minotaur.  Now that I think about it, this joke’s use of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox makes me smile more than the original version of the story.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.