World Full of Animal Stories: 50 Folktales and Legends by Angela McAllister
Illustrated by Aitch
Published by Allen & Unwin
Date: 25 October 2017
R.R.P: $24.99
This book is a beautiful and interesting extravaganza of folktales and legends that celebrate animals and culture, some that will be familiar to you and some that won’t. These stories are brought to life as we travel the globe to Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe, Australia and Oceania.
This book made me feel like an 8 year old again, flicking through a book full of cultural stories, with strong messages and admiring illustrations that are a little bit different to what I have been seeing of late. I smile because I know this book will be admired and poured over by so many children and their parents, where they too will enjoy tales from around the world that take us to another time and place.
My interest was piqued when finding out where in the world familiar stories such as The Billy Goats Gruff, The Nightingale, and The Ugly Duckling came from. For example, The Ugly Duckling Came from Denmark and The Billy Goats Gruff came from from Norway, to be honest I have never really thought of this but was still somewhat surprised. In the contents guide it has each of the stories listed under the continent they belong to, with the country that relates to the story in brackets next to its title.
The stories aren’t long, this makes it perfect for bedtime stories. One story a night will give your child something to think and talk about. This would also would be great for the classroom, particularly when learning about different cultural stories and traditions.
Who can resist stories that begin with Some say that, Long ago, that the pandas…
Thank you to Allen and Unwin for the opportunity to read and review this book
Little Big Reads 