Bonus Bibliography: Tell Me a Tale

The Turnip: by Harriet Ziefert
Viking 1996 (32p)
To uproot a huge turnip from the ground, an old man enlists the help of an old woman, a girl, a dog, a cat, and a mouse.
The Magic Porridge Pot: by Harriet Ziefert
Viking 1997 (32p) also paper
A young girl gets into trouble with a magic porridge pot that won't stop cooking in this retelling of a classic English tale.
Young Mouse and Elephant: by Pamela J. Farris
Houghton 1996 (32p)
Boastful Young Mouse sets off to prove to elephant that of all the animals on the plain, even Elephant, he is the strongest.
Chicken Little: by Sally Hobson
Simon 1994 (26p)
A bright retelling of the tale of naive Chicken Little, her friends, and a fox.

The Royal Drum: by Mary Dixon Lake
(Multicultural)
Mondo 1996 (32p)
In a tale from the Ashanti told with rebus pictures, all of the animals except for lazy monkey work hard to make a drum for Lion, the king of the jungle.
Journey of the Nightly Jaguar: by Burton Albert
(Multicultural)
Atheneum 1996 (32p)
In this story inspired by an ancient Mayan myth, the sun becomes a jaguar at night, stalking through the jungle until it appears again in the morning sky.
Old Bag of Bones: A Coyote Tale: by Janet Stevens
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1996 (32p)
Young Buffalo imbues decrepit Coyote with youth and power, but wisdom still eludes Coyote.
The Cat and the Rooster: A Ukrainian Folktale: by Ivan Malkovych
Knopf 1995 (32p)
A cat rescues his friend the rooster from the trickery of a wily fox.

Cuckoo: A Mexican Folktale/Cucú: Un folklórico mexicana: by Lois Ehlert
(Multicultural)
Harcourt 1997
When beautiful but lazy Cuckoo saves a field of seeds from a fire in this Mayan pourquoi tale, he scorches his beautiful feathers but earns the respect of the other birds. Text in English and Spanish.
Wiley and the Hairy Man: by Molly Garrett Bang
(Multicultural)
Simon 1996 (64p)
With his mother's help, a boy outwits a hairy, shape-changing creature that lives in the swamp near their home.
The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks: Verna Aardema
(Multicultural)
Knopf 1996 (32p)
An ostrich who has her chicks stolen by a lioness with no children of her own enlists the help of different animals to get them back in this tale from the Masai.
Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Story from Korea: by Oki S. Han
(Multicultural)
Dial 1996 (32p)
Kindhearted Kongi is treated unfairly by her stepmother and stepsister, but proves she is worthy to become the prince's bride.
How the Ostrich Got Its Long Neck: by Verna Aardema
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1995 (32p)
Crocodile tricks Ostrich into helping him get rid of a toothache in this Kenyan pourquoi tale.
How Thunder and Lightening Came to Be: A Choctaw Legend: by Beatrice Orcutt Harrell
(Multicultural)
Dial 1995 (32p)
Two silly birds accidentally create thunder and lightning as they look for a way to warn people of approaching storms.

The Bootmaker and the Elves: by Susan Lowell
Orchard 1997 (32p)
In a retelling of the tale “The Elves and the Shoemaker” set in the Old West, two elves help a poor cowboy bootmaker and his wife turn leather into beautiful boots.
Days of the Blackbird: A Tale of Northern Italy: by Tomie dePaola
Putnam 1997 (32p)
In the process of singing a gravely ill duke back to health, the feathers of a beautiful white song bird become permanently black.
Punia and the King of Sharks: by Lee Wardlaw
(Multicultural)
Dial 1997 (32p)
In this Hawaiian folktale, a clever boy named Punia outwits the king of the sharks, enabling him to fish in the lobster cave that the sharks jealously guard.
People of Corn: A Mayan Story: by Mary Joan-Gerson
(Multicultural)
Little 1995 (32p)
The gods Plumed Seprpent and Heart of Sky discover the true source of light -corn-and use it to fashion the Mayan people in this creation story.
Fables: by Arnold Lobel
Harper 1980 (48p) also paper
Short fables poke fun at human foibles through the antics of animals. Available in Spanish asFábulas.

Counting Crocodiles: by Judy Sierra
(Math)
Harcourt 1997 (32p)
Monkey convinces a sea of crocodiles to line up so he can walk across their backs to reach a banana tree in this counting tale.
Sody Sallyratus: by Terri Sloat
Dutton 1997 (32p)
When an old woman sends her family members to the store for the sody sallyratus she needs to make baking soda biscuits, each one is eaten by a hungry black bear.
The Golden Goose: by Uri Shulevitz
Farrar 1995 (32p)
In a retelling of a traditional Grimm tale, a simpleton wins over a princess with the funny procession of people stuck to his golden goose.
Too Much Talk: by Angela Shelf Medearis
(Multicultural)
Candlewick 1995 (32p)
In a tale from West Africa, yams, fish, cloth, and water that can all talk cause a funny hullabaloo.

Brother Rabbit: A Cambodian Tale: by Mingfong Ho
(Multicultural)
Lothrop 1997 (32p)
Brother Rabbit outwits a crocodile, two elephants, and an old woman to feast on a field of rice seedlings.
Trouble: by Jane Kurtz
(Multicultural)
Harcourt 1997 (40p)
In a tale from Eritrea, a young goatherd trades away the gebeta board that his father has given him to stay out of trouble while he grazes his goats.
Toads and Diamonds: by Charlotte Huck
Greenwillow 1996 (32p)
Diamonds and pearls fall from Renee's mouth after she performs a kind deed, but only toads and snakes fall from Francine's mouth in retaliation for her rudeness in this story about two stepsisters who are justly rewarded for their actions.
Little Red Riding Hood: A New Fangled Prairie Tale: by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Simon 1995 (40p)
Little Red Riding Hood foils the plans of a wolf who is out to steal the recipe for her granny's famous wheat-berry muffins.
The Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb: by Shirley Climo
(Multicultural)
Clarion 1995 (32p)
A persistant little ant discovers she has the strength to move a big crumb by herself in this Mexican fable.

Baby Rattlesnake (Viborita de cascabel): by Te Ata and Lynn Moroney
Agua Agua Agua (Agua Agua Agua): by Pat Mora
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Los tres chivitos Gruff): by Paul Galdone
The Legend of the Bluebonnet (La leyenda de la flor “el conejo”): by Tomie de Paola
Strega Nona (Strega Nona): by Tomie de Paola