Favorite Folktales from Around the World

September 29, 1986
Storytelling, the oral tradition that springs directly from folk archives, is well served in this one-volume collection culled from Pantheon's folklore series. The 160 tales are grouped thematically in 13 chapterse.g. "The Very Young and the Very Old,'' ``Fooling the Devil''taken from a variety of culturesEskimo, Irish, American Indian, Afro-American, Chinese, etc. Folklorists of many eras are represented in both familiar and less-common tales, carefully selected by Yolen, whose insightful introduction sets the parameters of choice. Her professional experience (she is the author of more than 80 books, many of them tales for children), assures us that storytelling, defined as ``a personal art that makes public what is private and makes private what is public,'' is enjoying revival across the North American continent. The organization of this collection makes accessible, for telling and listening, illuminating glimpses of the world's cultures.