Over 150 tales are compiled from Iceland to Syria, Cuba to Papua.Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

    The author, James Riordan, has travelled throughout the world collecting folk and fairy stories and his powerful re-tellings of traditional tales have attracted considerable critical acclaim.Alongside perennial favourites like "Beauty and the Beast," "Pinocchio," "The Little Match Girl," "Rapunzel," and "Tom Thumb," the reader will find some less well-known but equally spell-binding stories: "Kwaku Ananse and the Python," "The Rainbow and the Bread Fruit Flower," "The Black Bull of Norroway," and "The Flying Cherry Tree." In all, over fifty stories are included from places as far apart as Australia and Finland, India and Mexico and Scotland and North America.To complement the author's unique gift for story-telling, nineteen outstanding artists--including Victor Ambrus, Carol Barker, Shirley Tourret, Robin Lawrie, and Marilyn Day--have been chosen to illustrate the tales. They have produced a stunning selection of imaginative color illustrations, ensuring this superb book will be treasured by children everywhere.

    Hail to Gina Farina, the baker's daughter! A girl with a mind of her own and a heart set on adventure, she uses her talent for baking pies to join a troupe of traveling players and see the world.

    Not many grandmas teach their granddaughters how to play poker, or take train rides across the country, bathing in fresh orange juice. But this grandma is also not so different. Together grandma and granddaughter go to the movies, drink tea at a Chinese food restaurant, and see a vaudeville show that stars a beer-drinking hippo. Everyday they have lunch together, and grandma tells the story of her life. This is an off-beat, heartwarming tale narrated by a little girl whose grandmother is her best friend.