Book picks similar to
The Five Sparrows: A Japanese Folktale by Patricia Montgomery Newton


folklore-japanese
folklore-mythology
folklore-myths-tales
grade-2-science

The Wizard Comes to Town


Mercer Mayer - 1973
    Alabasium, Wizard Extraordinaire, rents a room in Mrs. Beggs's boarding house. After the Wizard conjures up a few floating chairs and some inclement weather in the parlor, Mrs. Beggs retaliates with a little witchcraft of her own. Full color.

Swan Lake


Margot Fonteyn - 1989
    Full color.

The Adventures of Tom Thumb


Marianna Mayer - 2001
    A tiny boy has adventures in a cow's mouth, a fish's belly, and the stomach of a giant.

KERI Part 6: As Mother Predicted (Child Abuse True Stories)


Kat Ward - 2016
     Despite leaving the courtroom with her reputation intact, Kat's inner life was in turmoil, and it was only due to the loyal support and steadfast encouragement of her ever-increasing fan-base that she managed to complete the sixth volume so soon. Following on from the fifth book, in which she lost her identity but somehow found herself a husband, Karin now finds herself in the precarious position of having to move in with her partner's family - a move known to strain even the tightest of marital bonds. But tight bonds are seldom established by those who grew up learning not to trust, and the status of being the only black sheep in a house full of sacred cows eventually takes an irreparable toll on the marriage; forcing the young Karin out of the house and onto the streets. In what might be described as the first truly "grown up" volume in the series, Kat, now in her twenties, is left with no choice but to face the world completely alone. Homeless, penniless, and holding the (not just proverbial) baby, she resorts to begging by the roadside in order to get by. Her desperate search for protection leads her down some dark alleys, and before long she realises the uncomfortable truth: that shelter is a commodity to be bargained for. And with little more than her dignity to bargain with, it is perhaps not surprising that the arms she ends up in are not all tender and loving. In fact, she soon finds she needs protection from the protection itself - a theme all too familiar for readers of the prior books. The woman who was abused her entire childhood now recounts her terror at being subjected as an adult to violent alcoholic rages, false accusations, and even rape at the hands of her sadistic tormentor, who insists on holding her captive. Once again in need of an escape route, she makes a daring bid for freedom. Yet despite coming so close, she falls short and ends up swapping one set of bars for another. 
DISCLAIMER: This book series deals with themes of both child abuse and domestic abuse, and as such reader discretion is advised. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The Banshee


Eve Bunting - 2009
    . . SCREE . . .” Terry is half asleep when he hears the wailing, rising and falling like the waves of the sea. He wishes it were a dream, but he knows it isn’t. It isn’t an owl screeching, either. Or the Flannerys’ old cat. Could it be the Banshee—the ghostly figure of Irish legend who wails outside a house when death is near? Why would she come here? In spite of his fears, Terry goes out to confront her. Is it really the Banshee, or . . . something else?

The Ballad of Mulan


Song Nan Zhang - 1998
    386-534) tells about Mulan disguising herself as a man and taking her father's place in battle.

The Ice Bear


Jackie Morris - 2010
    A hunter and his wife find the child and, wrapping him in sealskin, they sing him songs of the ice, the wind and the great white bears. One day the child wanders off and a bear comes to take him back to his mother. But by now the hunter is on the trail, determined to kill the creature that has taken his child. Set in the pristine polar regions of the Arctic, Jackie Morris's beautiful story reminds us that we are caretakers of these wild creatures and our actions directly affect their future.To listen to a reading of Ice Bear click here

Young Guinevere


Robert D. San Souci - 1993
    San Souci's lively, well researched text and Henterly's illustrations--rich in color and detail (School Library Journal)--capture the mythical beauty and drama of the fabled days of Camelot in this dramatic story of the legendary heroine of Camelot.

The Legend of the Persian Carpet


Tomie dePaola - 1993
    When King Balash's precious diamond is stolen, the grief-stricken king can no longer rule, and the country falls into chaos, until a clever young boy comes up with a scheme to bring the jewel's radiance back into the palace.

The Weaving of a Dream


Marilee Heyer - 1986
    One day, she trades a brocade for a beautiful painting of a palace. She then spends years lovingly recreating the scene in brocade only to lose her work on a windy day. After everything she has done for her family, her youngest son seeks to recover the lost treasure, traveling through terrible weather and rocky terrain.Great for ages 5 and up. Beautiful and vibrant full-color illustrations.

The Iron Wolf and Other Stories


Richard Adams - 1980
    Each has a special magic, an aura that is sometimes beautiful and fascinating, sombre and frightening, or exciting and colourful. But what unites all these stories is the essential quality of folk-lore, something that transcends the boundaries of nations, of custom and time, that gives them their permanence and universality of appeal. "Authors need folk-tales," Richard Adams says, "in the same way as composers need folk-song. They're the headspring of the narrator's art, where the story stands forth at its simple, irreducible best. They don't date, any more than dreams, for they are the collective dreams of humanity." In order to preserve as far as possible the immediacy and directness of authentic folk story-telling, each of the nineteen tales is presented as being told by an imagined narrator to one or more hearers at a particular time and place, sometimes past, sometimes present. However, the reader is never told the identity either of the teller or his hearers, but is left free to infer both them and the occasion solely from the narrator's own words. This original technique adds a novel dash of piquancy to this fine collection.

Poop! There it is!


Xavier Finkley - 2012
    Shed a little humor on the subject by reading your child "Poop! There it is!".  Kids will giggle and laugh along with this silly book while learning the basics of potty training.

Tales from the Mabinogion


Gwyn Thomas - 1984
    A retelling of the four books of the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh medieval tales about the feats and exploits of legendary Welsh kings and princes.

Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady


Selina Shirley Hastings - 1985
    In this absorbing story his courage and chivalry are tested to the full when he swears to save the honour of his King by marrying the Loathly Lady.Winner of the 1985 Kate Greenaway Medal.

Would You Rather: Book for Kids Age 5-11 with 200 Funny and Challenging Questions the Whole Family Will Love


Andrew Gugi - 2020