Little Book of Latin American Folktales

by Dearden, Carmen Diana; Zeller, Beatriz; Wald, Susana

• ISBN13: 9780888995438
• ISBN10: 0888995431
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-02-18
• Publisher: Groundwood Books

Summary

This is a collection of folktales told by storytellers who brought a very Latin American flavor to what had originally been European stories. When stories travel, they change. New storytellers draw on elements of their own culture, place and time and adapt tales to their own worlds. Thus traditional European tales made their way to Latin America; once they arrived, they were told over and over and in the retelling were transformed, as the old elements combined with the new. The authors of this anthology range from folklorists to simple storytellers, but they all have in common their Criollo (Creole) roots, and have specifically sought out traditional tales that have been transplanted and nurtured in the Latin American culture. Readers will find very different versions of Cinderella (Maria Tolete), The Flying Boat (Juan Cenizo) and Hansel and Gretel (Ocelot, Jaguar and Lion), as well as other transformed but familiar stories. Here they are suffused with a very special Criollo flavor that combines humor, a tropical setting and an exuberance that is particularly Latin American. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Carmen Diana Dearden is the publisher of Ediciones Ekare based in Caracas, Venezuela. She has a longstanding interest in folklore.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 6
Notes to the Stories	p. 8
Juan Cenizo	p. 11
The Girl and the Fish	p. 23
Little Chitlings	p. 29
Whiteflower	p. 41
Crooked Foot the Dwarf	p. 57
The Basil Pot	p. 69
Maria Tolete	p. 77
The Griffin	p. 85
Ocelot, Jaguar and Lion	p. 99
The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree and the Fountain of Gold	p. 111
About the Authors	p. 128
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.