Frank Carlson Library

A collection of folktales from around the world which demonstrate the triumph of brains over brawn.

From celebrated author Jane Yolen comes this inspiring collection of folktales from around the world, all featuring strong female heroes. These fifteen folktales have one thing in common: brainy, bold, brave women-and not one damsel in distress! There is Bradamante, the fierce medieval knight, Li Chi, the Chinese girl who slays a dreaded serpent and saves her town, Makhta, a female warrior who leads her Sioux tribe into battle, and many more women...

In these twelve modern myths and tales for the young and the young at heart, Jane Yolen transforms the impossible into the familiar and real. Among the outlandish wonders are an Alice grown tough in Wonderland, a dear-but dead-mother's homecoming, a bridge that longs for a goat-eating troll, and a mutiny among Peter Pan's troops.

A young woman discovers the power to speak up and take control of her fate-a theme that has never been more timely than it is now... You think you know this story. You do not. A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga,...

Four animals who are no longer wanted by their masters set out to become musicians in the town of Bremen, but along the way they encounter a den of thieves.

In this retelling of an old Scottish ballad, a Scottish lass, on the Halloween after her sixteenth birthday, reclaims her family home which has been held for years by the fairies and at the same time effects the release of Tam Lin.

What were all those fairy-tale characters thinking? Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich answer this question in paired poems, with sometimes startling results. The Princess claims all those mattresses kept her awake?not a silly pea?while the poor pea complains that the princess snores. One Snow White begs the witch to settle by the bay and throw that mirror away. Another boldly tells the mirror she ?won?t be guided by a glass that?s so one-sided.?...