Offers more than two hundred stories from the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress, including stories from the famous Hicks and Harmon families, Irish tales from Sara Cleveland, and tales from Maine by Joshua Alley.

A young boy travels the universe with extraterrestrial blue frogs and makes it home in time for dinner

Every winter a handful of Cajun Louisiana folk artists assembles unlikely mixtures of material to shape masks for their Cajun Mardi Gras celebrations. They use window screens, chicken feathers, yarn, hair, Magic Markers, and hot glue as they create fanciful, even bizarre masks that will be worn just one day in the year.Such creations transform their wearers into wild revelers who move through the countryside singing, dancing, and begging for money and food. As they generate merriment, they climb trees, chase chickens, and create a general and playful havoc.Cajun Mardi Gras celebrants are unlike their counterparts in New Orleans, where masked revelers ride through the streets on floats or parade serenely through ballrooms. The masked country Cajuns engage in rousing, physically energetic performances as they cavort through the countryside. Out of necessity their captivating masks combine the ingredients of durability, shock value, and allure with age-old folk patterns and innovations from contemporary culture.Here is a study of the Cajun Mardi Gras tradition and its manifestation in the work of six of the most creative and popular folk artists in two rural communities. Potic Rider and the Moreau and LeBlue families represent the male maskmaking traditions of Basile, Louisiana. Suson Launey, Renee Fruge, and Jackie Miller portray the female role in festivities held in the rural region of Tee Mamou. As the communities celebrate, their masks become an intrinsic component of the annual rites. This book introduces the artists, the performances, and processes of creating the fantastical masks. (view table of contents)

Product Description: This book presents a unique corpus of over 400 traditional tales, collected by North America's most distinguished scholar of Folk Studies. It includes anecdotes, historical and aetiological tales, legends (including the tales of the Jersey Devil), and tall tales...read more

A sad giraffe who has run away from the zoo asks John to paint him green so that he will not be sent back to Africa to save the zoo money

Product Description: [Flaps:] Over a decade in the making, Medieval Folklore offers a wide-ranging guide to the lore of the Middle Ages--from the mundane to the supernatural. Definitive and lively articles focus on the great tales and traditions of the age and includes information on daily and nightly customs and activities; religious beliefs of the pagan, Christian, Muslim, and Jew; key works of oral and written literature; traditional music and art; holidays and feasts; food and drink; and plants and animals, both real and fantastical...read more

Articles describe medieval myths and legends; customs and activities; religious beliefs of pagans, Christians, and Muslims; oral and written works; holidays; and traditional music and art. (view table of contents)

(view table of contents)

A young boy finds a clever way to remove all traces of a visiting yellow lion before his mother comes home