The Worry Imps and Other Ikrainian Folk Tales Retold in English

Lois Provost Turchetti is a professional children’s storyteller (in
English and Caribbean Creole), who also conducts educational workshops
in Toronto.

Fifth in a series, this collection is a good source of Ukrainian
“wisdom” tales for storytellers and students of anthropology. The
author’s notes, acknowledgments, and method of introducing Ukrainian
words into Canadian English provide a context for encountering fantastic
or invisible influences, including angels, devils, dragons, and God. The
“irrational” nature of the tales reflects a deeply spiritual aspect
of the Ukrainian people, providing an opportunity for readers and
hearers who see themselves in the stories to follow through by making
positive changes in their own lives.

All the stories involve anthropomorphism. “Brother and His
Followers” combines several episodes featuring dragons, animals, and
humans. “The Fox and the Crane,” which strongly resembles Aesop’s
“The Fox and the Stork,” raises questions of population movements in
ancient times. Written in the popular “House that Jack Built” form,
the English version of “Nanny Goat Nuts” is a poem of pattern rather
than rhyme. “The Boyar and the Painter” is a proverb/joke in which
ways of seeing can make the reader either wise or foolish. The title
story mirrors the biblical tale of seven evil spirits who seek a new
home after being cast out; it contains both a secret of “true”
wealth and a caution against greed.

All told, the tales reflect the timeless metaphorical “folk” hope
of overcoming evil and horror through good and love. Recommended.