Ten Small Tales

Kelly L. Green is the co-editor of the Children’s Literature edition
of the Canadian Book Review Annual.

These “10 small tales,” selected from folk traditions around the
world and retold by Celia Barker Lottridge, are small only in
length—indeed, a less able storyteller might use five words for one of
Lottridge’s. The author, renowned for what fellow Storytellers School
of Toronto veteran Rita Cox calls her “economy of words,” never
places a wrong foot in this short journey from Malaysia to Russia, via
India, China, and Africa. The beautifully efficient stories lend
themselves to memorization and retelling on the part of both adults and
children.

Rich in onomatopoeia, each story has a trademark word or phrase that
children love to interject upon second or third reading, from the
“stook-stook” of little fox’s stick to the “screeeeee!” of
Grandma’s bedroom door. Joanne Fitzgerald’s charming watercolors
enhance and do not overwhelm the text. Lottridge’s bibliographic notes
at the end are a treasure for those interested in good collections of
folk tales from around the world. Highly recommended.