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86th out of 91 books
—
210 voters
Tales From Silver Lands
The book is a collection of nineteen folktales of the native populations of Central and South America, including a "just-so story" describing how rabbits and rats got their tails.
207 pages
Published
(first published 1924)
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This was my July Newbery Reading and I FINALLY finished it in September. That in itself says a lot about how I feel about this book, but honestly I'm struggling a little to rate this. On one hand I feel like two stars is really unfairly low because some of the stories in this collection were genuinely unique and enjoyable. On the other hand, if I'm honest, reading this was a bit of a drudge. To be fair, however, I don't think a collection like this should be read cover to cover. But then I feel...more
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A collection of stories from South America, this book won the 1925 Newbery. There are explanatory stories (“A Tale of Three Tails,” which explains how the rat and deer and rabbit got their tails), fairy tales of recognizable structure and climax (“The Hungry Old Witch,” “The Wonderful Mirror”), trickster tales (“El Enano,” about a fox who tricks the titular greedy monster into leaving a village) and hero tales (“The Hero Twins” and “The Four Hundred,” which tell of how some heroic lads killed th...more
This book has 19 folk and fairy tales from Finger’s travels in South America. I am a total sucker for fairy tales so about this book: I loved it. It took longer to read for a variety of reasons, all of them having to do with my life, not the book. It was a real pleasure to read these stories.
According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, Charles J. Finger traveled quite a bit as a young man: “Between 1890 and 1895, he traveled around South America, herding sheep and cattle, pan...more
According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, Charles J. Finger traveled quite a bit as a young man: “Between 1890 and 1895, he traveled around South America, herding sheep and cattle, pan...more
This was another Newbery winner that I found difficult to get my hands on. It's not great, but it's not terrible. No, strike that. After writing out the quotations I marked I realized there are more than a handful of useful observations of the human experience to file away. The stories are a little odd (remember, this coming from a North American), but I thought they were much more engaging than the "Shen of the Sea" stories.
"...evil, though it may touch the good, cannot for ever bind it..."
"if...more
"...evil, though it may touch the good, cannot for ever bind it..."
"if...more
I was truly surprised by this book, expecting something outdated and offensive like the other Newbery winners of this era. Instead, I found a lovely collection of folktales from South America. There are some minor problems with it, some stories having a frame story which introduces a narrator's voice who is presumably a white traveller hearing the tales for the first time. But that narrator is rarely apparent. My greatest complain about the book is its TERRIBLE cover with a blond young man sitti...more
This is an old Newbery, a book I approached with great trepidation. I soon found my trepidation unjustified, for this is a timeless book of old stories from Central and South America, none of which I’d ever read or heard before. All the themes of folk tales are here: the value of courage, the triumph of virtue, the dangers of power and wealth. Though the themes were often the same of other stories I’ve read, the stories felt fresh, peopled with small tribes living in the forest or “warm lands wh...more
If nothing else, I now know that huanacas (llamas, I think) are good, owls are (usually) bad, and wishes will always turn around and bite you in the butt, so it's better to do without them.
Call me strange, but I've always been a fan of short stories. The well-written ones. They're concise, well-crafted, and somewhat mysterious -- having no end and no beginning -- existing as a snapshot of a particular place and time. Charles Finger's short stories actually read more like folktales. They're a gli...more
Call me strange, but I've always been a fan of short stories. The well-written ones. They're concise, well-crafted, and somewhat mysterious -- having no end and no beginning -- existing as a snapshot of a particular place and time. Charles Finger's short stories actually read more like folktales. They're a gli...more
1925 Newbery Award
These tales from the southern part of South America were interesting at times, but tedious sometimes too. One of the recurring themes was be careful what you wish for because you might get it. "The dream man...did his evil work by granting men their wishes. for you must know that no man knows the things that is best for him and his welfare, and many are apt to see some little things as desirable, the which in time work out for their own undoing." p. 185
I really enjoyed The Tale...more
These tales from the southern part of South America were interesting at times, but tedious sometimes too. One of the recurring themes was be careful what you wish for because you might get it. "The dream man...did his evil work by granting men their wishes. for you must know that no man knows the things that is best for him and his welfare, and many are apt to see some little things as desirable, the which in time work out for their own undoing." p. 185
I really enjoyed The Tale...more
Actually, I'm not sure I can put this on my read shelf....since it went onto the very short list (only the 2nd book) of books that I absolutely couldn't finish!!! I tried to skim through it, but it just was painful. Each chapter is a little story/folktale from other countries (like how did the hummingbird get it's color, etc). It started off ok, but it just got boring after a while. It felt like each chapter was so similar. I just couldnt' do any more. Maybe you could get through it if you read...more
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This collection of fantastic tales from South America includes stories of cruel and strange under-sea people (who become seals), an explanation of how the hummingbird got its colors, and tales of witches, evil step-mothers, and of wishes gone awry not unlike European fairy tales. All of which were mildly interesting. I liked better the moments when the author, then a young adventurer making his way across South America, shared those moments when he first heard the tales. This 1925 Newbery winner...more
This book is apparently a collection of South American folktales which Mr Finger made while travelling there as a young man, and drastically retold for publication. About half of the retellings are pretty good, although there are random spots of whitewashing (such as when an ice queen has "flaxen" hair); the other half feature Mr Finger as a character, telling how he collected the stories and describing the people who told them to him, and all of those have a blatantly colonialist "look at the q...more
Mixed opinion: I liked how different some of the tales were from the tales I had grown up with, but at the same time they were sometimes a little too strange (or perhaps I just read too many of them at one sitting).
I am reading the New Testament as well as the Ante-Nicene Fathers at the same time, so perhaps part of my trouble liking some of these was the elements of trickery rather than compassion (or at least all the compassionate parts seemed to lead to trouble), but those elements of tricker...more
I am reading the New Testament as well as the Ante-Nicene Fathers at the same time, so perhaps part of my trouble liking some of these was the elements of trickery rather than compassion (or at least all the compassionate parts seemed to lead to trouble), but those elements of tricker...more
Although I very much appreciate that the author wrote down these stories that might otherwise be lost to history, I didn't enjoy any one of them particularly much. I wish there had been more context for why Charles J. Finger was in South America traveling around and collecting stories of the people there. A simple preface for his journey and an explanation for his interest in these people, their culture, and their stories would have helped so much. As it stands, it is a collection of stories wit...more
Originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.
Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger won the John Newbery Award in 1925. I didn't know anything about the book when I picked it up other than it's Newbery, but I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by what I found.
I have always loved Fairy Tales. Like, a lot. If you remember, a few weeks ago I talked about my first experience reading Grimm's Fairy Tales, which helped cement my love for reading them as well. (If y...more
Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger won the John Newbery Award in 1925. I didn't know anything about the book when I picked it up other than it's Newbery, but I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by what I found.
I have always loved Fairy Tales. Like, a lot. If you remember, a few weeks ago I talked about my first experience reading Grimm's Fairy Tales, which helped cement my love for reading them as well. (If y...more
Maybe reading a story here or there would be a better idea than trying to read through the whole book at once. As it is, the stories blend into each other... I wish the plots and the protagonists had a bit more variety. This book is similar to a collection of folktales or fairy tales with the exception that these were written by someone who is trying to create a folklore feel using a culture he doesn't know much about. His writing is fine, but it doesn't feel authentic.
Newbery winner, 1925. Collection of 19 short stories, which I would describe as traditional literature. The number of stories makes it hard to read all in one sitting because it gets boring after reading a few at a time. But I found some positive features: strong themes of good triumphing over evil as you'll find in many fairy tales, interesting character names, source of short texts, several stories have a "story in a story" type structure,...and I finished it! The Newbery Challenge kept me go...more
I enjoyed the tales that Finger collected, but I would have been more comfortable with more formal source notes as a supplement to Finger's occasional brief explanations that would open a tale explaining how he came across it. I know this was published before source notes were a standard practice, but it really does muddy the waters as to what parts really happened to the author and what he created for the purpose of the tale. I also thought the tales could have been better organized within the...more
Wish there were half stars. I don't know that I'd give it a 4, but it seems stronger than a 3. Ah well. Newbery 1925
Since this book is a collection of short story folktales (from South America), some are more interesting than others. I did have to look up "huanaco" (it's kind of like a llama).
There was a lot of beautiful language, many fun lessons to be learned, and some great connections to more commonly known folktales. This would be a great book to have on hand to pull tales that paired well...more
Since this book is a collection of short story folktales (from South America), some are more interesting than others. I did have to look up "huanaco" (it's kind of like a llama).
There was a lot of beautiful language, many fun lessons to be learned, and some great connections to more commonly known folktales. This would be a great book to have on hand to pull tales that paired well...more
A very pleasant book of retellings of folktales from all over South America, first published in 1925. The elevated style hasn't aged much. However, comparison with other versions shows that Finger sometimes changed the stories a lot according to his idea of what was suitable for children, or other reasons of his own.
Storytellers always need folktale collections. This is a classic for a tale-spinner's library. Most modern readers will probably use this as a reference and check other versions of the stories. Ideas about children's literature were different in 1924.
I've had trouble getting into these stories so have just decided to give up for now and pass it along. I did rather like The Magic Dog though. The stories are short and quick but I just somehow had trouble getting interested in most of them.
This is the 8th book I've read from the Reading Promise Booklist. It is also a Newbery Award winner. It is a fun book--stories from South America. It is probably one we want to have in our Esperanza library.
This book won in 1925 and doesn't really resemble "children's lit" of today. I waited until last minute to pick out my Newbery book for assignment in 5th grade and this is what I got. Bleh!
I like folklore and myths, but nothing really jumped out at me in this book. Also, I'm still not a fan of the slightly condescending narration that children's authors in the 1920s often take.
The idea of this book is unique. The author traveled through South America collecting the native lore and writing down the stories, but the truth is, the stories aren’t that exciting.
The Newbery of 1925. I enjoyed these tales written as they were told to the author during his years living among the natives. Very different from Anderson and Grimm, a worthwhile read
actually this is one of the better newbery award winners. i find it very interesting even though it was published in 1924. if you are reading the newbery books don't leave this one until the end like i did.
Oct 27, 2011
Crystal
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
could-not-finish,
newberry
Boring folk tales from South America. Couldn't finish this one - not with so many other things I want to read.
An excellent collection of stories from South America. All were great, but some hard to get through and understand.
Some amusing folktales. Much better than the book that precedes it when reading the Newbery books sequentially.
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| Children's Books: July 2009 - Tales from Silver Lands (1925 Medal Winner) | 24 | 62 | Sep 28, 2009 09:04am |
