Stories for a Fragile Planet: Traditional Tales About Caring for the Earth by Kenneth Steven

by Jane Ray

Ten sumptuously illustrated stories from different cultures highlight the importance of taking care of the world Sourced from around the world and through the ages, this is a collection of world stories that each reflect humanity's need to take care of the world that sustains them. Tales from ancient Greece, the Far East, the Celts, Africa, Greenland, Russia, China, Japan, South America, and ancient Israel afford wonderful opportunities for Jane Ray's paradisiacal paintings of trees and flowers, animals and birds—in short, all creation. With a theme combining tradition with contemporary urgency, children will gain knowledge of other cultures that share their planet, while enjoying the evocative words and astonishing pictures.

Genres: Childrens

Paperback

First published September 24, 2010

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted."
Beautiful, almost dreamy, poetic, illustrations
Great book for read-aloud 5th grade and above in Science curriculum and/or world geography.
Starting with a retelling of Persephone from Greek mythology and concluding with a retailing about the Biblical Tower of Babel. the stories explore the Far East, Celtic, Africa, Greenland, Russia, China, Japan, South America and Thailand.
My favorite was A Fishy Tale.

[Fern · Rating 3 out of 5]

A timely yet timeless collection of tales from around the world. Caring for our beautiful planet is important now more than ever and this message rings clear throughout each story.

[Tamara Zann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good built up of stories but they ended to abruptly.

[Catherine Mayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, designed for early chapter book readers, with frequent full page illustrations in a naïve art style, opens with “How the Seasons came to Be” – a retelling of the Persephone myth - and finishes with “The Story of the Tower”, which describes the building and abandonment of the Tower of Babel through a child’s eyes. The folk tales in between are from all over the world, usually told in a neutral time setting rather than an overtly historical one. They are all familiar, and have been given an ecological twist.
The style is also neutral, and slightly solemn with a mythological flavour. Each story is c.800 words long.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

China: The Panda's Tale

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful stories with minimal illustrations from around the world, many from various religious traditions. I enjoyed them very much and they seemed to hold Alice's attention.