Little Book of Latin American Folktales

by Carmen Diana Dearden (Editor), Carmen Diana Dearden (Editor), Beatriz Zeller (Translation)

When stories travel, they change. The authors of the stories in this anthology range from folklorists to simple storytellers, but they all have in common their Criollo (Creole) roots. Here they have specifically sought out traditional European tales that have been transplanted and transformed in Latin American culture. Readers find fascinatingly different versions of "Cinderella" ("Maria Tolete"), "The Flying Boat" ("Juan Cenizo"), and "Hansel and Gretel" ("Ocelot, Jaguar, and Lion"), as well as many others. These folktales are suffused with that special Criollo style that combines humor, a tropical setting, and an exuberance that is peculiarly Latin American.

132 pages, Hardcover

First published February 18, 2003

Reviews

[Doria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little book, with pretty illustrations. I would have liked more background on the individual stories, though, and their connections to Latin American countries. Short bios are given of the authors who retold/rewrote the stories, most of whom were Venezuelan. The stories themselves are primarily fairy tales derived from European antecedents, and at least one is a tale from “Thousand and One Nights”.

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story Juan Cenizo is very similar to The Griffin which in turn is very similar to Irish folktales. A gem of a book! Nearly all the stories in this book, that I'm aware of, are very similar to other countries folktales--a wonderful way to learn and understand connections between countries based on the similarities of their stories.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. Only real complaint is that I wish it was longer actually.

[Faranae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful for looking at the roots of Latin American magical realism. Wouldn't give to children today, however, given the host of awful gender norms and marital weirdness I wouldn't want kids modeling.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely little collection of folktales.

[Calvin]

Fun interesting read