Can You Guess My Name?: Traditional Tales Around the World

by Judy Sierra, Stefano Vitale (Illustrator)

A companion volume to the critically acclaimed Nursery Tales Around the World, this collection is the perfect step up from nursery stories. Fifteen wonderful read-aloud tales from many different cultures are grouped together by familiar tale types: stories like “The Bremen Town Musicians,” “The Frog Prince,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Rumplestiltskin,” and “The Three Pigs.” Folklorist Judy Sierra’s inspired retellings are once again paired with Stefano Vitale’s richly detailed illustrations. The stunning art evokes the visual traditions of the tales’ varied countries of origin, which include Japan, Scotland, Argentina, and Sri Lanka. This is a must for folklore collectors and a perfect addition to any child’s bookshelf. Source notes, bibliography.

Genres: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Cultural, Nonfiction, Folklore, Middle Grade, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 2002

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection for teachers and librarians who have units dealing with story variations. Multiple versions of The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Frog, Rumpelstiltskin, and the Bremen Town Musicians from around the world give a global perspective to these well loved and known fairy/folk tales.

[Koren | the_blue_eyed_bluestocking · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a neat multi-cultural story book. We will be accessing this book again for use in our homeschool.

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can You Guess My Name? includes fifteen folktales from thirteen countries. The book includes different versions of the following tales: The Three Little Pigs, The Bremen Town Musicians, Rumpelstiltskin, The Frog Prince, and Hansel and Gretel. I focused on the stories similar to Germany's Rumpelstiltskin. The theme in these tales is the belief in the magical power of names. To know one's true name is to have control over him or her.
In Titeliture, a Swedish folktale, the story is very similar to Rumpelstilskin. The only differences are that she is only made to spin gold for one night, and Titeliture gives her a magic glove to do the spinning herself.
How Ijapa the Tortoise Tricked the Hippopotamus is a Nigerian folktale similar to the theme in Rumpelstiltskin. At one time the hippopotamus used to live only on land, had many wives and was a mighty chief. Besides his wives, no one knew his true name. The hippos loved to eat and would have huge feasts with many guests, but he had a rule that no one could eat with him that didn't know his name. So the rest of the animals always left hungry. The hippo was so sure no one would ever guess his name that he promised to leave the land and only live in water if it was guessed. One day Ijapa, the tortoise, tricked one of his wives into saying her husband's name out loud. At the next feast, Ijapa called the hippo by his true name, Isantim. That is why hippos live in the water today.
The third story, Oniroku, is from Japan. A famed builder is asked to build a bridge over a raging sea. He knows this is an impossible task, but fears his reputation will be ruined if he does not complete it. A sea ogre agrees to help if the builder will pay his price. Not knowing exactly what the ogre wanted, he agreed, and the ogre built his brdge. The next day the ogre asks for his payment, the builder's eyes. After pleading with the ogre, they make a bargain- the builder can keeps his eyes is he finds out the sea monster's true name. Which, of course, he does!
These tales, along with all of the others, give children a chance to explore traditonal literature from all over the world. Also, it helps them realize that although the characters, settings, and even main plot points can be different, the themes are universal. While this book would work well for visualization activities, their are also Stefano Vitale's beautiful illustrations made from painting on wood to enjoy. For students familiar with traditional tales, it would be fun to have them guess what stories these are similar to. Grades 3-8.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Folklore Reading level: Ages 6-12
Stories with similar themes, but from different areas of the world, are told in this collection of folklore. The book begins with an introduction to folktales, and each type of story includes a brief description of the similarities and differences between the fables. The book concludes with notes on each different tale, the origin and history of the story, and any other versions of which the author is aware. The familiar folk tales include The Three Little Pigs, The Bremen Town Musicians, Rumpelstiltskin, The Frog Prince, and Hansel and Gretel. The pigs become geese, the musicians become rivers and plants, Rumpelstiltskin becomes a hippopotamus, the frog becomes a princess, and the witch becomes an ogre. The different versions retold are enough alike to allow the reader to grasp the common themes, yet disparate enough to engage the interest of one who chooses to read them all in one sitting. The individual stories are appropriate for younger readers, while only the older reader may appreciate the concept of the book in its entirety. Judy Smith has compiled an excellent assortment of tales that represent a vast array of cultures. Sefano Vitale’s illustrations are done in oil paint on various surfaces including wood. This technique results in textures and colors that are vivid and dramatic. His characters, sometimes benign, sometimes beautiful, and occasionally horrific, honor the varying origins of the tales. Not limited to pictures, his illustrations provide border accents to each page. The resulting text offers a book rich in diversity.
Other folktales from around the world to delight young readers:
The mean hyena: a folktale from Malawi, Judy Sierra
The mitten: a Ukrainian folktale, Jan Brett
The ox of the wonderful horns and other African folktales, Ashley Bryan

[Elizabeth]

Those familiar with Judy Sierra from her picture books such as Wild About Reading may be surprised at the amount of text in this book. However, she is also an Aesop Prize winning folklorist and she utilizes those skills wonderfully in this work. Can You Guess My Name is a delightful look at similar fairy tales from around the world. Offering multiple versions of each story, the book includes stories from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

By offering multiple versions of similar stories from around the world, this work provides an excellent basis for teaching comparative literature for children. It also provides wonderfully diverse options for any fairy tale unit.

Stefano Vitale, who has worked with authors such as Alice Walker and Joseph Bruhac, brings in some wonderful touches in illustrating this story. While he maintains a steady visual set up of paint on wood with colorful borders, each illustration manages to reflect the story's origin.

The stories, written in a traditional style, incorporate vocabulary rich text and dialog. The reading level is upper elementary, but the stories can easily be used for read aloud story times.

The excellent Can You Guess My Name is an essential purchase for any public library or school library that serves elementary students.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this collection of tales," gathered from all over the world, were so artistic they drew me in. It was so interesting how the author gathered the trends of types of stories, and so interesting to think how despite the many differences in the way our cultures have formed, some types of stories have persisted throughout time.

The stories are divided into 5 types: I'll blow your house in: tales like "The Three Little Pigs"; Just the Right Friends: Tales like "The Bremen Town Musicians"; Can You Guess My Name: Tales Like "Rumpelstiltskin"; I Married a Frog: Tales like "The Frog Prince"; and finally, The Scary House in the Big Woods: Tales like "Hansel and Gretel".

While I didn't find the writing to be especially high quality, I did find the information after the stories interesting, and I did like that the author consulted with children to make the stories better. I found the concept, connections, and illustrations better than the quality of writing in this particular collection.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting look at comparing folktales from different cultures with similar themes. The book is divided into five sets of three tales each. There is a single page introduction to each tale type at the front of each section and then a paragraph of notes about each individual tale at the back of the book. Sierra lists her works consulted but does not always note which exact sources were used for which tale. The illustrations are each surrounded by a border as if they were framed pictures. They tend to reflect the culture represented by the tale they accompany. This could be used as a great read-aloud introduction to some of the common themes of folktales for a grade school class; it's also an excellent resource for storytellers.

[Sam Wilkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really intriguing way to bring together different cultures. The author introduces the general story line, like a character where you have to guess his name to defeat him, and then gives you the stories that have the same premise from all over the world. You would get the Rumpelstiltskin that most people know about, but then there would be stories very similar that were written in different parts of the world. This book gives children a good lesson that we're all not so different from each other. I would definitely recommend this story to children who are more comfortable with lengthier books. The stories are interesting and the fact the all of these stories are so similar but in so many different places is fascinating for kids and adults.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can You Guess My Name is a collection of traditional folk and fairy tales from around the world. They are grouped by theme with three stories in each chapter. The chapters are tales like "The Three Pigs," ''The Bremon Town Musicians," "Rumpelstiltskin," "The Frog Prince, '' and "Hansel and Gretel."
Stefano Vitale's Illustrations are perfect for folk tales. The paintings on wood create a rustic feel. Some of the Illustrations even feature rocks and sticks glued to the boards as well as other added textures.
Can You Guess My Name would be a useful tool in presenting the similarities and differences between cultures around the world.

Recommended for grades 2 - 5

[Meltha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book impressed me. It takes some of the best-known fairy tales and traces them to other stories with similar plots in many different places in the world: Nigeria, Japan, Sri Lanka, Sweden, etc. In addition to the well-written, clear and downright fun stories, the illustrations really added to the understanding of the story (I never would have figured out how fingers could be backwards without that) and the notes and references at the end were very useful as well. It's just a darn well-done book.

[Stephanie Linton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of folktales from around the world. I often forget the origin of tales such as "The Princess and the Frog" because I am so used to the Disney versions that have over saturated our culture. This books does a wonderful job in re-introducing readers to the original, traditional tales from places other than the U.S. In addition, the visuals are captivating and interesting. They have character and personality, unlike many of the Disney illustrations.

[KD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more for parents reading to children at night, or a rainy day. If a child can read this book on their own, they are old enough to really grasp all of the stories. Split into different countries, with stories inside the "chapters".

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations - photos of paintings on wood, the style of which matches the stories (Indian themes for an Indian story, etc). Chapters are organized by type of story: Stories like "The Three Little Pigs," etc...

[Karin Adams]

A collection of popular folktales and fairy tales variations from around the world. It is very interesting to see a story that I am familiar with (Hansel & Gretal, Three Little Pigs) told in a different way, in a different country.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book, I discovered many fairy tales that I had never heard growing up and this book gives the reader variations on fairy tales based on the culture in which they are told. Illustrations by Stefano Vitale.

[Illey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who'd ever think there be so many folklore stories to tell? Not only that, but many of them are for countries all across the world! I would recommend this for all grade level. There is so much that can be learned from this folklore/folks tales.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes familiar fairy tales (like three little pigs) and tells a few variations of the story as told in various cultures. Great way to see similarities, but see how cultures change/tailor stories. Great for discussion.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

All these tales are different versions of classic folk and fairy tales from different cultures. Good collection.

[Jungyun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for fairy tales like three pigs and a wolf.
I am suprised at there are many similar stories all around the world.

[Cara]

A great overview of a few traditional tales from around the world. Could be great with a lit or social studies project.

[Tiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of world folktales, with beautiful illustrations and excellent notes.

[Renee Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful for storytellers. Provides alternate versions of popular folk and fairy tales. Tellable format lists country of origin and provides source notes and bibliography.

[Jenny Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute retelling of age old fairy tales through the eyes of different cultures.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence from the introduction: Many of the world's folktales resemble one another in surprising ways, as anyone who hears them or reads them soon discovers.

Premise/plot: Judy Sierra has collected fifteen folktales from around the world. There are five sections (with three stories apiece): "I'll Blow Your House In!" "Just the Right Friends," "Can You Guess My Name?" "I Married a Frog," and "The Scary House in The Woods."

My thoughts: I enjoyed reading this book very much. While I can't say that I loved each story and each section equally, what I loved I really LOVED. My favorite story, without a doubt, was "The Three Geese" (Italy). IN a way, it reads like The Three Little Pigs, but, it stars geese not pigs. And it ends with a fabulous line: "and there they ate macaroni and lived happily." Another story I enjoyed was "Medio Pollito" (Argentina).

[Ryo]

I tried to read because it has grade range for pre-K to 3 but I realized it has over 100 pages so I changed my mind. I hope I can read this book someday.