Tales Alive!: Ten Multicultural Folktales With Activities

by Susan Milord

Retells ten folktales from around the world with hands-on-activities that bring each tale to life.

Genres: Folklore, Cultural

127 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Lauren Anglin · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Book summary, in your own words (3 pts)
This book by Susan Milord is multiple multicultural folktales with activities. Each story is unique and fun. Each story has an activity to go with it at the end of each story. Susan has a unique way of writing.
2) Grade level, interest level, lexile (1 pt)
This is a book appropriate for 5th grade.
3) Appropriate classroom use (subject area) (1 pt)
I would have this book as something for students to pick up off the shelf if they are finished with their work early.
4) Individual students who might benefit from reading (1 pt)
I would not consider this a beneficial book for any particular student.
5) Small group use (literaturecircles) (1 pt)
no small group use
6) Whole class use (read aloud) (1 pt)
If I did use this book for whole class use, I would use it as a filler for in between activities such as the time in between a subject and lunch time. The stories are short enough that I could read one to the class during that time.
7) Related books in genre/subject or content area (1 pt)
none
8) Multimedia connections (audio book, movie) available (1 pt)
no media

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten multicultural folktales with activities, recipes, and background to these tales for teachers and parents to be shared with children.

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story book with great illustrations and activities as well. A wonderful book of folktales and a wonderful resource for teaching as well.

[Terry Marzell]

Milord, Susan. Tales Alive! Ten Multicultural Folktales with Activities. Illustrations by Michael A. Donato. Charlotte, Vermont: Williamson Publishing. 1995. Target Audience: Ages 6-12. Reading Level: 4.0. Length: 127 pages. This volume contains ten little-known but entertaining folk tales from around the world, including such countries as Canada, Turkey, Ghana, Japan, Scotland, Australia, Italy, and Argentina. Each tale is accompanied by striking illustrations in rich colors. An unusual feature of this book is the inclusion of short lessons in such subject areas as geography, math, language arts, or science, and simple but stimulating activities, crafts, or recipes following each tale. I especially liked “Drum” from India and “The Clever Maiden” from Russia. This book would make a wonderful resource for an elementary school teacher. Sources for eight of the ten stories are provided on the verso. CSULB Class 3 Traditional Literature—Folk Tales.

[Miz Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice selection of folk tales each accompanied by some hands-on craft activities that extend understanding of the story and/or the culture the story derives from. The text is directed to the solo child reader but this is still a great resource for anyone who tells stories and works with children. My only complaint is that there is not much given in the way of sources for the stories told -- only a very small print acknowledgment of the "primary" source material (all compilations of folk tales by other authors).

[KD]

Great book with activities for children to do! Says for 8+, but some of the activities work for younger children.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of ten folk tales with activities to do for each story. We've done about half of them.

[Mary-Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mixture of folktales from around the world. My favourites are "Drum" and "The Most Wonderful Gift".

[Karalyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun multicultural stories and activities for kids.