Gray Heroes: Elder Tales from Around the World

by Jane Yolen (Editor)

Presents a collection of seventy-five tales from various sources in which the protagonists who show their wisdom and cleverness, meet adventure, and find love are all older people.

Genres: Folklore, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Collections

233 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yolen has collected more than three dozen tales that feature older adults in central roles. She organizes them in the following categories:

Introduction: Twelve tales, including "The Seventh Father of the House" from Norway, which emphasizes the importance of legacy / heritage.

Wisdom: Fourteen tales, including "Hide Anger Until Tomorrow" from Suriname about temperance.

Trickery: Nineteen tales, including "The Fisherman and the Genie" from the Arabian Nights, which tells the classic story of tricking a genie back into its lamp.

Adventure: Twenty-three tales, including "The Old Woman and the Rice Cakes," which shows how a woman's skill in the kitchen helps her escape from magical imps (oni).

And a Little Bit of Love: Eight tales, including "How Much You Remind Me of My Husband" from El Salvador, which conveys the affection and annoyance that long-time couples experience.

As with most collections, this is a mixed bag. Some of the tales convey great morals or have several possible interpretations. Some are more simple and straightforward. It's worth a read to peer into the folk wisdom of several cultures across the globe. This allows the reader to consider the tension between the universal and the particular while also thinking about some of the stereotypes about aging and some of the ways the older adults in these tales convey or defy these stereotypes.

[Miz Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure this collection quite lives up to the title. The tales all feature old people but they aren't all heroes or even, in some of them, really the main character. I only found a small handful of tales that I actually really gravitated to and am interested in telling. Good for its breadth, I guess, and, as always with Jane Yolen collections, the notes and sources on the stories. But not as inspiring as Allan B. Chinen's In the Ever After, which more narrowly selected tales to address the psychological tasks of the later part of life.

Book Pairings:
Allan B. Chinen's In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the Second Half of Life and Once Upon a Midlife.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection. My favorite tales were the Swedish "Kitta Gray", Japanese "The Old Woman and the Rice Cakes", Finnish "The Magical Words", and Icelandic "My Jon's Soul."

I love this passage from Yolen's Introduction:

Once the storytellers were the ancients, who like great skin containers, held the wine of story for their communities. They doled it out, sip by sip: history, mystery, lineage, and law. They were both entertainment and enrichment. They carried wisdom in the mouth, adventure on the tongue.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this, but the stories were all the same. I understand that was the point that these stories repeat across cultures, but it still ended up being boring.

[Sam Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not my favorite of Jane Yolen's folktale collections, but I still enjoyed it. One thing that struck me was how much I missed the sense of background information about how old people are understood in the various places these stories came from. I didn't care for the language variations she used when writing stories from the United States. Nevertheless, it was a good thing to read as a break from my more academic reading on age.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course it is wonderful - it is a Jane Yolen product. She has done a fabulous job of collecting 75 tales - wise, funny, touching - and all of the heroes are older people. Wonderful models of courage, conviction, perseverance. Loved this book.

[Chere · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-edited collection of folktales from Yolen. It's interesting to read about elder men and women for a change, and the tales in this book prove that they are more than what we usually think of them. They can be heroes, adventurers and lovers as well.