The Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden

Korean Folk Tales for Children #1

by Duance Vorhees, Mark Mueller

Two charming folk tales are included in this single volume. Bilingual (English and Korean). 1) A woodcutter longs for his children and fairy maiden wife in heaven and tries to follow them. 2) The fire dog embarks on a quest to bring back the sun and the moon so that the dark kingdom will have light. Volume 1 of the 10-volume set Korean Folk Tales for Children

Genres: Folk Tales

45 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 1990

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bilingual Korean-English book contains two traditional Korean folk tales, each with a different illustration style. Each explains a natural phenomenon: a touching family story that explains the tragic reason why roosters crow, and the story of the loyal firedogs of the king of the Black Country, which explains why we have solar and lunar eclipses. Both feature talking animals (deer and dogs) and were simple but entertaining.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two Korean folk tales/fairy tales, told in both Korean and English. "The Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden" relates the tale of a woodcutter who is rewarded for his kindness to a deer by getting advice on how to get a heavenly maiden as a wife. The bigger trouble, though, will be keeping her. "The Firedogs" tells of a kingdom in perpetual darkness. The king sends out firedogs to try and bring back the sun or the moon, but because of the heat or cold, they're never successful.

Both of the tales in this volume are stories to explain a common phenomenon observable today. The first one explains why roosters crow at dawn and the second one explains solar and lunar eclipses. The first story has computer graphic illustrations and the second is more impressionist/surrealist oil. I personally think kids will enjoy the illustrations of the first one better. As for the story, I think I enjoyed the second one better. The woodcutter has some major issues with following instructions and his method of getting a wife is questionable (he steals her clothes while she's bathing). Would be a good title to have if you're studying multicultural folk tales, folk tales that explain natural events, or Korea.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden by Duance Vorhees is a classic Korean folklore. This is a book suitable for children in the primary and intermediate age group. The Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden tells the tale of a young maiden from heaven who was rescued by a lowly woodcutter. The two fall in love and are wed and later have a child. However, the maiden longs for her heavenly home and her sisters, so she and the baby return to heaven. The woodcutter yearns to see his wife and child again, so he receives a ride to heaven on the back of a kind dragon. In the end, the family lives happily ever after in heaven. The illustrations are full of color and have a very simple look. I like how the images have a Korean style with a western twist. A little bit of modern mixed with a little bit of ancient. The tale teaches many basic and important life lessons, such as compassion, generosity, kindness, and love. As an Elementary and Special Education major, I see myself using this in the classroom. I think it would be a great tool in a lesson about folklore and family heritage. It’s a great book that has a surprising “happily ever after”.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this at a local thrift store and now I'm on the quest for the rest of the set. This is the first book and tells the story of the Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden as well as an additional story about Firehounds. I really loved the Woodcutters story while the firehound was good, but not quite as good as the Woodcutters story in my opinion. A nice feature in these stories is that the original Korean is perseved in a box under the english text.