The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter

Padraic Colum

Illustrated by Patrick Reinhart

Wonderful as a 6th Grade Reader - a beautiful read-to for earlier years

Softbound

$10.95

Padraic Colum was one of the greatest English language storytellers ever to have lived. In general, his work was focused on retelling the classic tales of Western history, shaping them with vivid language and a lilting cadence such that you could almost hear his Irish voice ringing forth from the pages. Sometimes, however, he burst into a tale of his own (see, The King of Ireland's Son, for instance) and took us into new worlds with a feeling for both story and language that is rare and unique. I just love his work.

The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter is one of Colum's own creations - and it is a rich and masterful treasure. It languished in the hazy realms of out of print books for years and years, almost entirely forgotten save by a few whose tattered copies were still passed from hand to hand. Now, one of my favorite publishers, Whole Spirit Press, has brought it to life again. Hooray! It is a perfect 6th grade reader and a wonderful read-to for earlier years.

The story unfolds during the Middle Ages and is filled with mystery, intrigue and adventure. There are battles against evil in several forms, and a long journey to find the truth and Merlin the Magician (who knows all the answers). Revelation and adventure abound and include Eean arriving at the Tower of Babylon and meeting Chiron the Centaur and Hermes Trismegistus.

This is fabulous, wonderful reading that will fire the imaginations f children and adults. How lovely to see it in print again.

Heidi

Johanna Spyri

Unabridged

Softbound

$4.00

This story was a family favorite when our children were young - we all still love it, and for good reason. It is a quintessential tale of the transformation that is possible when goodness and good cheer enter the lives of those who have lost those qualities. Heidi herself is like a ray of sunshine, beaming with such an even light that she herself seems unaware of the negativity in the people around her.

Once she comes to live with her hermit-like grandfather, she opens the heart of everyone she meets. She transforms the lives of Peter, a goatherd; Peter’s blind grandmother; Clara, a well-to-do but sickly girl; and even the old Alm-Uncle, Heidi’s surly grandfather. A delightful story "for children and those who love children."

The ending is a beautiful picture of wholeness restored - just exactly what all of us need to be reminded of, just what our children need to know is possible. A very beautiful book, one that will go on living in your heart.

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

Unabridged

Softbound

$3.50

Little Women is another of our family favorites - everyone loved this book, including our robust boy. There were several years in a row where at least once we would read it again - always with pleasure, as though meeting an old friend.

Largely based on the author's own childhood, it is a timeless tale of the four young March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - who grow to maturity in their mother's tender but strong and loving care (father was a physician serving in the Civil War).

Literary-minded tomboy Jo develops a fast friendship with the boy next door, and pretty Meg, the eldest, finds romance; frail and affectionate Beth fills the house with music, and little Amy, the youngest, seeks beauty with all the longing of an artist's soul. Although poor in material wealth, the family is rich in love, friendship and imagination. No wonder they have captured the hearts of readers for many generations.

Grade 5 and up.

Indian Why Stories

Frank B Linderman

Illustrated by Charles M Russell

Softbound

$5.95

I can hardly believe that I'm only now discovering this gem of a book! How is it that I've not known about it all these years? The stories, collected by a devotee of Native American lore and originally published in 1915 are warm, evocative, rich and deep, and, well, just plain wonderful. In the context of Waldorf (or any!) education, there are some which could be used alongside Aesop as another sort of fable. Others, will fit in more easily when it is time to discover our native history and geography in 4th grade. The entire book is so alive with wisdom and an intimate knowledge of nature and its ways that anyone who reads it (or has it read to them) will keep these stories in their heart.

Here's some of the stories you'll find inside:

• How the Ducks Got Their Fine Feathers
• How the Otter Skin Became Great Medicine
• Why the Kingfisher Always Wears a War-Bonnet
• How the Man found His Mate
• Why the Chipmunk's Back Is Striped
• The Moon and the Great Snake

And many, many more, each as inviting as the next. This book is a find!

Tales from the Kalevala
A Prose Rendering

Irmgard Burtscher

Translated by Hartmut Schiffer

Softbound

$12.95

Tales from the Kalevala is another one of those books that I have heard so very many people ask for over the years: "Is there a Kalevala in English that tells the story in a way I can use in the classroom/to teach my children?" Now I can answer "yes" - and it is a lovely, well-told tale indeed.

Rudolf Steiner recognized the stories of the Kalevala as having the clearest pictures of an earlier phase of human sould development. He also said that in addition to telling us much about the particular experiences of life in Northern Europe, the stories also offer insights into humanity's earlier time on Earth as well as glimpses of our future development. Steiner went so far as to say that he believed the Kalevala would become as important in the future as the stories of Ancient Greece have been in the past.

The Kaslevala is used in the 4th grade curriculum in Waldorf Education. Irmgard Burtscher is a class teacher in Liechtenstein who prepared this prose version of the stories to help other teachers present them to their students. Schiffer's translation brings these robust tales to our door with an English that is at once modern, yet retains the flavor of the ancient world. Do enjoy!

The Boy with the Bronze Ax

Kathleen Fidler

Softbound

$10.00

A riveting story of Stone Age life in the village of Skara Brae on Orkney! Kathleen Fidler not only keeps us engaged and eager for more, she has also managed to meticulously reconstruct daily life, rituals, even the landscape of this ancient world -- all the while posing a question that is a modern as it is perenniel: What does one do when strangers arrive with new and potentially threatening technology?

It all begins when Kali and Brockan are out on the rocks, chipping limpets off with their stone axes. While they are busily engaged, they lose track of both time and the tides and suddenly realize that the rock they are on is surrounded by water and will soon be submerged under the rising sea. Just as suddenly, a strange boy appears in a strange boat -- and carrying a sharp ax made of something never seen before. In rescuing the children, he brings conflict to the village as the residents of Skara must decide what to do with the new boy, his new ideas, his unheard of practices, and, especially, his bronze ax.

Wonderful story for children over 9.

The Old Man Mad about Drawing
A Tale of Hokusai

François Place

Translated by William Rodarmor

Hardbound, hundreds of watercolor illustrations throughout, dustjacketed

$19.95

Here we have a book that soars beyond any and all reasonable expectations -- it is a story worthy of Hokusai's life and genius (he is one of my favorite artists); anyone over 10 years old who reads it will hardly be able to put it down (I loved it!); the abundant illustrations charm, delight, capitivate and are beautiful; and the book itself, how it feels and how it looks, right down to the quality of the paper and the typeface, is a wonderful work of art. This is a story not to be missed, a book to treasure for many generations.

The author brings the swirling world of nineteenth-century Edo to life with an astonishing vibrance. By the time you are done with The Old Man Mad about Drawing, you will swear you can smell the food and feel the dust of the streets beneath your feet. AND, you will come away knowing a huge amount about the various styles of painting, engraving, and printing that were the life blood of Edo culture -- all while being so engrossed in the story itself that you barely knew you were learning so much.

Hokusai began as an illustrator of poetry books but came to abandon traditional engraving to perfect a technique of colored woodcut, in what many consider his greatest work, The Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji. His life was unsettled, his marriages uncertain, and his business affairs irregular, but his energy was boundless. He left for posterity thousands of sketches and drawings, illustrated books and prints, saying - just before he died in 1889, "If heaven gives me ten more years (or even an extension of five), I shal certainly become a true artist."

This is a glorious, wonderful story bound in a remarkable book -- children in 5th grade and older will love it, it can easily hold the interest of 8th graders and serve as a biography within the Waldorf curriculum.

Beautiful for everyone over 10!

Rama and Sita
A Tale from Ancient Java

Retold and Illustrated
by David Weitzman

Hardbound, dustjacketed, large format

A remarkable, heirloom-quality book

$19.95

Just after sundown, in villages all over Java and Bali, the night comes alive with the shimmering metallic sounds of the gamelan, an orchestra of gongs, chimes, flutes, drums and cymbals. Families gather in front of a cloth screen lit from behind by a flickering lamp, eagrly awaiting the appearance of the magic puppets.

They have come to hear the ancient tale of Rama and Sita, a story of intrigue, adventure, mystery, and the ageless struggle of good against evil, retold for centuries throughout the Asian world. It is the story of brave Prince Rama, unjustly exiled and banished to the forest. With the help of his brother and a monkey army, he rescues the beautiful Sita from a giant ogre, and returns victorious to regain his throne.

The puppet play of Rama and Sita, taken from the Hindu epic The Ramayana, or Rama's Way, is much more than entertainment, it is an offering to the gods and ancestors, teaching children the value of the community, who they are, and their place in the universe.

This retelling and its remarkable, exquisite illustrations using traditional Javanese shadow puppets takes us into the heart of the puppet master's theatre and brings to life one of the world's best stories. Beautiful - a book to treasure! Age 9 and older.

Hanuman
based on Valmiki's Ramayana

Retold by Erik Jendresen
and Joshua M. Green

Paintings by Li Ming

Softbound, large format

$7.95

A lavishly illustrated, beautiful retelling of the story of the Monkey God and how he and his army helped Prince Rama save Princess Sita from a foul demon king. The story is told by no one less than Hanuman himself, who takes us into the heart of the tale, as it unfolded before his eyes.

An exhilarating retelling with paintings that add a new dimension of adventure to one of the greatest adventure stories ever told. Ages 9 and over.

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

Elizabeth Payne

Softbound

Sadly, out of print - try the used book market

Another of my favorite Landmark Books! Most of us find Egyptian myths to be an endless source of fascination -- what I discovered in this book when I was in 4th or 5th grade is that historical Ancient Egypt is just as fascinating, and the men (and women!) who ruled her were the most fascinating of all.

Elizabeth Payne begins her engaging account with the 1782 Napoleonic expedition to Egypt which resulted in the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and led to the deciphering and translation of the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822. Once their writing could be understood, the Western world learned so very much about the Egyptians, their life, their beliefs.

Then, with some real information in hand, we go back, back, back to 25,000-10,000 BC and move forward through all the dynasties and into the lives of several great Pharaohs and their people. Payne treats her reader to tantalizing bits of mythology, showing how the way the Egyptians saw the world created their lives and their rulers, who were seen to be more gods than men.

We learn about Pharaohs from Cheops to Rameses -- including a woman Pharaoh, Queen Hatshepsut! -- and follow the ascending and descending curve of Ancient Egyptian history itself, watching as the great civilization is born, thrives, falters and ultimately dies. Scattered throughout are photos and drawings (all black & white) of artifacts, statues, papyrus, jewelry, burial sites and more. By the time you've finished the book, Ancient Egypt will have come alive in your imagination.

Ages 10-11 and up.

Joan of Arc
A Landmark Biography

Nancy Wilson Ross

Softbound

Sadly, out of print - try the used market

The Landmark Books Biography Series was one of the most treasured beacons of my own childhood. I began reading them in 4th grade and by 6th grade had finished every title in print and was rereading some of my favorites. They took me into lands and lives that were otherwise beyond my reach and were a constant and realiable source of both pleasure and knowledge.

This particular book, Joan of Arc, was my all-time favorite of the series. I read and re-read it countless times. Even today, as I read it before writing this review, the story and its telling still leaves me with a tingling spine and tears in my eyes -- exactly as it did 40 years ago!

Nancy Wilson Ross's retelling is a masterpiece of children's literature -- she has kept the language fairly simple (and explains meanings where it is not so simple), yet has sacrificed none of the depth, beauty and mystery that Joan's life has to share with us. Obviously, I can't recommend it highly enough!

Ages 10 and above.

And There Was Light
From the Creation of the World to Noah's Ark

Jakob Streit

A Waldorf 3rd Grade Teaching Resource

Softbound, Revised Edition

$15.00

It is a joy to see And There Was Light back in print and available for more teachers and students to enjoy. Jakob Streit's retelling of the stories of Genisis is shines with a captivating clarity that has made them classroom treasures for over 30 years. In fact, this book has been one of the most-often requested titles throughout the time our book shop has existed (the entire time of which it has been out-of-print).

In addition to the well-known tales from Moses' first book, Streit also added stories about Michael and the Dragon, Edelweiss and the Mountain Flowers, Why Roses Have Thorns, and many more -- all placed in a just the right spot within the flow of Bible stories.

And There Was Light is the first of Streit's three books of Old Testament stories created for 3rd grade. It is followed by Journey to the Promised Land and We Will Build a Temple.

Journey to the Promised Land
The Path of the People of Israel from Abraham's Calling to David's Dream

Biblical Stories retold
by Jakob Streit

Softbound

$16.00

Superbly told stories for the third grade teacher, this book is also useful as a fourth grade reader.

It is such a joy to have this book available for parents and teachers who are looking for deep and true retellings of the Biblical stories that are at the same time appropriate for 3rd and 4th graders.

A wonderful resource - with stories the adults will love as much as the children do.

We Will Build a Temple
The Path of Israel from King Solomon to John the Baptist

Biblical Stories retold by Jacob Streit

Softbound

$16.00

In this, Streit's sequel to Journey to the Promised Land, he once again takes up the retelling of Bible stories, including some from the Apocrypha. Streit was a Waldorf class teacher, and his original audience was the students of his 3rd grade class -- however, his telling of these tales is so poignantly simple and captures their essence in such a lovely way that they have value long beyond the 3rd grade. They connect the reader with the pictures and events that contributed to the forming of Western culture at the beginning. They are the stories of Solomon, Elijah, Tobias, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nehemiah, Jonah, Heliodorus, Job, Judas Maccabeus, and John the Baptist.

Myths of the World

Collected and Retold by Padraic Colum

Softbound

$19.99

A treasure house of stories from ancient myth and legend, told by one of Ireland’s greatest storytellers.

“The interest of this book lies in its scope and in the engaging way in which the myths are recounted. Suitable for bedtime reading either to yourself or your children.”

— Scientific and Medical Network

Here is a comprehensive collection of tales that have carried deeply human meaning through the centuries. You will find all the legendary heroes and tragic characters of ancient times—Iris, Osiris, Gilgamesh, Hercules, Pandora, and many more.

Padraic Colum shows the close relationships between past cultures by including stories from ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Ireland, Iceland, China, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, and Peru. A feast for the soul!

This classic collection will entertain and enlighten children of all ages.

Gilgamesh - Man's First Story

Bernarda Bryson

Softbound - elegantly illustrated

$19.95

This is a powerful - and powerfully beautiful - retelling of one of the oldest stories known to humanity. Bernarda Bryson tells this story with simplicity and grace - retaining as she does the uniquely Sumerian view of the world, some of the poetic responses, and above all, the heart and soul of this story that combines in equal measure the elements of both transcendent victory and deep tragedy. This retelling was written for children, but I can't think of any adult who wouldn't enjoy it as well. Ms. Bryson is rightly remembered as an author whose sensitivity was matched by her literary skill - and who used the fullness of her capacities in the making of this book.

The story of Gilgamesh was first written down about 3000 BC in Sumeria. It tells of a great flood and of one man, befriended by the gods, who survived by building an ark. In the feats of Gilgamesh and his companion, Enkidu, a monster who turns into a gentle man who loves and respects the King, are found the sources of great mythological heroes: Hercules, Jason and Theseus.

In addition to its vital importance in the history of literature, Gilgamesh is an exciting and often amusing tale - setting jealous god against jealous god, god against man, and man against man in remarkable battles of wit and strength.

A must for fifth graders - wonderful for the rest of us!

Haiku Picturebook for Children

Text by Keisuke Nishimoto

Illustrated by Kozo Shimizu

$14.95
Hardbound

The haiku in this book are chosen from the gifts Japan's most honored haiku masters - Buson, Issa, Basho and others. They are beautiful, nearly perfect little pictures to heighten our awareness of the world, of life. The accompanying watercolor illustrations in my mind set just the right tone, evoke just the right feeling to go with the poems. This book will remain an exquisite gift to any child fortunate enough to be offered a copy. Wonderful for any age after 5. (Note to purists: the translations are not always in the 5-7-5 form, but they speak with a graceful simplicity that honors the intent of the original.)

Folktales from India
A Selection of Oral Tales from Twenty-Two Languages

Edited and with an Introduction by
A.K. Ramanujan

Softbound

$17.00

I know of no other collection of folktales from India that is like this one - stories taken truly from the oral traditions of many groups and retold with an integrity that conveys so much life that I repeatedly find myself hearing the voice of the storyteller as I read them. For me, this collection is an exciting "find" - something I didn't know I wanted but now can't imagine never having had.

These are the types of fairy tales and folktales that explain the world around us - they reveal the types of people in the world, the way the spiritual world intermingles with daily life, the difference between what is wise and what only looks wise, and much, much more.

I would love to see more and more children hearing these stories - to me, they are a nectar of life. I would enthusiastically recommend various of these tales for children at several ages - during the "fairy tale years (ca. kindergarten and grade 1), "the fable years" (ca. grade 2), and then again as an enlivening addition to the myths of India (grade 5) as a way of uniting the heaven of the gods with the life of the earth. These tales are good, solid soul food - the kind that uplifts without carrying one off the ground. You'll love them!

African Folktales
Traditional Stories of the Black World

Selected and Retold by
Roger D. Abrahams

Softbound

$18.00

This is a funny, earthy, wise and riotous collection of stories from a variety of African cultures. Some of these stories are simple, humorous tales, just right for very young children. Others have themes that involve the complexity of human relationships and of the relationship of humans to the divine. These will interest older children, even teenagers, and can be the source of much after-thought and discussion. Overall, this is a gem of a book - one to use not only as a source of great stories to share, but also to return to again and again to partake of its wonder and beauty. The rhythms of tribal song and dance reverberate through the graceful voice of the storyteller on every page. Abrahams shows great heart in the retelling of these stories.

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun
La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol

A duel language book
From a poem by Alejandro Cruz Martinez

Paperbound

$7.95

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun is a Mexican legend of Lucia Zenteno, a beautiful woman who arrives in a mountain village with an iguana at her side and hair so glorious it outshines the sun. How the villagers react to her extraordinary presence - and how she responds to them - form this story, beautifully retold in both English and Spanish. For reading to children in their mother tongue, ages 4-5 and up. For children to practice English or Spanish as a second language, at the end of the first year of instruction to the middle of the second year.

The Story of Colors
La Historia de los Colores
a folktale in both English and Spanish from the jungles of Chiapas

Subcomandante Marcos

Illustrated by
Comitila Domínguiz

Hardbound

$15.95

Once upon a time, of course, the world was black and white with gray in between. Black and white and gray? This understandably bored and angered the gods, so they went looking for other colors to brighten the world for the people. How the gods found all the colors in the world is told in melodic Spanish and warm English, accompanied by gloriously vivid paintings. This story is a great find and will be loved by children ages 3 and up. The Spanish is complex enough to engage upper grades English speakers in a translation journey of epic proportions - some will love the challenge. For Spanish speakers, the English is at a mid-grades reading level.
A note here: I thought for a long time before including this wonderful folktale in our book shop. Not because of the folktale - it well deserves any honors we can think to heap upon it - but because it is told by the leader of the Zapatista revolutionary movement and published by the movement's supporters who make it clear on the dust jacket that they consider this civil war to be a manifestation of great goodness. I am not of the opinion that any violent revolution has ever moved the world forward very far. You may or may not think differently. Should you share my view, I would suggest simply removing the dust jacket and delighting in a very well-told version of one of the worlds best folktales.

American Indian Myths and Legends

Selected and Edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz

Softbound

$18.95

Here is an exciting collection of over 160 stories that range from fairy tales to religious myths to just-so stories - and represent 80 tribal groups.

If, like me, most of what you have encountered as Native American tales has been the coyote or trickster stories, you are in for a panoramic adventure. Coyote is, naturally, still present and well-represented in these tales, but there is are also fairy tales of beauty, depth and truth, fables of all kinds, creation myths and stories of the realms of the gods, and delightful little tales that explain with humor and simplicity how things came to be as they are.

The stories are told in authentic and engaging language; they are filled to the brim with life and goodness and mystery. And they portray the depth and diversity of these cultures better than anything else I've read.

These are stories you and your children will love and think about and go back to for years. Enjoy!!

Russian Fairy Tales

Illustrated by
Aleksander Nickolaivicher Afanasyev

Softbound

$18.00

This is the largest collection of these beautiful, rich stories that I know of. Beautifully retold, charmingly illustrated in Russian folk-art style, this is a treasure that will serve you and your children for years and years. Nearly 200 characteristic and colorful traditional folk and fairy tales are brought together in the only comprehensive edition available in English.

I especially love the Russian tales because they are so richly woven - there is a glorious "fullness" to them, with a wonderful sense of detail that never mires, but always results in the most engaging, most multi-layered folk tales I have encountered. Our children heard and read hundreds of fairy tales - these are the ones they most often mention as still living in their adult hearts.

As Eudora Welty wrote when the original edition was published in 1945, "These tales are gorgeous."

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!