Books in this category include some traditional and some non-traditional versions of stories and poems from around the world. Some of these tales convey life lessons; others are intended to delight and amuse the reader or listener. Some of the poems were written by children.
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All Books in the Folktales, Legends & Poems Category
The Big Book for Peace Ann Durell (Editor), Marilyn Sachs (Editor) Seventeen stories, poems, and a song written by well-known authors describing many different forms of peace. [Grade Level: 3 - 6]
Black Is Brown Is Tan Arnold Adoff (Author), Emily Arnold McCully (Illustrator) First published in 1973, this book marked the first acknowledgment of an interracial family in children's book publishing. The lyrical text depicts an interracial home in which there is fun, security, and plenty of love. With an African American mother, the “skin color of chocolate,” and a Caucasian father, who's skin is “not white, but light in color with tans and pinks and all the colors of the rainbow,” this story blends colors in such a way that the beauty of this family truly shines through. In this 2004 version, McCully has updated the illustrations with watercolor paintings to show the brown-skinned momma, the white daddy, and the two children in a 21st-century setting.
[Grade Level: K - 3]
The Blue Jackal Written by Rashmi Sharma An adaptation of a Punchtuntra fable with a message about feeling superior. [Grade Level: K - 6]
The Brothers' Promise Frances Harber (Author), Thor Wickstrom (Illustrator) A retelling of a story found in the Talmud where two brothers keep a promise to their father and always take care of one another. [Grade Level: K - 3]
Brothers: A Hebrew Legend Florence Freedman (Author), Robert Andrew Parker (Illustrator) Two brothers live on opposite sides of a hill and are brought together during a crop shortage. This book stresses the importance of friendship and love. [Grade Level: K - 2]
