Tales Told In Tents: Stories from Central Asia
Grade 2-4-In this unusual collection, tales involving magical beings and flying carpets appear alongside prosaic explanations for the invention of felt and a legend about the origins of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. There is a story about the Kazakhstan trickster Aldar-Kose and there are riddles from Uzbekistan to test the wits of young readers, such as "One eye and a sharp tooth" (answer: a needle). The selections are illustrated with primitive, full-color paintings done with a thick and exuberant brush. The cover art employs especially brilliant colors in its depiction of a rapt family seated around a samovar while an elderly man regales them with stories. By opening a window to folkloric traditions not previously explored in American children's books, Clayton provides much material to tantalize storytellers, listeners, and readers alike.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.