Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls
Grade 4-7-This collection of folktales from around the world presents a range of tales that all feature strong women. While the majority of stories (7 out of 13) are European in origin, most are relatively unfamiliar. Only four of the tales, "Atalanta the Huntress," "Fitcher's Bird" (a Bluebeard/Mr. Fox variant), "Burd Janet" (a Tam Lin variant), and "Molly Whuppie," are likely to be recognized by readers. Yolen's retellings are consistently engaging and well written, whether she is dealing with the history of the White River Sioux in "Brave Woman Counts Coup" or "Nana Miriam," a culture hero of the Songhai of Niger. Ample source notes and explanations of Yolen's additions and changes are included as is a thorough bibliography. Unfortunately, the cover painting of a buxom girl on a ship seems much more suited to a "damsel in distress" collection than to these stories that eschew the helpless female. However, the interior illustrations are better.Ellen A. Greever, University of New Orleans, LACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.