Dec 23, 2013

Winter has officially begun. And in honor of the season of Christmas trees, hot chocolate, ice skating, and heavy traffic at the mall, we bring you a story about winter – and summer – from the Acoma tribe of Native Americans in New Mexico. More specifically, it's a story about the changing seasons, and...

Nov 22, 2013

"The Crocodile, The Zebras and the Hyena" is a story that we adapted from a traditional tale related by Likua Kambembe, an African storyteller. He's a member of the !Xun (We dare you to try to pronounce it) Council of Elders, and helps direct the Kulimatji Project, which preserves the tribe's folklore.

This is an...

Oct 20, 2013

From Uganda comes this tale about how two jungle critters who were once friends became foes, and in the process tells why frogs have no tails and why lizards have puffy cheeks. It seems appropriate because like the frog and the lizard, we recently swung on a rope from a tree when we went ziplining in the back yard...

Sep 16, 2013

"Talk", from Ghana in Africa, is a cumulative tale (meaning that phrases are repeated and added to as in "The House That Jack Built") about what happens when inanimate objects start to talk. For one thing, you feel like you're in a Disney movie. But also, this story could be considered a fable about how...

Aug 20, 2013

From Jewish tradition somewhere in Eastern Europe comes this charming and inspiring tale about... well, charming and inspiring tradition. As popularized by the picture book of the same name by Phoebe Gilman, this story tells of a gift made by a grandfather for a grandchild (in Gilman's version, the child is a boy; in...