Grandmothers’ Stories: Wise Woman Tales From Many Cultures
retold by Burleigh Mutén
illustrated by Siân Bailey
As a lover of fantasy and a ballet dancer who has performed many works based on folklore, I feel like I’ve heard my fair share of fairy tales. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a trove of tales I’d never heard before in Mutén’s Grandmothers’ Stories: Wise Woman Tales From Many Cultures. What’s clearly unique about this collection is its cultural appeal and differentiation: it contains tales of Senegalese, Japanese, Russian, Swedish, and Hawaiian origin, just to name a few! All of these stories are based on the idea of the wise grandmother: “the keeper of tradition, the storyteller, the teacher, healer and leader of her people,” who is not only retelling these fairy tales to three children but who is featured in each tale as the main character, varied by culture (Mutén, 5).
Three fairy tales that I focused on were the Senegalese tale “The Midwife and the Djinn,” the Hawaiian tale “The Woman in the Moon,” and the Irish “Go Ask the Wise Woman.” The illustrator uses gouache, which is paint, like a thicker, more opaque version of watercolor. She incorporates different spreads throughout each tale: sometimes portraits, large spreads, or small paintings in margins. But the illustrations that I like the most are at the bottom of each page: for each story, she includes a different banner that runs across the bottom of the page and reflects the rural atmosphere of that country where the story takes place and the plot of the story. Even though some of the pictures are small, they are large enough for a class to see, and I think this book would make a great read-aloud, even if there is a lot of text on each page.
Each tale begins like it could be historical fiction; then, all of a sudden, an element of fantasy comes into play and sweeps up your attention and gets your heart racing. For example, in “The Midwife and the Djinn,” the night begins like any other for the midwife, but when she hears a knock on the door, “There, on her doorstep, stood a shimmering djinn who was so tall that he had to bend over to greet her. Before Old Fatu could think, the djinn reached out his long arm and grabbed her hand. Before she could resist, he pulled her right out into the dark street” (8). With the introduction of this fantastical creation, we are captivated and anxious to find out what happens to the midwife. I love the cultural vocabulary that is introduced in each story, usually just one or two words, which is perfect for a read-aloud and does not take away from the flow of the text. For instance, from “The Midwife and the Djinn,” we learn that a djinn is a type of genie of Arab creation who can be hostile on most occasions. We discover from Hawaiian tradition in “The Woman in the Moon” that a calabash is a bottle gourd used to transport liquids or small items. Irish folklore teaches us that feetwater spirits appear when one forgets to throw out their dirty water after washing his feet in “Go Ask the Wise Woman.”
Overall, I love that this book introduces children to fairy tales from across the globe and also emphasizes the role of the iconic wise old woman in multiple cultures.
I'm so glad you chose to read this book! I love the idea of tying stories from different cultures/places together through the medium of a wise grandmother character in each story -- and I think it's so relatable for most children, who probably have grandmothers of their own who like to tell stories (I know my grandmother did and my siblings and I loved to listen to her). I agree with you that the idea of introducing cultural vocabulary in each story is great, and I'm also really glad that it doesn't take away from the text. :)
ReplyDeleteI love that cultural vocabulary is used in a subtle way to reinforce these truly unique tales. Broadening the cultural history of tall tales further identifies the diverse classroom we will eventually lead. The banners illustrated beneath the texts must beautifully reinforce the story.
ReplyDeleteWhat better way to tell stories and folklore than from a warm and loving grandmother! This collection of fairy tales seems to put a spin on the more traditional collections with adding a main character as the storyteller and taking a cultural approach to literature. I believe this collection should be added to the classroom library as a means to expanding relations between cultures and serving the needs of many students through diversity. I could see this text used as a read aloud to introduce cultural topics with the wide array of vocabulary that is incorporated in the collection.
ReplyDeletehey katie- sorry just looked back at this and did my post not show up? did you get it in an email?
ReplyDeleteIn case you didn't get it.. sorry! Here is a repost..
ReplyDeleteI liked that you chose a collection that contributed to cultural diversity and history. I liked that in some of the stories, other languages were incorporated which would be a great contribution to social studies and gives the ability to expand a lesson from the folklore. Since it seems like the collection has a rural setting and you mentioned the banner illustrations are of the countryside, it would be neat to use this collection in a city school setting. You could potentially have the students talk about the differences and similarities they see in there personal lives and the book. Mostly, I like that this folklore collection promotes cultural awareness and tradition.