From: Debbie Reese <debreese_at_illinois.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:49:48 -0500 (CDT)

A couple of years ago, someone wrote to me to say it is my fault that th ere has been an overall drop in books about American Indians. I can't re call, now, if she was pointing to traditional stories or nonfiction. I l aughed. Part of me wishes I had that much power! One only needs to look at images of Indians in books published in the last few years to know h ow little such images have changed.

If I imagine the future, say in 1 00 years, this is what I'd like to see:

The creation/origin stories o f American Indians, of indigenous peoples everywhere, be shelved alongsi de world relations, rather than over there in folktales. (Or, move all c reation stories to folktales.)

The creation/origin stories of America n Indians being accorded the same respect given to stories from the Bibl e. Either they're all springboards for writing activities, or, none of t hem are.

That authors who use stories in anthropological archives as sources KN OW that those stories have the bias of the outsider who collected the st ories, and hence, don't assume they are 'authentic' stories.

That pub lishers STOP marketing 'based on' stories as "Native American" or "Ameri can Indian" or this-or-that-tribe or this-or-that-combination-of-tribes. With the "based on" category, it is disingenuous to put Native-inspired art on the cover and in the book itself.

In this moment in time, where there is a lull in the publication of fo lktales, myths, legends, etc., I'd like that lull to be filled with the study of what goes into that entire process. Selecting a story to retell , who the story originates with, how that group feels about that story b eing told out-of-context, how that group feels about the story being rev ised in ways so that it no longer reflects that groups values.... This moment gives us time to reflect on that body of literature, and how it can be made better next time.

Debbie


---- Original message ----



Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:02:39 -0500 From: "CCBC Network digest"

Subject: ccbc-net digest: March 17, 2010

To: "ccbc-net digest recipients"

CCBC-NE T Digest for Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

1. Up for Discussion on CCB C-Net: Where Have All the Folktales Gone? 2. FOLK/FAIRY TALES 3. Re: Where have all the folktales gone 4. European folktales - still popu lar, wish there were more 5. Re: European folktales - still popular, w ish there were more 6. Re: Where Have All the Folktales Gone? 7. Re: Where Have All the Folktales Gone? 8. Re: Where Have All the Folktale s Gone? 9. Folktales, where art thou? 10. Re: Where Have All the Fol ktales Gone? 11. Folktales 12. RE: Where have all the folktales gone

13. Re: Where Have All the Folktales Gone? 14. RE: Where have all t he folktales gone 15. RE: Where Have All the Folktales Gone? 16. Re: Where have all the folktales gone


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Subject: Up for Discussion o n CCBC-Net: Where Have All the Folktales Gone? From: "Kathleen T. Horn ing" Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:53:43 -050 0 X-Message-Number: 1


****Thanks to all of you who participated i

n our Awards Discussion

Extravaganza. With a new year underway, we are already turning our

attention to the new books that are coming out in 2010. Every day it

seems we get boxes full of shiny new books here at the CCBC but few of

them these days include folktales, either single tales illustrated as picture book or collections of tales.

Folktales retold for childre n were once a mainstay of children's

publishing, so we're a bit perplexed by this sudden drought. Have you noticed this change as well? If so, have you missed them, or do you

think the market was already glutted with retellings of Cinderella? Do

they continue to be popular with the children in your communities? What ,

in your opinion, makes for a great folktale retelling for young readers ?

We look forward to hearing your thoughts, and would especially we lcome

any insights from our friends in the publishing world who might be able

to tell us what is behind the change.

KT

-- 
Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4 290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933 
horning_at_education.wisc.edu http ://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ 
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Subject: FOLK/FAIRY TALES 
From: Lbhcove_at_aol.com Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:42:53 -0400 (EDT) X- Message-Number: 2 
It is only March! 
Two different volumes are ONCE UPON A TIME: TRADITIONAL LATIN AMERICAN 
TALES by Reuben Martinez, illustrated by the wondrous Raul Colon (HABIA UNA 
VEZ: CUENTOS TRADICIONALES LATINOAMERICANOS (HarperCollins), 
includes seven new retellings of such gems as "Martina the Cockroach a nd 
Perez the Mouse (La cucarachita Martina y el raton Perez) and "The Wed ding 
Rooster" (El gallo de bodas)... 
and... MIRROR MIRROR: A BOOK OF REVERSIBLE VERSE by Marilyn Singer ( Dutton), illustrated by Josee Masse, a book that has already received five starred reviews featuring "Cinderella's Double Life," "The Sleepi ng 
Beauty and the Wide-Awake Prince," "In the Hood (spoiler: it deals wi th a girl 
wearing red) plus others folk/fairy tale protagonists. 
Once upon a time is now again! 
LEE BENNETT HOPKINS 
ORIGINAL WORKS 
BEEN TO YESTERDAYS: POEMS OF A LIFE (BOYDS MILLS P RESS) *STARRED REVIEW/SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL CHRISTOPHER AWARD SC BWI GOLDEN KITE HONOR BOOK 
CITY I LOVE (ABRAMS) *STARRED REVIEW / SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL 
*STARRED REVIEW / PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOKS OF 2009/ CHICAGO PUBL IC LIBRARY PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE 
NEW COLLECTIONS: 
AMAZING FACES (LEE & LOW) ILLUSTRATED BY CHRIS SOENTPIET 
SHARING THE SEAS ONS (SIMON & SCHUSTER/MCELDERRY BOOKS) ILLUSTRATED BY DAVID DIAZ *S TARRED REVIEW / KIRKUS *STARRED REVIEW/ BOOKLIST 
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Subject: Re : Where have all the folktales gone From: Lynn Rutan 
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:57:56 -0400 X-Message-Number: 3 
I have been musing on this interesting subject. I was a middle sch ool 
librarian for many years and still work with a Gr. 6-12 bookclub and 
fairy tale/folklore twists are very popular with the teens here. In 
the last few years there have been some really outstanding YA books 
that the girls (and I) have adored reading. Juliet Marillier, Jessica 
Day George, Edith Pattou, Diane Zahler and Malinda Lo are just a few 
authors that spring quickly to mind and I know there are many more. It 
is a long-standing interest with teens too. I a had fairy tale twist bibliography available for the students because they asked for it so 
often. 
The corollary to that tale however is the number of our stu dents who 
didn't know the original tale! It is hard to appreciate a twist on a story if you don't know the story. A good example of this is the 
wonderful book Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher which is a version of the Scherazhade story and the 1001 Nights. My colleague created a 
wonderful booktalk for that (which I used at my school too) but we 
discovered that we had to FIRST tell the story of Scherazhade before we 
could booktalk Shadow Spinner. So many of our students had never heard 
of the 1001 Nights that the booktalk - and the new story - had to be 
explained first. There are a significant number of students who don't 
have the cultural background to understand the revisions and as much as 
they still seem to enjoy them, they miss a lot of the fun. I don't 
know how many times at our bookclub that we've had to gently explain 
points they've been perplexed by. 
A second corollary is that it is very hard to find the original stories 
- especially for the youngest readers. I do after school child care 
for my first grade grandsons. They love books and have been exposed - 
probably more than they want ;-)- to lots and lots of them. There are 
some fabulous fun picture books that use the classical stories and 
nursery rhymes as a starting point and I wanted to find some good basic 
versions to read to them before heading to the spin-offs like Wiesner's 
The Three Pigs. I have struggled a bit to find something contemporary 
and have ended up going way back to some very old collections and 
telling them stories from memory. 
Having had to weed an aging coll ection and reluctantly discard many 
fairy tale and folklore collections that were literally falling apart, 
I would say that I think there is a real need for some new editions of 
the stories we all think kids know and are shocked to find that they 
don't. I've looked especially for American tall tales and collections 
of fairy tales for our youngest readers. I think newly illustrated 
collections of these stories - so inherently part of our literacy 
culture - would find an enthusiastic audience. 
Lynn Rutan Lib rarian Bookends: BooklistOnline Youth Blog 
Holland, MI lynnrutan_at_charter.net 
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Subject: European folkt ales - still popular, wish there were more From: Beth Wright Redford 
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:53:55 -0700 (PDT) X- Message-Number: 4 
I just spent a few weeks sharing European folk ta les with my third and fourth grade classes, and these have been some of the students' favorite stories all year. I read Schlitz's version of the Grimm brothers' THE BEARSKINNER with my third graders. Even my wigglies t students got more and more still as the story unfolded. When I asked t hem what they liked about the book, they told me the story and pictures were creepy (I agree, in a good way). The same class was wildly enthusia stic about Zelinsky's RUMPELSTILTSKIN, mainly for the illustrations. 
I spent some time looking for quality picture-book versions of the c entral King Arthur legends. I didn't have much luck; for instance, Hudso n Talbott's books seem to be mostly out of print. This was disappointing , because one of my fourth grade classes was so interested by the few bi ts I cobbled together they named their classroom King Arthur's Court. 
Earlier this year I shared some shorter folk tales with my second gra ders. Their favorites included Paye's HEAD, BODY, LEGS, Demi's ONE GRAIN OF RICE, and Gershator's ONLY ONE COWRIE. Again, I think the striking i llustrations in each of these books add to their appeal. Anyone who has ever read ONE GRAIN OF RICE aloud and heard children's amazed reactions to the enormous final pictures of the rice will know exactly what I mean . 
So in answer to KT's questions: folktales are still very popular with the children in my community, once adults get these stories onto th eir radars. I hope the folktales come back, and this publishing trend yo u're seeing is only temporary. (Maybe all the vampire books ate them?) 
Beth Wright Redford Librarian Richmond Elementary School Richm ond, Vermont 
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Subject: Re: European folktales - still popular, wish there were more From: Amy White Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21 :54:19 -0500 (CDT) X-Message-Number: 5 
Hey, Beth! You might try the Arthurian books by Robert San Souci, including YOUNG LANCELOT. Ther e are Arthur and Guinevere stoires too. My kids LOVED those books, went on to read more Arthurian legend books, and still read fantasy/ action /adventure books as teens. The San Souci books are available in paperba ck and well-illustrated. 
From one Arthur fan to another. :-) 
-Amy (Brecount White) 
FORGET-HER-NOTS, just release from Greenwillo w/HarperCollins, ages 12 & up 
Mar 16, 2010 08:54:12 PM, bethr eader_at_yahoo.com wrote: 
I just spent a few weeks sharing European folk tales w ith my third and fourth grade classes, and these have been some of the s tudents' favorite stories all year. I read Schlitz's version of the Grim m brothers' THE BEARSKINNER with my third graders. Even my wiggliest stu dents got more and more still as the story unfolded. When I asked them w hat they liked about the book, they told me the story and pictures were creepy (I agree, in a good way). The same class was wildly enthusiastic about Zelinsky's RUMPELSTILTSKIN, mainly for the illustrations. 
I spent some time looking for quality picture-book versions of the c entral King Arthur legends. I didn't have much luck; for instance, Hudso n Talbott's books seem to be mostly out of print. This was disappointing , because one of my fourth grade classes was so interested by the few bi ts I cobbled together they named their classroom King Arthur's Court. 
Earlier this year I shared some shorter folk tales with my second gra ders. Their favorites included Paye's HEAD, BODY, LEGS, Demi's ONE GRAIN OF RICE, and Gershator's ONLY ONE COWRIE. Again, I think the striking i llustrations in each of these books add to their appeal. Anyone who has ever read ONE GRAIN OF RICE aloud and heard children's amazed reactions to the enormous final pictures of the rice will know exactly what I mean . 
So in answer to KT's questions: folktales are still very popular with the children in my community, once adults get these stories onto th eir radars. I hope the folktales come back, and this publishing trend yo u're seeing is only temporary. (Maybe all the vampire books ate them?) 
Beth Wright Redford Librarian Richmond Elementary School Richm ond, Vermont 
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Received on Thu 18 Mar 2010 09:49:48 AM CDT