TEN SMALL TALES

Nursery tales from around the world -- Russia, Africa, India, China, Indonesia, and more -- adapted by an experienced storyteller who is also a gifted one. Whether it's a Malaysian tale about a little boy who insists on being ""in the middle"" when he and his father sleep out in the jungle resulting in such a tangle of arms and legs that it frightens away a hungry tiger; or an engaging restructuring of the more familiar ""The Turnip,"" these fresh, simple renditions are beautifully paced and full of the kind of nuanced repetitions that build suspense and invite participation. Fitzgerald's plentiful watercolors come in all sizes, from vignettes to full pages; they have an ingenuous sweetness of tone appropriate to a collection notable for its lack of violence (and without bowdlerizing any old favorites). The excellent source notes reveal that in some cases restructuring is substantial -- e.g., in two cases a brief rhyme becomes a full story. In the same spirit, the illustrations are in a single harmonious style rather than reflecting the cultures of earlier versions. A grand resource, especially for sharing aloud.