Stories of Hope and Spirit: Folktales from Eastern Europe

by Dan Keding

Overview

Winner of Anne Izard Storyteller's Choice Award & Storytelling World Award
Throughout history, Eastern Europe has been a battlefield, a crossroads, a place of conflict, and a place of resolution. The folk stories in this collection reflect the region's diversity. Each presents a challenge and models the strength, wit, hope, and courage necessary to overcome them. They include: "The Three Brothers and the Pot of Gold" from Moldavia when the brothers discover something more precious than treasure; "Nail Soup" from Croatia shows how a small contribution from each community member can blend to create a masterpiece; and in "Strawberries in Winter" from Slovakia, the seasons of the year come to the rescue of an eastern European Cinderella mistreated by her stepmother. These stories are of Slavic origin, from the Baltic to the Balkans. In today's time of global unease and anxiety, these ancient tales of hope and spirit in times of occupation and uncertainty resonate strongly.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780874837278
Publisher:	August House Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/14/2004
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	7.36(w) x 10.46(h) x 0.43(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dan Keding Bio: Dan Keding, a writer and storyteller of international acclaim, is well known for his telling of traditional world folktales, personal narratives of his boyhood in Chicago, ghost stories and dark tales. As a child he learned the traditional stories that his grandmother brought to this country from Croatia. A well-respected ballad singer, he accompanies himself on guitar, banjo and spoons. This combination of dynamic storytelling and powerful ballad singing has made him a festival and concert favorite throughout the US, Great Britain and Ireland, endearing him to audiences of all ages. Dan has performed at festivals, schools, libraries, colleges and concert halls. He tells the old stories from times long ago and people almost forgotten and he tells the stories of his own journey and the people whom he will never forget.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	9
	The Best Wish: Croatia	11
	The Most Precious Gift: Turkey/Croatia	17
	The First Story: Republic of Georgia	23
	The King's Ears: Serbia	25
	Strawberries in Winter: Slovakia	31
	The Prince Who Married a Frog: Croatia	37
	The Three Brothers and the Pot of Gold: Moldavia	45
	One Man's Trouble: Latvia	49
	The Enchanted Princess: Russia	53
	The Old Traveler: Estonia	61
	How the Rich Man Learned a Lesson: Chechnia	65
	Nail Soup: Croatia	69
	Telling the Stories	75
	Bibliography	77

Editorial Reviews

The author's grandmother brought to this country the folktales from her native Croatia and from other Eastern European countries. "Noni" told the same stories to Keding as a way of entertaining him; of keeping the tales alive; and of teaching, guiding, and perpetuating the values that have strengthened and sustained families and communities throughout centuries of conflicts. The tales, which reflect the flavors of the countries of origin, illustrate how we must act toward one another-how evil begets evil, and, conversely, how kindness begets kindness. Some stories are variations of familiar tales ("Nail Soup" for "Stone Soup"), and the heroes, princesses, monsters, and sorcerers behave in ways that lead predictably to satisfying, or unsatisfying, outcomes. Many of Keding's tales are easy to read and ready to tell just as they are written, while others require more time to learn, especially those that contain a tale within a tale. Here are stories for teachers, clergy, parents, and friends to do what Noni did-teach, guide, and entertain. Listeners of any age will hear the messages of hope and spirit woven into these selections, each of which provides a road map to a better world.-Judy Sokoll, Florida Storytelling Association, Naples Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Storyteller Keding retells these 12 tales-"from the Baltic to the Balkans"-with a teller's note at the end of each. Most he learned from his grandmother, who learned them from her parents, who had a coffeehouse where she learned many of them from travelers or from her grandfather. They all have a familiar connection, e.g., a Croatian version of Stone Soup, is "Nail Soup"; "Strawberries in Winter," a Slovakian tale, is often titled "The Month Brothers"; "The Three Brothers and the Pot of Gold," offers a familiar theme of the value of work; and the motif of goodness rewarded is in "The Prince Who Married a Frog." While most of these stories have been available in single volumes or as part of other collections, these unembellished retellings are unique in their simplicity and the inspiration to look inside one's own family to find the storytellers and stories from generations past. (Folktales. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews