New Releases by Pleasant DeSpain

Folktales are as old as mankind, yet as new as each sunrise. They were shaped in a time when our ancestors knew that their daily welfare depended on maintaining a balance in nature. Today the survival of the planet depends on that same balance, and Pleasant DeSpain believes "we can count on the tales of old to provide ecological explanations, lessons, warnings, and wonders." DeSpain provides eleven ancient stories that address the natural elements. The opening story, "All Things Are Connected," comes from Zaire and handily illustrates the balance of nature. The ending story, "Enough Is Enough," is a native Quinault tale explaining the formation of the Puget Sound. In between are folktales from Fiji, Central Asia, Australia, China, Portugal, and the Algonquin, Cherokee, and Tlingit native people, illustrated in scratchboard by Joe Shlichta.

Worshipped in some cultures, feared in others, loved as pets worldwide, cats are seen as possessing special power?athletic, supernatural, or intellectual. The nine tales included her show cats in all their glory. The cats in these stories are kind, cruel, independent, lovable?and always clever. These nine stories come from all points of the globe, including Sri Lanka ("The Magnificent Cat"), East Africa ("Why Cats Live with Women"), Italy ("The House of Cats"), and Tibet ("The Holy Cat").