New Releases by Margaret Read MacDonald

An old woman complains about all the housework she has to do, but when some fairies come to help her she finds that they are more trouble than they are worth.

What could be more timely than a book about kindness in today''s divided and often hostile world? Kindness Tales is the long-awaited third book in a trilogy that includes Peace Tales and Earth Care from award-winning author and highly-respected folklorist, Margaret Read MacDonald. Margaret has curated a collection of her favorite stories that celebrate the timeless power of kindness to make the world a gentler, safer, and even more loving place. Kindness Tales contains more than forty folktales that illustrate the transformative power of kindness through leading, sharing and caring for one another through simple acts of kindness. These stories share a common theme of using thoughtful and sometimes generous acts of kindness to make the world better. These timeless tales from the world''s great oral traditions are a delight to tell, read aloud with a group, or simply enjoy as a quiet reading experience. This book can also be used as a personal touchstone for thinking about and reflecting more deeply on the consequences of quiet acts of kindness. Stories from around the world are supplemented by generous reference notes, source information, and suggestions for further reading on the topic of kindness. These stories also teach the important role that fairness and personal responsibility contribute to our world. Due to Margaret''s careful curation, these stories can be shared with groups of all ages. Some of these tales easily engage preschool and primary school-aged children, while other stories are more thought-provoking and more engaging for teenagers and adults. Margaret Read MacDonald is well known for her lively retellings of folktales. Drawing on her extensive background in folklore (Ph.D. Indiana University Folklore Institute) and her many travels throughout the world, MacDonald searches out unusual tales from the world''s folk literature and oral traditions. She has a gift for retelling these stories so they appeal to children and adults alike. Margaret is a prolific writer and performer, having published over 55 books.

Tough Tug, a new boat, is excited to show the others what he can do, but on his first tow job to Alaska, he learns an important lesson.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Have you ever heard the saying, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach”? Well, Cat''s stomach is bigger than a lot of things. He is always hungry, and living with culinary-inclined Mouse, who makes thirty-five pies in one day, just makes it worse. Fat Cat swallows everything in sight, including the washlady and her washtub, a troop of soldiers and their swords, even a king and his elephant! But when Cat swallows Mouse and her sewing basket, that''s the last straw. Tiny Mouse cuts to the heart of the situation, taking an upside-down world and turning it right-side-up again. Greedy Cat learns his lesson and turns “fat” into “fancy,” “fabulous,” and “fantastic.” Margaret Read MacDonald''s infectious energy combines with Julie Paschkis''s folk-inspired gouache paintings to create a new retelling of a favorite comic cumulative tale.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Gecko may be small, but he has a giant-sized problem. Every night he is awakened by the fireflies outside his window. And when Gecko doesn''t get his rest, he gets a little grumpy. So he goes to Elephant, the head of the village, to complain. His request that the fireflies stop working at night sets off a comical chain of problems for everyone in the village and complicates everyone’s life. Through this cumulative tale from the Balinese tradition, Gecko learns that his well-being depends on that of the entire village and he finally goes to sleep, a little wiser.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: When a rich man is rescued from thieves by a smelly, slobbery dog, the man offers the dog any treasure is his house as a reward. The treasure that the dog chooses is the rich man’s daughter. With great sadness, the daughter honors her father’s promise and goes to live with the dog. Over time, a friendship grows between the girl and the dog, but she still misses her father. In this tale from Great Britain, award winning author, Margaret Read MacDonald puts a new spin on the classic story, “Beauty and the Beast”, reminding us all that appearances can be deceiving and that compassion can be powerful.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: In this action packed folktale from Panama, a clever little rabbit and his Tía Mónica find ways to outwit a fox, a tiger, and a lion, all of whom want to eat him for lunch.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: A clever, singing rabbit eats his way through the pea patch until Little Girl snatches him up and he is soon singing a new tune as he plans his escape. With a nod to Brer Rabbit, Pickin Peas is adapted from two folktales collected in Alabama and Virginia. The lively storytelling voice of award-winning author Margaret Read MacDonald, combined with Pat Cummings'' bright, bold contemporary illustrations, makes this timeless battle-of-wits an instant classic.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Sandpiper finds her daily stroll on the beach interrupted by Whale, who boasts that he is ruler of the sea. Sandpiper responds with equal bravado, asserting her rights to the sand and seawater. Soon the rivals are calling in their cousins, and the beach and sea are filled with shorebirds and sea mammals of every stripe. The standoff grows ominous as Whale leads his cousins in an assault on the beach, eating the sand from under the birds. Sandpiper retaliates by ordering her cousins to drink up the ocean. Soon the landscape is filled with fish, crabs, and sea creatures gasping for survival. How will this end? The outcome of this timely yet timeless nature tale suggests that we are all connected in the ecological chain.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: In this timeless tale from Thailand, A girl cannot decide which of her many silken dresses and lavish jewels to wear to the dance, so she wears them all. Her foolish decision, teaches her a valuable lesson.

n eye-popping circle story teaches sequencing and size relationships.There was a big big frog!And a little little mosquito ...So begins a buoyant visual tale in which one animal after another is bested by a larger one¿until the smallest of all proves that strength comes in many forms. Inspired by a dynamic cast of characters featuring mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects, kids will chant along with the refrain and delight in the circle of life.MacDonald and Fierst capture the spirited rhythms of playground boasts in infectiously simple text. Kitty Harvill¿s bold, primary acrylic and cut-paper illustrations reflect the dynamics of the story chain with humor and a surprise ending.

This unique and diverse selection of traditional folktales from the countries of the Arabian Peninsula appeals to a broad audience, ranging from storytellers and educators to folklorists and scholars. A unique compilation of stories, Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula includes tales from seven countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Coauthored by a renowned folklorist and a professor of education who recalls some of these poignant tales from her own childhood, the book opens with a discussion of the Arabian Peninsula that introduces each country and discusses its terrain, peoples, and current situation to provide important background information. The engaging stories that follow will serve elementary, junior high, and high school librarians as well as public librarians, professional storytellers, and folklorists. The tales themselves—many of which have never been published in English language children''s collections—are appropriate for readers grades five and up.

In this retelling of a Shona folktale from Zimbabwe, a girl promises a crocodile he can come to a party in exchange for a favor, but since crocodiles aren''t allowed in the village, she doesn''t expect she''ll have to keep the promise. When you promise Croc a party, you better keep that promise and give him a party! Zuva knows you should never invite a crocodile to town—everyone knows that! But what if the crocodile does you a favor? And what if you promise to return the favor by inviting him to the village party? And what if this croc actually comes knocking on your front door? Because this crocodile is a PARTY CROC! This hilarious retelling of a Shona folktale from Zimbabwe is both a cautionary tale about keeping promises and a raucously fun read-aloud for party animals of any age.

Margaret Read MacDonald and Richard Scholtz sing and tell lively folktales from around the world.

Presents a collection of stories and songs adapted from folktales around the world.

The Boy from the Dragon Palace is an AV2 media enhanced book. A unique book code printed on page 2 unlocks a vibrant and engaging audio reading of the text. This reading, enriched by character voices and sound effects, guides beginning readers through the story, either in print or through a fully digital presentation of the book. This enchanting story begins when a poor flower sellers drops his leftover flowers into the sea as a gift for the Dragon King. What does he get in return? A little snot-nosed boy--with the power to grant wishes! Soon the flower seller is rich, but when he forgets the.

2010 Best English Language Children''s Book, Sharjah International Book Fair Jouha gets confused counting his donkeys while leading them to market. Jouha is loading his donkeys with dates to sell at the market. How many donkeys are there? His son helps him count ten, but once the journey starts, things change. First there are ten donkeys, then there are nine! When Jouha stops to count again, the lost donkey is back. What''s going on? Silly Jouha doesn''t get it, but by the end of the story, wise readers will be counting correctly−and in Arabic!

The Animals and Birds are getting ready for the big game. Bat wants to WIN. The Animals look strong and fast, so Bat picks that side. But when the Animals fall behind, Bat switches to the Bird team—doesn''t a bat have wings? Maybe the Birds will win!

Working with or without a native speaker, a storyteller can touch the minds and hearts of all listeners—even those with little or no English language skills. Here a group of expert storytellers share a variety of tips and techniques that help bridge the language gap; along with sample stories that librarians, teachers, and professional storytellers can easily incorporate into their repertoires. Four basic techniques for bilingual telling are explored: summarizing, line-by-line translation, tandem telling, and inserted phrases. In addition, contributors discuss such topics as the translator''s role, using story in language instruction, presenting tellers of other languages, traveling and giving workshops abroad, and more.

A companion to Three Minute Tales compiles another delightful collection of entertaining stories from around the world to read or tell on any occasion. Simultaneous.

A Thai tale. During a fire, some bees fly into the elephants'' noses and direct the elephants to safety. The beeds decide not to leave, however, and as the elephants try to blow the bees out, their noses grow longer and longer. That''s why elephants have

This handy paperback presents 80 songs designed to be sung as rounds. Each one appears on an uncluttered page or two, illustrated by a simple ink drawing. A fine resource for school music teachers, choir directors, camp leaders, and children who sing for the love of it.

A collection of skits written by young people with instructions for performance. The skits are arranged under such categories as "Cumulative Actions," "Silly Singers," "Skits With Trick Endings," "Skits From Jokes," "Musical Ensembles," and others.

Examining storytelling through the distinct voices of ten traditional tellers, this text offers a look at their lives and art as they discuss their reasons for telling, their uses of the stories, and the influence of their cultural heritage.

In this folktale from Panama, a little rabbit and his Tia Monica outwit a fox, a tiger, and a lion, all of whom want to eat him for lunch.

Teeny Weeny Bop has found a gold coin. Her luck is made; she''ll buy a pet pig! But while she sleeps, the pig destroys the garden! Teeny needs a better pet--she''s going to trade her pig for a cat. The cat destroys the living room!

Tales of ghosts inhabiting the Pacific Northwest include stories of haunted houses, departed loved ones, and disturbed Native American burial sites

In this British variant of a traditional tale, an ungrateful woman who complains constantly about her house is granted increasingly grandiose wishes by a fairy.