First published in 1918, Canadian Wonder Tales is a collection of Canadian folk fables compiled from oral history; these universal stories are about understanding one's place in and how to make sense of the elemental world. Mostly animal stories, with "all the usual features of magic and transformation and interchange of more or less kindly offices between man and beast," Canadian Wonder Tales is a spellbinding record of Canada's unique mythologies. "[You' ll] learn in this book the answers to such conundrums as the following--why Aspen leaves tremble, what Woodpecker and Bluejay were before they were changed into birds, why the Moon usually travels alone in the forest." (from the 1917 introduction)

Canadian Wonder Tales by Cyrus MacMillan. The author's has taken down from the lips of living people, pretty much as they were given to him, a series of stories which obviously contain many elements that have been handed down by oral tradition from some far-off past. They are mostly animal stories, with all the usual features of magic and transformation, articulate speech on the part of the animals, and interchange of more or less kindly offices between man and beast. The result is a collection of fables which-especially as illustrated by an eminent artist-will provide a book for children, and will give their elders also some food for reflection. Not that there is, so far as I have been able to discover, any moral about some at least of the tales. They are not "stories with a purpose." But they suggest to the adult reader the essential identity of many of the methods by which in a more or less remote antiquity the human race expressed itself in various parts of the world.

Scholars of cultural studies, fairy-tale studies, folklore, and television studies will enjoy this first-of-its-kind volume.

Here are five first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story along with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun. The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story: Little Red Riding Hood in It's Not About the Hunter!, Beauty and the Beast in It's Not About the Rose!, Snow White in It's Not About the Apple!, Cinderella in It's Not About the Pumpkin!, and Hansel and Gretel in It's Not About the Crumbs! As one friend starts, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins. Easy-To-Read Wonder Tales is a great first step in developing a lifelong love of reading, and it makes a fine companion to Veronika Martenova Charles's series, Easy-To-Read Spooky Tales.