All the World’s Reward presents ninety-eight tales from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Swedish-speaking Finland, and Iceland. Each area is represented by the complete recorded repertoire of a single storyteller. Such a focus helps place the stories in the context of the communities in which they were performed and also reveals how individual folk artists used the medium of oral literature to make statements about their lives and their world. Some preferred jocular stories and others wonder tales; some performed mostly for adults, others for children; some used storytelling to criticize society, and others spun wish fulfillment tales to find relief from a harsh reality. For the most part collected a century ago, the stories were gleaned from archives and printed sources; the Icelandic repertoire was collected on audiotape in the 1960s. Each repertoire was selected by a noted folklorist. Introductions to the storytellers and collectors and commentaries and references for the tales are provided. A general introduction, a comprehensive bibliography, and an index of the tales according to Aarne-Thompson’s typology are also included. Period illustrations add charm to the stories.

Here is a treasury of favorite and little known tales from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Oceania, gracefully retold and accompanied by fascinating, detailed information of their historic and cultural backgrounds. The introduction provides an informative overview of folklore, its purpose in world cultures and in contemporary society and popular culture. Following this, the main sections of the book are arranged by tale type, covering wonder tales, hero tales, tales of kindness repaid and hope and redemption, and finally tales of fools and wise people. Each section begins by comparing the tales cross-culturally, explaining similarities and differences in the folkloric narratives. Tales from diverse cultures are then presented, introduced, and retold in a highly readable fashion.

Mahabharata, maiden, Mali storytelling, marriage, masks and masquerade, Mayan storytelling, Mende storytelling, Mexican storytelling, Midrashim, Minotaur, miraculous birth, Monkey King, Moon, morality tale, Moses, motifs, Muhammad, myth, native North American storytelling, Navajo storytelling, Nigerian storytelling, Norse storytelling, number symbolism (zero, one, two three, four, seven, ten, twelve, forty) numbers, nursery rhymes, Odysseus, Oedipus, Oglala Sioux storytelling, origin stories, Penobscot storytelling, Persephone, Persian storytelling, Phoenix, plays, plot, poems, Polynesian storytelling, psychoanalysis, psychology, quest Brer Rabbit, rainbow serpent, raven, rebirth, Red Riding Hood, Rhiannon, riddles, romance, Scandinavian storytelling, serpent, William Shakespeare, Sioux storytelling, Song of Roland, Spanish storytelling, spell, wicked stepmother, Swedish storytelling, symbolism, tall tales, Thai storytelling, Thousand One Nights, Tibetan storytelling, tortoise, trees, trickster, trolls, troubadour, Troy, Uncle Remus, Valhalla, Valmiki, vampire, verse story, Virgin Mary, virginity, water Welsh storytelling, witch, women, Yahweh, Yiddish storytelling, Yoruba storytelling, Zeus, etc.

The first edition provides descriptions of folktales and references to more than 700 published sources of folktales. The new edition covers folktales from 1983-1999. Both editions include thorough indexing by subject, motif, title, ethnic group and country of origin and a comprehensive bibliography.

Marrakech is the heart and lifeblood of Morocco's ancient storytelling tradition. For nearly a thousand years, storytellers have gathered in the Jemaa el Fna, the legendary square of the city, to recount ancient folktales and fables to rapt audiences. But this unique chain of oral tradition that has passed seamlessly from generation to generation is teetering on the brink of extinction. The competing distractions of television, movies and the internet have drawn the crowds away from the storytellers and few have the desire to learn the stories and continue their legacy. Richard Hamilton has witnessed at first hand the death throes of this rich and captivating tradition and, in the labyrinth of the Marrakech medina, has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers, recording stories that are replete with the mysteries and beauty of the Maghreb.

Presents 260 of the rural South's best stories collected over a twenty year period, with their roots in Anglo-Saxon, African-American, and Native American traditions

Stories from cultures including ancient Babylonia, China, India, Eastern Europe, Morocco.

From Africa, Burma, and Czechoslovakia to Turkey, Vietnam, and Wales here are more than 150 of the world's best-loved folktales from more than forty countries and cultures. These tales of wonder and transformation, of heroes and heroines, of love lost and won, of ogres and trolls, stories both jocular and cautionary and legends of pure enchantment will delight readers and storytellers of all ages. With black-and-white drawings throughout Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

A collection of traditional stories from around the world, reflecting the cumulative wisdom of Sufi, Zen, Taoist, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, African, and Native American cultures.

The blue-skinned old woman who made the mountains. Finfolk, seal-people and the Makers of Dreams. Within these pages are the little-known stories of Scotland, collected and retold by an oral storyteller who performs them throughout the world. From folk-tales and local legends to ancient epics, these stories will astonish and delight readers everywhere. Daniel Allison is an acclaimed oral storyteller who performs everywhere from schools and prisons to global festivals. He hosts the House of Legends Podcast and is the author of The Bone Flute, Silverborn, Scottish Myths & Legends and Finn & The Fianna. 'A masterpiece... Celtic myths and legends at their fantastic best. Mythical, flirty, thumpingly violent and divinely nasty!' Jess Smith reviewing Finn & The Fianna 'A tremendous read... no end of dramas, surprises and reversals of fortune... wonderful stuff' Fay Sampson reviewing The Bone Flute 'The best mythology podcast I've heard' House of Legends listener review