The Golden Bird: Folk Tales from Slovenia (1969) by Vladimir Kavčič contains eighteen folktales from the heart of Slovenia/Yugoslavia. Those who are familiar with folk tales and fairy tales will recognize common themes that bear great resemblance to such stories as Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White & Rose Red (the original and now Disney's version of Snow White), Bluebeard, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Brave Little Tailor. There is also a short version of the Tom Thumb story. It is interesting to see that various themes appear across a broad spectrum of cultures--whether because certain experiences are common to all people or because the original oral stories were spread by traveling story tellers who left their stories with different cultures. As with all story collections, the folk tales vary in strength. The weakest is a story about a boy who misinterprets his mother's instructions all the time. It is just a series of examples of such behavior, but there doesn't seem to be any moral or conclusion--such as the stories where the youngest, weakest, least regarded brother/sister winds up winning out and marrying the princess/prince. The examples just end with nothing really happening. Overall, an interesting and engaging collection. ★★★
[Finished on 5/16/17]
Folk tales are always interesting and I love how they span cultures. There's just something about the human experience, no matter where one lives, I guess.
ReplyDeleteDid this have illustrations like the cover? It's very lovely!
Yes, it does have illustrations. There are similar to the cover, but in black and white only.
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