Paul Bunyan, Br'er Rabbit, Bluebeard, and Billy the Kid. These are just some of the many character alive today through folktales. A goldmine for students, storytellers, and general readers, this massive work gives easy access to the stories and legends that have captivated us for generations and continue to influence film, television, literature, and popular culture. The most ambitious undertaking of its kind, this collection conveniently groups American folktales by region and includes common and less familiar stories from a wide range of ethnic traditions. It also provides a generous sampling of electronic lore circulating on the Internet. Introductions, notes, appendices, and other helpful aids cover the fascinating background of these tales and bring them alive for students of history, literature, social studies, and the arts. Included are selections from various types of tales, such as legend, joke, tall tale, personal narrative, and myth, along with a generous sampling of electronic lore circulating on the Internet. Introductions, notes, appendices, and other aids link the tales to their origins and afterlives, so that students in social studies classes can learn about American history and culture, while literature students can learn about language, genres, and dialects.

Arranged by geographical regions, an anthology of American folktales offers legends, myths, folktalkes, jokes, and personal experiences.

From the Amazon to the Arctic, the world is teeming with diverse cultures. There's no better way for students to explore the world's cultural diversity than through its folktales. Presenting tales from the foundations of the world's traditions, literature, daily life, and popular culture, The Greenwood Library of World Folktales: Stories from the Great Collections gathers together a vast array of folktales and arranges them according to region or cultural group, thus allowing students to quickly and conveniently learn about the tales of particular cultures. Some of these stories have been told for centuries, while others have emerged only in recent times. The four-volume set includes introductory essays in addition to explanatory headnotes, and provides bibliographies on particular regions as well as a selected, general bibliography. The most comprehensive work of its kind, this set gives students and general readers a guided tour of the world's folktales. Each volume of the set is devoted to a particular broad geographic region: Volume 1: Africa, The Middle East, Australia and Oceania Volume 2: Asia Volume 3: Europe Volume 4: North and South America Accessible, informative, and entertaining, this book will help literature students learn how to analyze texts and understand the traditions at the heart of many of the world's literary masterpieces. It will also help social studies students learn about the world's cultures and respect ethnic diversity.

Latino Americans have a powerful voice in society and a wealth of cultural traditions. Fundamental to those traditions are numerous folktales. Some are funny, some draw upon the supernatural, some look back on ancestral ways, and some capture the experience of Latinos in the United States. Written expressly for students and general readers, this book assembles and comments on a wide range of Latino American folktales. These are grouped in topical sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural. Each tale is introduced by a headnote, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources suitable for student research. Students of literature and language will value this book for its exploration of Latino American folktales, while students of history and society will welcome its illumination of the Latino American experience. The more than 30 tales are grouped in thematic sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural.

African American culture has a rich tradition of folktales. Written for students and general readers, this volume gathers a sampling of the most important African American folktales. Included are nearly 50 tales grouped in thematic chapters on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural. Each tale begins with an introductory headnote, and the book closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students learning about literature and language will gain a greater understanding of African American oral traditions, while social studies students will learn more about African American culture. African American culture has long been recognized for its richness and breadth. Central to that tradition is a large body of folklore, which continues to figure prominently in literature, film, and popular culture. Written for students and general readers, this book conveniently gathers and comments on nearly 50 African American folktales. Included are fictional tales, legends, myths, and personal experience narratives. These exemplify the vast diversity of African American culture and language. The tales are grouped in thematic sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural. Each tale is introduced by a brief headnote, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students learning about literature and language will gain a greater understanding of African American oral traditions, while students of history will learn more about African American culture.

Drawing upon the traditions of their native lands, Asian Americans have developed an extensive cultural tradition. At the heart of that tradition are some of the world's most colorful folktales. These reflect the traditional beliefs of the East, as they have been passed down among generations of Asian Americans. But they also reflect the struggles, successes, and experiences of Asian immigrants in the New World. Written expressly for students and general readers, this book is a fascinating introduction to Asian American folktales.This book gathers together a selection of more than 30 Asian American folktales and groups them in thematic sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural. These tales reflect the traditional beliefs of the East as well as the new experiences of Asians in America. Each tale is accompanied by a headnote, and the book closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students studying literature and language will learn much about these tales, while students in social studies and history courses will gain greater insight into the experiences and traditional beliefs of Asian Americans. The volume includes a healthy sampling of tales grouped in topical sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural.

The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies surveys the materials, approaches, concepts, and applications of the field to provide a sweeping guide to American folklore and folklife, culture, history, and society. Forty-three comprehensive and diverse chapters delve into significant themes and methods of folklore and folklife study; established expressions and activities; spheres and locations of folkloric action; and shared cultures and common identities. Beyond the longstanding arenas of academic focus developed throughout the 350-year legacy of folklore and folklife study, contributors at the forefront of the field also explore exciting new areas of attention that have emerged in the twenty-first century such as the Internet, bodylore, folklore of organizations and networks, sexual orientation, neurodiverse identities, and disability groups. Encompassing a wide range of cultural traditions in the United States, from bits of slang in private conversations to massive public demonstrations, ancient beliefs to contemporary viral memes, and a simple handshake greeting to group festivals, these chapters consider the meanings in oral, social, and material genres of dance, ritual, drama, play, speech, song, and story while drawing attention to tradition-centered communities such as the Amish and Hasidim, occupational groups and their workaday worlds, and children and other age groups. Weaving together such varied and manifest traditions, this handbook pays significant attention to the cultural diversity and changing national boundaries that have always been distinctive in the American experience, reflecting on the relative youth of the nation; global connections of customs brought by immigrants; mobility of residents and their relation to an indigenous, urbanized, and racialized population; and a varied landscape and settlement pattern. Edited by leading folklore scholar Simon J. Bronner, this handbook celebrates the extraordinary richness of the American social and cultural fabric, offering a valuable resource not only for scholars and students of American studies, but also for the global study of tradition, folk arts, and cultural practice.

Engage young readers in stories they love while teaching important content with this fun book that features more than 40 folktales from around the world celebrating the animal-human bond. Written by two leaders in the field of storytelling, this compilation of folktales—all retold for elementary readers—emphasizes the admirable qualities of animal-human relationships. Stories source from folktale collections, oral histories, and science and sociology books from around the world and include learning opportunities for taking a stand against bullies, understanding wild and domestic animal habitats, and appreciating nature. Additionally, you'll be able to introduce readers to new cultures, providing a springboard for learning about other people and their ways of life. Each story is accompanied by information that identifies the country or culture of origin, sources, and interesting background facts. Exercises, questions, and suggestions promote further study and help engage readers in what they have learned. The organization of sections of stories on creatures of land, sky, sea, and water; imaginary animals; and crews of animals working together makes it easy to find what suits your audience best.

Witchcraft and magic in America is an inherently multicultural experience and the folklore of our ancestors from every country converges here at a crossroads. It’s a complicated history; one of uncertainty and fear, displacement and enslavement, merging and migration. Our ancestors may not have agreed on how they saw the world or the magic that inhabits the world, but they shared a very real fear of Witches. Hags, Devils, charms and spells; witchery is rooted in our deepest superstitions and folklore. The traditions of people and their cultures stretch and intersect across the country and this is where the unique traditions of American witchcraft and magic are born. As practitioners seek to revive and reconstruct the paths of our ancestors, we’ve begun to trace the interconnected roots of witchcraft folklore as it emerged in the Americas, from the blending of people and their faiths. For multiracial practitioners, this is part of our identity as Americans and as witches of this country. Folkloric American Witchcraft and the Multicultural Experience is an exploration of the folklore, magic and witchcraft that was forged in the New World.

Folklore: The Basics is an engaging guide to the practice and interpretation of folklore. Taking examples from around the world, it explores the role of folklore in expressing fundamental human needs, desires, and anxieties that often are often not revealed through other means. Providing a clear framework for approaching the study of folklore, it introduces the reader to methodologies for identifying, documenting, interpreting and applying key information about folklore and its relevance to modern life. From the Brothers Grimm to Internet Memes, it addresses such topics as: What is folklore? How do we study it? Why does folklore matter? How does folklore relate to elite culture? Is folklore changing in a digital age? With case studies, suggestions for reading and a glossary of key terminology, Folklore: The Basics supports readers in becoming familiar with folkloric traditions and interpret cultural expression. It is an essential read for anyone approaching the study of folklore for the first time.