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Showing 1 - 12 of 12 items
By Sheryl James. 2013
Over the course of its history, the state of Michigan has produced its share of folktales and lore. Many are…
familiar with the Ojibwa legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes, and most have heard a yarn or two told of Michigan's herculean lumberjack, Paul Bunyan. But what about Detroit's Nain Rouge, the red-eyed imp they say bedeviled the city's earliest residents? Or Le Griffon, the Great Lakes' original ghost ship that some believe haunts the waters to this day? Or the Bloodstoppers, Upper Peninsula folk who've been known to halt a wound's bleeding with a simple touch thanks to their magic healing powers? In Michigan Legends, Sheryl James collects these and more stories of the legendary people, events, and places from Michigan's real and imaginary past. Set in a range of historical time periods and locales as well as featuring a collage of ethnic traditions--including Native American, French, English, African American, and Finnish--these tales are a vivid sample of the state's rich cultural heritage. This book will appeal to all Michiganders and anyone else interested in good folktales, myths, legends, or lore.By Walter Fulcher. 1940
The folklore of Texas' Big Bend region was still in the making during Walter Fulcher's lifetime. Born in Lampasas County…
in 1887, he worked on the Martin Ranch near Sheffield when a young man. There he witnessed events in the last outlaw activities of the Black Jack Ketchum gang. He also listened to legends told almost as gossip, and some of the legendary figures were still alive—or said to be alive, usually in hiding. In every village there was sure to be some ancient with a good memory and a better imagination, and Walter Fulcher heard many versions of many tales. He has set them down as he heard them, as simple folk tales that reflect the color of a wild and vivid country in 400 years of its settlement.By Frances Carpenter. 1973
This multicultural children's book presents classic Korean fairy tales and other folk stories--providing a delightful look into a rich literary…
culture.The Korean people possess a folklore tradition as colorful and captivating as any in the world, but the stories themselves still are not as well-known to Western readers as those from The Brothers Grimm, Mother Goose, or Hans Christian Andersen.In her best-selling book for young readers, Frances Carpenter collects thirty-two classic Korean children's stories from the "Land of the Morning Calm": the woodcutter and the old men of the mountain; the puppy who saved his village from a tiger; the singing girl who danced the Japanese General into the deep river; Why the Dog and Cat are Not friends; and even a more familiar tale of the clever rabbit who outsmarted the tortoise. The children of the Kim family sit at their beloved Grandmother's knee to listen to these and other traditional folk tales which are rooted in thousands of years of Korean culture.By Daniel W. Patterson. 2000
On a wintry night in 1831, a man named Charlie Silver was murdered with an axe and his body burned…
in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. His young wife, Frankie Silver, was tried and hanged for the crime. In later years people claimed that a tree growing near the ruins of the old cabin was cursed--that anyone who climbed into it would be unable to get out. Daniel Patterson uses this "accurst" tree as a metaphor for the grip the story of the murder has had on the imaginations of the local community, the wider world, and the noted Appalachian traditional singer and storyteller Bobby McMillon.For nearly 170 years, the memory of Frankie Silver has been kept alive by a ballad and local legends and by the news accounts, fiction, plays, and other works they inspired. Weaving Bobby McMillon's personal story--how and why he became a taleteller and what this story means to him--into an investigation of the Silver murder, Patterson explores the genesis and uses of folklore and the interplay between folklore, social and personal history, law, and narrative as people and communities try to understand human character and fate.Bobby McMillon is a furniture and hospital worker in Lenoir, North Carolina, with deep roots in Appalachia and a lifelong passion for learning and performing traditional songs and tales. He has received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the state's Arts Council and also the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Folklore Award.By Sherri Cook Woosley. 2018
For fans of American Gods, a dark, humorous, and richly written, dystopian fantasy about the unbreakable bonds of family and…
the undying strength of a mother's love.The end of the world begins as fire rains down from the heavens. Ancient gods are released from their prison, eager to reestablish their long-lost power. But Rachel Deneuve has bigger, more contemporary concerns than a divine war.Her son Adam is in the middle of a fight against leukemia, and Rachel is determined to keep focused on that battle. But when humans begin picking sides and the fighting escalates, their home in Baltimore becomes a war zone, one she can’t ignore.Desperate to stay away from the carnage—as well as the germ-ridden refugee center—Rachel and Adam flee to their remote mountain cottage, only to find their refuge marred by mutated, grotesque plants and animals. Eventually, the cancerous cells in Adam's body begin evolving as well, threatening his life and forcing Rachel to venture back into the eye of the storm. Left with no other choice but to sacrifice her own freedom for her son's safety, she must become an unwilling warrior in a battle unlike anything seen in millennia, or lose everything she holds dear.By Deirdre Paulsen. 1985
By Tiffany McDaniel. 2020
'Breahtaking'Vogue'So engrossing! Betty is a page-turning Appalachian coming-of-age story steeped in Cherokee history, told in undulating prose that settles right…
into you'Naoise Dolan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Exciting Times 'I felt consumed by this book. I loved it, you will love it' Daisy Johnson, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Everthing Under'I loved Betty: I fell for its strong characters and was moved by the story it portrayed' Fiona Mozley, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Elmet 'A girl comes of age against the knife.' So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio.Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words. 'Not a story you will soon forget' Karen Joy Fowler, Booker Prize shortlisted author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'Shot through with moonshine, Bible verses, and folklore, Betty is about the cruelty we inflict on one another, the beauty we still manage to find, and the stories we tell in order to survive' Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow ChildBy Jess Butterworth. 2020
An epic race for survival that follows four children and their dog through treacherous waterways, dense forests and the deep,…
dark wilderness of Wales. From author Jess Butterworth comes a beautifully written adventure story in a vibrantly described setting - perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell.One day, as Cara and her siblings are trying to clean up the canal where they live, they pull out a mysterious locked safe. Though none of them can open it, they're sure it's something special.That night, a thief comes after the safe. The children flee, traveling with their boat as far as they can, before continuing into the forest on foot. But soon they're lost in the mountains with a snowstorm about to land and food supplies running low. Will Cara and her siblings be able to survive the wilderness with nothing but their wits, their bravery and one very large dog to help?By Michael E. Bell. 2001
For nineteenth-century New Englanders, "vampires" lurked behind tuberculosis. To try to rid their houses and communities from the scourge of…
the wasting disease, families sometimes relied on folk practices, including exhuming and consuming the bodies of the deceased. Author and folklorist Michael E. Bell spent twenty years pursuing stories of the vampire in New England. While writers like H. P. Lovecraft, Henry David Thoreau, and Amy Lowell drew on portions of these stories in their writings, Bell brings the actual practices to light for the first time. He shows that the belief in vampires was widespread, and, for some families, lasted well into the twentieth century. With humor, insight, and sympathy, he uncovers story upon story of dying men, women, and children who believed they were food for the dead. This Wesleyan paperback edition includes an extensive preface by the author unveiling some of the new cases he's learned about since Food for the Dead was first published in 2001.By Camilla Townsend, Nicky Kay Michael. 2023
The Lenape tribe, also known as the Delaware Nation, lived for centuries on the land that English colonists later called…
New Jersey. But once America gained its independence, they were forced to move further west: to Indiana, then Missouri, and finally to the territory that became Oklahoma. These reluctant migrants were not able to carry much from their ancestral homeland, but they managed to preserve the stories that had been passed down for generations. On the Turtle’s Back is the first collection of Lenape folklore, originally compiled by anthropologist M. R. Harrington over a century ago but never published until now. In it, the Delaware share their cherished tales about the world’s creation, epic heroes, and ordinary human foibles. It features stories told to Harrington by two Lenape couples, Julius and Minnie Fouts and Charles and Susan Elkhair, who sought to officially record their legends before their language and cultural traditions died out. More recent interviews with Lenape elders are also included, as their reflections on hearing these stories as children speak to the status of the tribe and its culture today. Together, they welcome you into their rich and wondrous imaginative world.By Jonathan Kruk. 2011
A storyteller examines Irving&’s &“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow&” and the lore that inspired it, as well as other local…
legends of the Hudson Valley. The story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman is one of America's best-known fables, but what other stories does the Hudson Valley hold? Imps cause mischief on the Hudson River, a white lady haunts Raven Rock, Major Andre&’s ghost seeks redemption and real headless Hessians search for their severed skulls. These mysterious and spooky tales from the region&’s past inspired Irving and continue to captivate the imagination to this day. &“Kruk has been enchanting audiences with his dramatic, enticing storytelling ability for 20 years.&” —Suzanne Rothberg, Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow PatchBy Annie Kirby. 2022
THE ISLANDERS SAY IT'S CURSED. BUT THAT'S ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE STORY . . .'A bold, magical story' JO…
BROWNING WROE, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Terrible Kindness'A majestic work of the imagination . . . I woke up thinking about it' ROSIE ANDREWS, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Leviathan'An atmospheric tale, shot through with folklore. The writing shimmers' KATE SAWYER, Costa shortlisted author of The Stranding_______They say the Hollow Sea is cursed. A wild expanse separating the remote islands of St Hía, not even the locals brave its treacherous waters.But new arrival Scottie feels a pull she can't ignore. Because behind the curse is the legend of Thordis: a woman whose story feels eerily familiar. No one knows what became of her, but Scottie believes Thordis's fate may answer questions about her own past.Despite the islanders' warnings, Scottie sets out to discover the truth. But as she dares to cross the Hollow Sea, will its secrets give her the answers she needs?Or will the past drag her under?_______'A heart-rending atmospheric novel of finding what makes one whole' Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring'Mesmerising' Good Housekeeping'A poetic tale' Prima