Celebrate The World: Twenty Tellable Folktales For Multicultural Festivals

Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Roxane Murphy Smith

This tale collection was drawn together to provide multi-cultural tales which could be used during programs celebrating various world holidays. Some of the stories refer to a holiday. In most cases though, these are simply enjoyable stories from the culture which can be shared in a festival atmosphere. I include possible activities to help celebrate. It is always best to discover a member of the culture whose holiday you wish to honor and get their advice when planning your event. Holidays included here are: Chinese New Year; Japanese Girl’s Day; Cinco de Mayo; Carnival; No Ruz; Easter; May Day; Chinese Dragon Boat Races; Japanese Boy’s Day; Norwegian Mid-Summer Night; Scottish Highland Games; Chinese Autumn Festival; West African Yam Festival; Diwali; Hmong New Year; Christmas; Kwanzaa; St. Sylvester’s Day, France.

Tales to accompany celebrations: “Little Rooster and the Heavenly Dragon” (China); “Benizara and Kakezara”(Japan); “Todo o Nada” (Texas); “Poule and Roach”(Louisiana); “Five Threads” (Iraq); “Pumpkin Child” (Iran); “Old Woman in a Pumpkin Shell” (Iran); “Escargot on his Way to Dijon” (France); “Forget-Me-Not” (European); “The Small Yellow Dragon” (China); “Snot Nose Boy”(Japan); “Nail Soup” (Norway); “Finger Lock” (Scotland); “Clever Daughter-in-Law” (China); “Stinky Spirits” (Igbo, Nigeria); “Sparrow’s Luck!”(India); “Yao Jour”(Hmong); “Silver Pine Cones” (England); “Papa God and the Pintards” (Haiti); “Going to Ceviéres” (France).

Editions
Type	Year	Publisher	Price	Length	ISBN
Hardcover	1994	H. W. Wilson Company	$60.00	225 pp	0-8242-0862-5

Additional Information and Resources

Quotes "sure-fire, can’t miss storytelling source which will take its place on reference shelves in libraries and classrooms everywhere"  ...Story Bag "thorough and wide-ranging work that will prove valuable to most collections, especially where storytelling is enjoyed"  ...Journal of Youth Services in Libraries Awards Storytelling World Honor 1995 Elementary School Library Collection, 22nd ed. Public Library Catalog, 11th ed. Children’s Book Council Showcase Children's Catalog 19th ed.				Categories and Connections Categories Folktale Collections Holidays