folk tales

With his red hoodie and his bicycle basket full of food

Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez

May 20, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

My job has many layers, but unlike an onion, only some stink. One layer that does not stink is finding new books. Today a customer needed a book for a student of theirs. Federico and the Wolf. I pictured some stuffy looking cover. An old Mexican folk tale. Rich with history but dry. Boy was I surprised! Rebecca J. Gomez and Elisa Chavarri created a clever take on the Little Red Riding Hood story told with a Mexican American twist. Rhyming and just bouncy text […]

Looking for a story about a man in love with a cannon?

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

April 30, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos 4 Comments

…because have I got the book for you! Men loving cannons, zombies puking up pajamas, purses that can hold whole villages, horror writers that moonlight as upholsterers- this collection houses all of those freaks and geeks- and then some. The novella that gives this collection its title – Magic for Beginners– was the best of the bunch. It was difficult to single out one piece, as they are all delightful mix of suburban longing and creepy crawlies, but this piece reminded me of two of my […]

Where did my reading time go?

The Book of Ballads and Sagas by Charles Vess

April 2, 2020 by TheShitWizard 5 Comments

I actually read this weeks ago, but working in healthcare during a pandemic has meant that all of the free time that others are desperately trying to fill during isolation has gone up in smoke for me and has also rid my brain of any remotely intelligible thoughts, but I’ll give it a whirl. The Book of Ballads and Sagas is a collaboration between Charles Vess and numerous other writers, such as Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith, Sharyn McCrumb, Jane Yolen and others. Each writer takes […]

The Glory of my Favorite Illustrator

May 30, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The end of March 2018 saw a reissue of a Tomie dePaola classic Big Anthony and the Magic Ring (now called Strega Nona’s Magic Ring). The beginning of March saw a reissue of The Clown of God (last night was the first time I could read without crying my eyes out). And early April saw a rare site: dePaola’s text and illustrations by Doug Salati with, In a Small Kingdom. It is a miracle I can tear myself away from reading them! (Yes, my friends, […]

A Gem of a Fable

October 30, 2014 by Fiat.Luxury Leave a Comment

Paama can cook. I mean, she can cook. She’s also married to Ansige, a man so gluttonous that he takes eight mules laden with food and two hunters (just in case) on a three-day journey, a man who can eat corn for 20 men and still feel dissatisfied. Ansige is, obviously, a clown–so Paama leaves him. Ansige searches for her and finds her…but embarrasses himself so thoroughly in the process that he leaves her alone afterwards. Now effectively a single woman, Paama attracts the attention […]

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