Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Gr. 5-7, younger for reading aloud. Related in a confiding "back in days gone by" tone, these are fireside tales full of devils, beautiful princesses, clever peasants, and wicked relatives; high adventure, daring deeds, and lessons learned. As the noted Polish translator and author Kuniczak states in his introduction, he has written these tales "from memory with no attempt to make them literary because I know that when they are tampered with they lose all their magic." Unfortunately, the retellings would have been better with some slight polishing and considered editing. The rhythmic flow of the stories is often impeded by awkward sentence construction, and the logic of the stories is, on occasion, faulty. However, the power of these folktales is such that the collection rises above these faults and retains the wonderment that must have first sparked Kuniczak's imagination as a child. A nicely varied collection of traditional and ethnically exotic tales that will be a useful resource for storytellers. Modestly illustrated with eight full-page pen-and-ink drawings. For larger folktale collections or collections with a special interest in Polish materials. ~--Annie Ayres

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A hearty collection of Polish and Ruthenian tales recalled from Kuniczak's youth, featuring plucky peasant lads, imprisoned princesses, cruel squires, ghosts, hidden treasures, sorcerers, and plenty of demons. Jauntily told, the stories combine quick action and familiar motifs (magic shoes, tasks, journeys) with clever twists (a ``Changeling'' helps a needy family by capturing Gnawing Poverty and knocking out its teeth). Kuniczak mentions ``the marvelous geography of the fantastic,'' but there's little sense of a particular culture here, and most places and people are unnamed. Sex roles are drearily traditional (all the independent women are old witches) and, despite many happily-ever-afters, the last story--a malicious gossip teaches a devil how to ruin a marriage--ends the collection on a sour note. Still, lively and readable. Illustrated with a few mannered pen drawings. (Folklore. 11-13)