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The Korean people, like the Chinese, 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 stories from the land of Korea: 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.
A Korean grandmother tells her grandchildren the traditional tales and legends of their country.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Cynthia Guerruccio
reviewed Tales of a Korean Grandmother on October 06, 2013
Tales of a Korean Grandmother
Traditional folk-tales wrapped in cultural family-tales
The book's promotional blurb is actually spot-on. Surprisingly, these traditional Korean tales actually can be favorably compared to European folk tales. The stories are comparable in content, length, detail and quality.
The stories in this collection add the welcome component of a family setting--a beloved, familiar and respected grandmother to put these stories in perspective. This "wrapping" of each folk tale within a family tale is successful and effective, and was my favorite aspect of the collection. The black and white drawings were nice as well; these included not only formal, titled illustrations, but also small decorative drawings introductory to each chapter.
Culturally, I found the prologue (disguised as Chapter One, wherein we meet grandma Halmoni, granddaughter Ok Cha, and the rest of the family) and the epilogue (catching up to Ok Cha now that she's a grandmother herself) very interesting, but hard to relate to. The complacency of the girls in their lower station in life may have been realistic (possibly), but was hard for me to swallow. This, along with a vague tendency toward upper-class haughtiness, really date the writing. But, perhaps these elements can be expected and forgiven, as our author is female and the original publication date is 1947. Sometimes, I think, female authors of prior generations had to kowtow to some extent in order to be deemed acceptable for publication.
I can't help but wonder how the last few pages would have sounded, had the author not been American. The closing sentiments seemed to border obsequiousness.
This is the type of book best read at a leisurely pace, no more than one story per day. Appropriate and enjoyable for read-aloud bed-time stories.
Note: This digital library book was auto-returned before I could finish it, but what I did read was inwardly-consistent, so that I feel confident I've got a good feel for the balance. When I saw I only had one day remaining, I skipped ahead and read the ending.
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