Tales of a Korean Grandmother

Book excerpt: 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.