A Mango Tree and a Baby“Birbal the Wise” is a recurring figure in stories from Moghul India (16th Century). Birbal was an advisor to the emperor, Akbar, and was legendary…
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Courage Book Review – Three by Idries ShahAfghan scholar and author, Idries Shah, spent years interpreting the Sufi tradition for a Western audience. With many illustrated picture books to choose from, Lion’s…
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Meat of the TongueOkay, by now some readers may be ready to give up on me and my fairy tales and legends. “Too late,” they’ll say. “Didn’t do…
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Courage Book Review – 1,001 Versions of the Arabian NightsThe great, overstuffed toy box that is the 1,001 Arabian Nights has provided stories and inspiration for generations, with examples of each of the six…
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Courage Book Review – “I will stir up the waters of the old days and shape the long-ago then into now.”Today’s offering is a great retelling of Beowulf. This version is subtitled, A Hero’s Tale Retold, and was written and illustrated by James Rumford. What…
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Fenrir: Big, Bad WolfA few weeks ago I wrote about trickster tales, and the importance of reclaiming intellectual courage from the stigma of trickery. The tradition of the…
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What’s the Monster Under Your Bed?Lion’s Whiskers asks: What’s the monster under your bed? Our children are not the only ones who fear monsters lurking under the bed, in the…
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The Briar Patch“What are your favorite stories?” I ask my daughter. Without hesitation the answer always comes back, “Anansi stories.” Anansi the Spider is a trickster in…
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5-Minute Courage Workout: A Fate Worse than DeathCompiled and written by Lisa and Jennifer: Given that public speaking is well known to be #1 on most people’s list of dreaded activities, let’s…
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Relativity“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”…
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