Selected and annotated by Debbie Myers
Bodkin, Odds, ad. The Crane Wife; illus. by Gennady Spirin. Gulliver/Harcourt, 1998.
The Japanese sail-maker, Osamu, had his wish for a wife granted when Yukiko arrived at his door seeking shelter from a storm. They fell in love, but Yukiko left when Osamu broke a promise and therefore discovered that she was secretly the injured crane that he had previously nursed back to health.
Downard, Barry, ad. The Little Red Hen; ad. and illus. by Barry Downard. Simon, 2004.
The Little Red Hen went through all the work of baking bread with no help from her lazy friends, and as a result she gets to eat while they go hungry.
Lexau, Joan M., ad. Crocodile and Hen: A Bakongo Folktale; illus. by Doug Cushman. HarperCollins, 2001.
When Crocodile goes to eat Hen, she responds fearlessly, "My Brother, don't eat me." Crocodile is so taken aback by this answer that he is unable to eat her, and goes off to discover how they can really be related.
Ehlert, Lois, ad. Cuckoo: A Mexican Folktale/ Cucú: Un cuento folklórico mexicano; ad. and illus. by Lois Ehlert; tr. into Spanish by Gloria de Aragón Andújar. Harcourt, 1997.
The other birds were beginning to get tired of Cuckoo's laziness and high opinion of herself, but when a field fire threatens to destroy all of their harvest, she comes to the rescue and saves all of their food.
Aardema, Verna, ad. The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks: A Masai Tale; illus. by Yumi Heo. Knopf, 1996.
When a lonely lioness steals four ostrich chicks to be her own children, their real mother seeks the help of many savannah animals for help with getting them back.
Mollel, Tololwa M. Song Bird; illus. by Rosanne Litzinger. Clarion, 1999.
After all of her village's cattle are stolen, Mariamu discovers a small bird with magical songs. The villagers capture the bird to keep her for themselves, but Mariamu compassionately frees her and in exchange, the bird helps retrieve the cattle.
Oberman, Sheldon, ad. The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba; illus. by Neil Waldman. Boyds Mills, 2000.
The wisest woman in the world, the Queen of Sheba, traveled miles to meet King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, so that she can learn something she did not know. Ultimately, a small hoopoe bird teaches them both that it is better to break a promise, than to do something wrong.
Rascol, Sabina I., ad. The Impudent Rooster; illus. by Holly Berry. Dutton, 2004.
A very loyal rooster finds a small coin purse and happily begins to take it home to the little old man who is his friend, when a greedy noble steals the purse. The persistent rooster chases after the noble who tries everything to stop him, and the rooster finally retrieves not only the purse, but all of the nobleman's wealth.
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl. The Seven Ravens; tr. by Anthea Bell; illus. by Henriette Sauvant. North-South, 1995.
A little girl goes on a quest to find her seven brothers, who were all turned into ravens when her father inadvertently cursed them.
Ward, Helen. The King of the Birds; written and illus. by Helen Ward. Millbrook, 1997.
With beautiful naturalistic illustrations, this book tells the story of how the birds of the world chose the wisest of themselves to be the king.
Knutson, Barbara, ad. How the Guinea Fowl Got Her Spots: A Swahili Tale of Friendship; ad. and illus. by Barbara Knutson. Carolrhoda, 1990.
Guinea and Cow were friends who ate and watched for the lion together every day. When Guinea twice foils the lion's plans to eat Cow, the cow repays the bird with white speckles on her feathers to help her avoid the lion too.
Morgan, Pierr, ad. Supper for Crow: A Northwest Coast Indian Tale; ad. and illus. by Pierr Morgan. Crown, 1995.
The Mischievous Raven tricks Crow out of the seal meat she had been planning to feed her children for dinner, so Crow sends her children over to Raven's house to eat dinner with him. He then also tricks the children out of dinner by suggesting they dance to pass the time while the meat cooks, then he eats all of the food while they are dancing.
Norman, Howard, comp. and ad. Trickster and the Fainting Birds; illus. by Tom Pohrt. Gulliver/Harcourt, 1999.
In Trickster and the Fainting Birds, part of this anthology by the same name, the story unfolds with a father's contest that whoever sleepwalks better than his daughter, could marry her. A young man from the village proves quite adept at sleepwalking, but Trickster turns both the man and the father into kingfishers as an attempt to encourage the girl to marry him instead.
Mayo, Margaret, comp. Mythical Birds & Beasts from Many Lands; illus. by Jane Ray. Dutton, 1997.
This book includes two stories related to birds, "The Phoenix" and "The Thunderbird."
*The Thunderbird used to not only bring rain and storms, he also used to steal beautiful women until one devoted husband used the power of the Raven to regain his wife and make the Thunderbird promise to change his ways.
*The Phoenix was the most beautiful bird of all, and the sun decided it should live forever. Every 500 years when the bird begins to grow weak, it returns to the mountain where it first lived, is burnt into ashes by the sun, and is reborn again from the ashes.
McDermott, Gerald, ad. Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest; ad. and illus. by Gerald McDermott. Harcourt, 1993.
The world was very dark and Raven decided that he would search for light. Arriving at the palace of the Sky Chief, he is reborn as a child, and then allowed to play with the box that the sun is kept in. He steals the sun, turns back into a bird, and places the sun into the sky.
