Tales of India: Folk Tales from Bengal, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu

Part of a series of folk tales from around the world

Beautiful and high quality book, lovely gift.

Print and pictures are good but story and editing can sometimes feel basic.

Die meisten Geschichten sind nicht für Kinder geeignet, da es auch Literatur für Erwachsene gibt. Es gibt viele andere Bücher über indische Geschichten mit guter Literatur, die auch für kleine Kinder geeignet sind.

Stories are good. Pictures are beautiful. Liked by both grownups and children.

This is a beautiful book of amazing quality. The paper is thick and has a lovely artisanal texture, the artworks are stunning and in full colour and there’s even a little ribbon bookmark to keep your place in the book. There are sixteen short stories, divided into three categories (‘Animal Tales’, ‘Outwitting and Outwitted’ and ‘Life and Death’). Each of them are easy to read and written in a beautiful way that conjures up the childhood nostalgia of lying in bed and listening to a parent read you fairy tales. It’s especially interesting to read these folktales since they’re from India and aren’t perhaps as well known as some of the European stories, like Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel. My personal favourite story was ‘The Son of Seven Mothers’. It’s about a King who has seven wives, none of whom have bared him any children. Just as he’s given the news that each of his wives will be having a child, he meets a mysterious and beautiful woman and falls in love with her, locking his pregnant wives in a dungeon. Only one son remains after they’ve given birth, making him ‘The Son of Seven Mothers’. The story continues, describing his life. Overall, this makes it a wonderful gift for a story lover of any age. I highly recommend it to someone who would like a taste of stories from different cultures without diving into a full length book.

Fantastic book!

Is not able to catch the essence of Indian folklore. Stories sound made up for the sake of writing the book