The Young Oxford Book of Folk Tales — Kevin Crossley-Holland

This is a collection of 35 folk tales from all over the world. You'll meet ghosts, spirits, robbers, princesses, sharks, and tigers, wealthy sultans and hungry peasants, fair maidens and cackling witches, rainbow birds and laughing fish. The stories are romantic, funny, sad, exciting, miraculous, and exotic. They vary in style and content, from the familiar "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," to the surprising, such as the Yoruba tale "Onieye and King Olu Dotun's Daughter". The stories are arranged by place of origin, covering all five continents. We circle the world, moving from one country to another, and travel through history, from long-past centuries to a place where time has no meaning. And through it all we are moved from tears to laughter, from fear to hope and understanding. The volume is copiously illustrated with handsome black-and-white illustrations.