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BOOK REVIEWS 

cial/kay/swteach.html. Here an 1898 edition of "Snow White" can be 
used to compare highlighted portions of the text with more than thirty 
other variants. The "Classroom Extensions" exercises include questions 
for discussion on essay writing: To what extent can the apple in "Snow 
White" be compared with the spindle in "Sleeping Beauty?" What is the 
role of the witch in history? In folklore? Is this witch different than the 
witch in "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rapunzel?" The chapter concludes 
with an extensive bibliography. Each of the other stories is presented 
with the same in detail coverage, referencing media publications and 
productions. 

New Tales for Old is enhanced by an attractive book design which 
includes convenient headers and footers, easy to read charts, and use of a 
bold font for story titles and section headings. I heartily recommend this 
book for lovers of folk tales and/or popular culture. 

RUTH STOTTER 

Suwyn, Barbara J. Edited and with an Introduction by Natalie O. 
Kononenko. The Magic Egg and Other Tales from Ukraine. [World 
Folklore Series.] Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. 1997. ISBN: 1-
56308-425-2. 222p, b&w and color illustrations, bibliography, index. 
$29.50 

This is a collection of delightful stories, rewritten to appeal to 
children, suitable for reading aloud or retelling orally. The volume, part 
of the World Folklore series, has been designed with a school and library 
market in mind. It includes supplemental material such as a glossary and 
pronunciation guide, introductions that provide historical and cultural 
context, and bibliographies with suggestions for further reading. The 
collection is divided into animal tales, how and why stories, moral 
stories, and legends and fairy tales. The variety of stories is chosen to 
appeal to a range of age levels and teachers and parents are urged to be 
selective in deciding which stories to share. A young child enchanted by 
stories like "The Turnip" or "The Little Round Bun" might find stories 
like "The Stranger" (a vampire story) or "The Sorceress" frightening, 
although these are gripping tales that will captivate older readers. The 
work is the result of collaboration between Suwyn, a professional 
copywriter and poet, and Kononenko, 

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a professor of folklore whose area of expertise is Ukrainian and Turkish 
folk performance, resulting in well-told stories with appropriate cultural 
details. Although the bibliography includes source material in English 
and in Ukrainian, more could have been done to indicate specific sources 
for individual stories. Admittedly, the volume is not intended as a 
scholarly work of folklore, but a brief indication of documentation by 
tale would have been useful, especially since Suwyn indicates in her 
Introduction that some stories are "original composites" or "new 
conflations of traditional themes" (xxvi). Kononenko contributed several 
of these, which she acquired orally; and written sources may not have 
been readily available. 

Suwyn comments specifically on her use of named characters, 
noting that "In traditional Ukrainian tales, characters are often unnamed 
or go by a common name, such as Ivan or Marusya (the Ukrainian 
equivalents of John or Mary). Because this book is intended to introduce 
readers to Ukrainian culture, a variety of common Ukrainian names have 
been used for the characters" (xxxiii). Although this accomplishes its 
purpose, some tales seem too specific. In the animal tales, it is easy to 
see that Little Fox is a familiar character who appears in several of the 
stories. This sense of familiarity disappears when other stories are 
individualized. The story "The Doll," which parallels the well-known 
Russian folktale about Vasilissa's encounter with Baba Yaga (Baba Yaha 
in Ukrainian), here features a girl named Paraska. Kononenko comments 
that this name is probably derived from Paraskovia Piatnytsia, the patron 
saint of cloth and fiber arts - an apt choice since the girl is a noted 
seamstress and embroiderer - but do we assume this name is attached to 
the story or did Suwyn choose it because it seemed appropriate? Some 
traditional names are kept, like the historic character of Cossack bandit 
Oleska Dovbush who warns, "take only what you need" in the story 
about his treasure. Kononenko establishes links between the tales and 
pre-Christian spiritual beliefs, suggesting that the witch Baba Yaha was 
once a goddess figure to explain her dual nature of magic helper and evil 
witch as derived from the clash between western and pre-Christian 
attitudes toward witches and wise women. Unsuccessful struggles of the 
Church to suppress pagan belief appear in the powerful story "The 
Sorceress," which features a priest's daughter. Despite her father's 
conviction that "there is no such thing as a sorceress, or magic, or 
curses," the daughter, aided by faith and a wise woman, resolutely 
withstands the evil forces she has inadvertently become involved in. 

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The introductions suggest that this book is a product of its time, 
arising out of efforts to reclaim Ukrainian culture and heritage as a 
distinctive tradition following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The 
emphasis on the tales as "a portrait of the country's soul" (xxv) that 
contribute to a persistent sense of national identity despite centuries of 
oppression by successive dominating forces reflects the nation's political 
history but is also indicative of the romantic nationalist attitude that 
underlies this work. Still, the political and historical details provide a 
useful context for the tales. The stories themselves are wonderful - 
humorous, robust, some simple and some complex. Some are Ukrainian 
variants of widely distributed stories -comfortably familiar although 
perhaps with a surprising twist; others are new to me and I am glad to 
learn of them. Suwyn's charming black-and-white marginal drawings add 
to the book's visual appeal. The short section of color illustrations are 
used as an educational supplement to expose readers to the Ukrainian 
folk arts of pysanky (elaborately decorated Easter eggs) and rushnyky 
(ceremonial embroidered cloths). Illustrations of folktales by Ukrainian 
artists are also included. Suwyn is a good storyteller, despite a few 
disconcerting slips. In "The Frog Princess," one of my favorite stories, 
the frogs are supposed to say "ribbet, ribbet, " -a startling Americanism 
accompanied by a footnote explaining that Ukrainian frogs actually say 
"kvak, kvak." But on the whole, the stories are well told quickly moving 
narratives, accessible yet culturally specific. Relatively little Ukrainian 
folk material is available for the general public, especially children. 
Altogether, this is an appealing collection that will be welcome to 
schools and libraries. 

VICKY DWORKIN 
Ph. D. candidate in American Studies, 
student of storytelling, University of Hawaii at Manoa 

Mabie, Hamilton Wright. Norse Stories. New York: Hippoerene 
Books, 1999. 250pp. $14.95 hc 

Growing up as a child in Scandinavia you were automatically in-
troduced to the heathen religion of your forefathers by virtually daily 
references to some pagan God or other. If there was a thunderstorm, it 
was said that Thor was out riding in the sky, if the harvest failed 

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