OCR Document 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, 107 BOOK REVIEWS 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. 108 BOOK REVIEWS 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 109