Ten Small Tales: Stories from Around the World

Ten Small Tales: Stories from Around the World, retold by Celia Barker Lottridge, illus. by Joanne Fitzgerald, expands the nursery canon with a collection of globe-wide retellings. ""The One-Turnip Garden"" from Russia simplifies the classic tale of the gigantic turnip; the less familiar ""Four Legs, Four Arms, One Head"" is based on a Malaysian tale; and ""The Magic Drum"" derives from India. Fitzgerald's watercolors shift easily between humans and animals and retain the flavor of the cultures from which the tales originate. ( Nov.)