The Revenge of the Black Cat: Swiss Myths

A wronged snake, toads good and bad, a stubborn girl wearing a copper pot on her head, and a one-eyed dragon are just a few of the memorable characters that appear in this volume of 23 traditional Swiss folktales. The illustrations, created by 19 Swiss artists, are by turns dreamily realistic (“Donat in the Fairy Grotto”), painterly and eerie (“The Woodcutter’s Good Soul”), amusingly folkloric (“The Love Potion”), and bracingly cartoonish (“The Kindhearted Dwarfs”). Drawn from all four language regions of Switzerland and rooted in the local landscapes, the stories are related in a plainspoken style: “There once was a brave farmer who lived in Muotatal.” Morals (be kind to animals; “The Revenge of the Black Cat”), cautionary tales (don’t stare at the neighbors; “The Spalentier”), and legends about particular places (“The Devil’s Bridge”) mix to offer a winsome introduction to classic Swiss stories. Ages 4–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]