This award-winning collection of traditional tales from around the world shows that things are not always as they seem.
A collection of traditional stories from one of Britain’s foremost oral storytellers written in a style which makes them a joy to read aloud. The seven stories are from different parts of the world and include The Pedlar of Swaffham from Hugh Lupton’s native East Anglia and tales from Haiti, France, West Africa, Russia, Ireland and the Cree people of North America. The notes on sources indicate that there are variants of the stories in many cultures. These are stories which can be revisited many times and the book is enhanced by Niamh Sharkey’s distinctive angular illustrations which take a form which is both modern and strongly reminiscent of folk art.
Hugh Lupton is a co-founder of the influential Company of Storytellers and has been a professional storyteller for the past two decades. His other titles for Barefoot Books include Tales of Wisdom and Wonder (1999), The Gingerbread Man (2003) and Pirican Pic and Pirican Mor (2003). When Hugh isnt performing in festivals around the world, he resides in East Anglia. Sophie Fatus is a full-time illustrator and sculptress, who studied at the prestigious Academy of Fine Art in Paris. Her brightly coloured illustrations and quirky style are world-renowned and have graced the pages of several other Barefoot Books including The Story Tree (2001), Babushka (2002), The Barefoot Book of Monsters! (2003), Riddle Me This! (2003), My Daddy is a Pretzel (2004) and A Hen, A Chick and a String Guitar (2005). Sophie lives in Florence.
