Tag: traditional

Caramel reviews Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens

Today Caramel reviews Wampum Belts of the Iroquois, a book first published in 1999 by Tehanetorens. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens.
Caramel reviews Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens.

Sprinkles: Today you are reviewing a nonfiction book. It has been a while since you last reviewed a nonfiction book, no? 

Caramel: Not really. I reviewed  America As It Happened: A Moment-by-Moment Journey Through Time, From Prehistory to the Present Day only a couple weeks ago, and that was nonfiction. 

S: True. Okay, so this book is also nonfiction. Tell me a bit about what it is about. 

C: It’s about the wampum belts, which denote or commemorate laws, treaties and commitments. The Iroquois people make them and wear them, and the book talks about a lot of different examples of these belts. 

S: That sounds really interesting. Tell me more. 

C: The book is about a school project. The person who wrote the book is the teacher, and his students at the Onkwehonwe Neha School worked with beads and other traditional materials to make replicas of important wampum belts. The book has a lot of different types of these belts. And the student who made each belt poses with the belt so you can see them too. They are really cool. I only wish the pictures were in color. 

S: But even though they are in black and white, the pictures already show how many different types of wampum belts there are, right?

C: Yes. And for each belt, besides the photo of the child who made the belt, there is a lot of information about the belt. For example there is a belt called the Hiawatha or the ayonwatha belt, which shows the union between five nations (the five tribes making up the Iroquois), and looks like a wide dark belt with two white squares on either side of either a heart or a tree, which represents one of each nation, and they are connected by a line that symbolizes their union. It is neat how it symbolizes the five nations coming together.

S: I know that in a lot of traditional societies where rugs and carpets are woven, the people who weave them put in a lot of information into their work. These belts remind me of that kind of a tradition, a way to memorialize important events in objects that can also be used. 

C: Yes, they are practical and useful but also beautiful. I really liked them.

Caramel is reading Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens.
Caramel is reading Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens.

S: Also these specific belts were able to connect the students who made them with their traditions and histories. It must have been a very engaging school project.

C: Yes, it is kind of like the ofrenda I made at school for my maternal grandfather. It was a way for me to learn more about him, because you know, I never met him, and when I was making it, you told me a lot more stories about him. 

S: Yes, kind of like that. Of course that was more about your personal history, rather than the history of a whole people, but still you are right that it hopefully allowed you to connect a bit more deeply with someone from your past.

C: Yes.  

S: So Caramel, what made you want to review this book?

C: You know I love fact-full books and this one is definitely full of facts. And it has lots of interesting pictures. And the kids holding their belts look so serious and proud, it is really neat to look at them. So I wanted to tell other young bunnies about it because the book is really neat. 

S: That is fair. 

C: There are also a lot of hand-drawn pictures in there, and those are cool too. Almost every page has some picture and so the book is really easy to read. 

S: Yes, the pictures make it so engaging, you are right. 

C: Of course. 

S: Okay, Caramel, so maybe this is a good time to wrap up the review. 

C: Again it is a school night, so I agree. 

S: So let us do just that. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens and learning about this interesting tradition of the Iroquois.
Caramel enjoyed reading Wampum Belts of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens and learning about this interesting tradition of the Iroquois.

Caramel reviews Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi, originally published in 1996.

Caramel reviews Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi.
Caramel reviews Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about Mysterious Tales of Japan, another one of those books you read for that Asian Myths and Legends summer course you took a while back. 

Caramel: Yeah, it is, I think, the last one? I already reviewed the other ones: Japanese Myths, Legends, and Folktales, Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures, Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories, and Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet. 

S: Yes, I think you are completing the set today. But this one is a bit different from the others, right? The stories are a bit spooky, I am guessing. 

C: Spooky? No, they’re not that spooky. But yes, there are ghosts and spirits and such. 

S: I see. Then please tell me a bit more about the book. 

C: It has some stories shared with some of the others, like “Ho-Ichi the Earless” and “Urashimmo Taro”, which I had already read in Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories. Besides these, there are eight other stories, and I had not read those before; they were all new to me.

S: That’s cool Caramel. So ten stories and eight of them were totally new for you. Tell me a bit about the new stories. 

C: The other eight stories are “Green Willow”, “The Snow Woman”, “Kogi”, “The Crane Maiden”, “The Pine of Akoya”, “A Frog’s Gift”,  “The Boy Who Drew Cats”, and “Black Hair”. They are all about five pages or so.

Caramel is reading Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi.
Caramel is reading Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi.

S: Okay, so tell me a bit about these stories. Any one that surprised you? 

C: No, not really; most of the stories are sort of similar to others that I read before.

S: Okay, so I guess you are getting used to Japanese folk tales and their general feel. Then, maybe tell me which was the most interesting? Or the spookiest? 

C: I think that “Ho-ichi the Earless” is the spookiest. 

S: I remember that story from the other book. It was quite weird and spooky, I agree. But that book was basically a graphic novel adaptation, so it was very visual. Left not much to your imagination. 

C: This book has pictures, too, but only one or two for each story. So you have a lot more to imagine. 

S: That can sometimes be scarier. 

C: True. Sometimes the imagining is the part where I like real books over picture books. Let me think about what I want the main character to look like. Let me think about how the house the author is describing actually looks like. And so on. And the pictures in this book are not all very detailed. They give you a feel for the story, but you still have a lot more to imagine on your own. 

S: Yes, the pictures are beautiful and evocative, but you are right, they are not very detailed. They leave much room to create in your own imagination. So for example, the two stories you had already read before in that other book: when you were reading them here, did you have some new imagery in your mind to go along with the story line? 

C: Yeah, sometimes the space not drawn is the spookiest. It definitely was like that for me for “Ho-ichi the Earless”. 

S: Cool, thanks for all this Caramel. I think we have enough for a post, so maybe this is a good time to wrap things up. 

C: Sure, why not?

S: Great! What would you like to say to our readers as your closing words? 

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel appreciated reading Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi, and recommends it to all other young bunnies, but maybe they should think about reading it with a grownup bunny so they don't get too scared.
Caramel appreciated reading Mysterious Tales of Japan, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi, and recommends it to all other young bunnies, but maybe they should think about reading it with a grownup bunny so they don’t get too scared.

Caramel reviews Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet by Lotta Carswell Hume

In these past few months Caramel has reviewed several books that collect together stories from various Asian traditions: Japanese Myths, Legends, and Folktales, Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures, and Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories. Today he adds to this list another book: Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume (1876-1976), illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu (1918–2012), and originally published in 1962. The edition Caramel read was the 2004 edition. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.
Caramel reviews Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, talking about another neat collection of stories! 

Caramel: Yes, this one has stories from China and Tibet. 

S: Tell me more.

C: Well, let me see. There are eighteen stories. Each of them is about three to seven pages long. And there are a lot of pictures. I really liked them! 

S: Yeah, I saw that there are a lot of colorful illustrations. Apparently they were made by a Chinese artist named Lo Koon-Chiu. 

C: That makes sense. Because a lot of the stories are Chinese. But the person who wrote them does not sound like a Chinese person. And I don’t know too many Tibetan names, but the author’s name does not sound Tibetan either. 

S: You are right. The author was apparently from Baltimore, USA, and then got married and moved to Asia with her husband. She lived in China and India for decades, and her children got to hear a lot of traditional Chinese stories. So this is a collection she put together to share those stories with children who would read or be read to in English. 

C: I see. Then she did not write the stories herself. That makes a lot more sense now. 

S: Yeah, I was curious too, and then looked it all up. Anyways talk a bit about the stories. Can you tell which stories are from Tibet and which are from China?

C: Yes. There is a little note under the story title for each one. So there are five stories from Tibet. The rest are from China. But they separated those, too. Some are from West China, some from Southeast China, some from Central China, and so on. 

S: Hmm, I guess that makes sense. China is a big country. Maybe they did not want to go into detail about the exact geography of China and give the province names and such. 

C: I guess. But there are a lot more stories from China, so maybe they just split the Chinese stories so they would not look too uneven. 

S: Interesting! That could be a good reason, too, Caramel.

Caramel is reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.
Caramel is reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.

S: Anyways, so why don’t you tell me more about the stories themselves? 

C: Well, there is a story like Cinderella, and it is called A Chinese Cinderella, And there is this story about a woman who is called Mrs. Number Three who is an innkeeper.

S: That is a very strange name!

C: It is not her real name, but nobody knows her real name so they call her that. But the story is really interesting. Its name is “The Magic Pancakes at the Footbridge Tavern”. So as you can imagine, there are magic pancakes! 

S: Oh, I know you love pancakes! 

C: Yeah, but these are magic and you really don’t want to eat them. 

S: Oh, that is interesting! I guess I just have to read the story to figure out what you mean. 

C: Yep. 

S: Okay, so that is two of the eighteen stories. What about the others?

C: A lot of the others are about animals. Like there is a Tibetan story about a tortoise and a monkey and another about some jackals and a tiger. And then there is another about a hungry wolf, and one about some mice. 

S: Oh, that is interesting. Kind of like fables, I am guessing. 

C: Yeah, kind of. But wait, it looks like the animal stories are almost all stories from Tibet. Some of the Chinese stories also have animals, but they also have people. 

S: Very interesting observation, Caramel.

C: And then there are two stories like the ones we talked about before about how some things came to be the way they are. There is a story about how the rooster got its red crown and another about how the deer lost its tail. They are both from China. 

S: I see. True, we did talk about such stories when you were reviewing Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc. Apparently such stories were called “pourquoi” stories. 

C: Oh, yes, I remember you said that last time. 

S: Okay, so all in all it seems like you have enjoyed reading this book, right? 

C: Yep! 

S: Can you tell us if you have a favorite story? 

C: No, I liked them all. 

S: That is wonderful, Caramel. Okay, maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers? 

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu, and recommends it to all the other little bunnies who enjoy reading or hearing short stories.
Caramel enjoyed reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu, and recommends it to all the other little bunnies who enjoy reading or hearing short stories.

Caramel reviews Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc

The book bunnies love various retellings of the classic fairy tales of the Western tradition, and through the years, they have reviewed many books that offered different takes on them. They also have explored, these past few months, several books that collect together fairy tales from geographies from around the world. Therefore they were delighted to learn that they made it to the list of 30 Best Fairy Tale Blogs and Websites in 2025, curated by Feedspot, a blog aggregation site.

To celebrate, today Caramel is reviewing yet another book of fairy tales: Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong, published originally in 2015. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong.
Caramel reviews Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, what are we talking about today?

Caramel: Well, this is a book about the fairytales and stories that Vietnamese children would be told as they grew up.

S: So just like Japanese Myths, Legends, and Folktales, Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, and Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures, which you reviewed before for our blog, this is one of those books you read for that course you took on Asian myths and legends, right? 

C: Yeah, and just like those other books, this is a good book, too. I liked it a lot.

S: That sounds great! Tell us about it then. 

C: This book contains fifteen stories that the author remembers from their own childhood. They were told these stories as they were growing up. Each story is around nine pages or so. The stories all contain some sort of moral, like most children’s stories do. 

S: Yes, that is true; most fairy tales have some morals. The author Tran Thi Minh Phuoc writes in the introduction that all of the stories “paint a picture of a world that values the five great virtues: Nhan (compassion), Le (Rituals), Nghia (Righteousness), Tri (Wisdom), and Tin (Trust)”. What kinds of morals come up in these stories? 

C: Don’t be greedy, be kind to others, and don’t be selfish.

S: Those seem like very standard morals, good values to pass on to young bunnies. Did you come across any that felt different? 

C: No, not really. But there is a story called “Why Ducks Sleep on One Leg”, which, as you might guess, is about why ducks sleep on one leg.

S: Wait, does that one have a moral? What would it be?

C: I think it’s more of an explanation of why they sleep that way.

S: That is interesting. So not all have morals then. But all across different cultures, there are many traditional stories about how things are and they give explanations, sometimes humorous but always creative, about why things are the way they are. 

C: Yes. Some of the stories do not have obvious morals, but they still contain at least an explanation of something interesting, like a duck’s behavior. There is another story, “Why The Sea Is Salty”, about why the sea is salty. And there is a story about a tradition and why it exists: “Why One Shouldn’t Sweep the House on Tet Nguyen Dan“.

Caramel is reading Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong.
Caramel is reading Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong.

S: I seem to recall a story about how the tiger got its stripes. The internet tells me it is also a Vietnamese story. Apparently such stories are called “pourquoi” stories, stories that purport to explain why some natural thing is the way it is. Anyways, does the story of the tiger stripes come up in this book? 

C: I don’t believe so. But there is the origin story of the jade rabbit. The jade rabbit lives in the forest with his friends and his companion, the goddess Chang’e, and he makes immortality elixirs.

S: Wait, the jade rabbit is not a natural being. It is a mythical creature, isn’t it? And didn’t we read about it in another story before? And the goddess Chang’e?

C; Yeah, the moon goddess Chang’e appeared in one of the stories we talked about before from Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures. And I remember the jade rabbit from the movie Over The Moon, which we talked about when we discussed that book. Anyways, according to the story “The Jade Rabbit” in this book, the jade rabbit used to be a normal rabbit, who sacrificed himself to help someone who happened to be the jade emperor in disguise. The rabbit did not know this though. Then the emperor carried him to the moon, and the goddess Chang’e turned him into the jade rabbit, an immortal being who makes immortality elixirs.

S: That is neat Caramel! According to Wikipedia, the character of the jade rabbit shows up in many East Asian traditions. And how wonderful that we now know one of its origin stories! 

C: Yeah, it’s cool. I told you this is a good book! 

S: So you did. Okay now, please tell me a bit about the illustrations. I see that this is really a beautiful book. 

C: Yes! The pictures are very interesting! They are made in the sort of painting type. I mean, the individual pictures look like they were made with water color and acrylic paint. Very pretty. Sometimes people look like they are floating and there is a lot of color. 

S: Cool! Alright, so it seems like you approve of this book and would recommend it to other young bunnies? 

C: Yeah, the stories were kind of made for younger bunnies. At least the book is very much meant for us. 

S: Then maybe young bunnies like you can read the book on their own, and even younger ones can maybe get an adult bunny to read it to them. 

C: Yeah that would be a good idea! They should do that!

S: Okay, Caramel. Thank you for this review. Do you want to say something to our readers as we wrap up this post?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong, and recommends it to all young bunnies curious to hear more fairy tales from around the world.
Caramel enjoyed reading Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories, retold by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong, and recommends it to all young bunnies curious to hear more fairy tales from around the world.