Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's Media— Teresa Bateman
"The "Books of Nine Lives" series is a collection of folktale books containing traditional stories from many countries, retold in a tellable style by master storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. The stories have appeared in previous collections by the author, and include a few black & white illustration. Notes at the end of the book give more information about the stories' sources and motifs (based on "The Storyteller's Sourcebook" by Margaret Read MacDonald), and sometimes include storytelling suggestions. The books have paper over board covers, but good binding. This collection contains nine stories featuring insects including "The First Fire" from Cherokee tradition, "Ants Live Everywhere" from Burma, and "Why Ants Carry Heavy Loads" from West Africa. All are suitable for telling, making this a good resource for storytellers."
