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Yvonne Carroll

Författare till Irish Legends for Children

12 verk 313 medlemmar 4 recensioner

Verk av Yvonne Carroll

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these six traditional irish folklore tales tell whether the leprechaun's gold is ever found and how they always outsmart their captors! A great book full of fun illustrations in watercolor with black charcoal. The tales are somewhat predictable, but may be fun to use with children to try and have them predict the endings.
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schenk2 | Oct 13, 2013 |
Yvonne Carroll, whose Irish Legends For Children contained six traditional Irish tales in a simplified form that is ideally suited for younger readers, returns in this second collection, which is formatted in much the same way. Profusely illustrated, this time by Robin Lawrie, Great Irish Legends for Children also presents six tales, taken from the Ulster (an Rúraíocht) and Fenian (an Fhiannaíocht) cycles of Irish mythology, and from more recent Irish folklore. The selections include:

The King with Donkey's Ears, which follows the tale of a king who kills his barbers, one by one, to keep (what he imagines to be) a terrible secret, until, at the pleading of his latest barber's mother, he agrees to spare the man's life, if he promises not to reveal anything he sees in the king's castle. Naturally, not all goes quite as planned... This tale can be found in many collections, most recently in Batt Burns' The King with Horse's Ears and Other Irish Folktales.

The Brown Bull of Cooley, a very hastily sketched summation of the ancient Irish epic of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (the central part of an Rúraíocht), from Maeve and Ailill's argument about who is the wealthiest, to Maeve's efforts to obtain Daire Mac Fiachra's brown bull (in order to match Ailill's white bull, Finnbhennach), and her raid into Ulster, and conflict with Cú Chulainn. This telling concludes with the death of both bulls

The Giant from Scotland, a story combining elements of the two traditions of Fionn mac Cumhaill - the epic hero of an Fhiannaíocht, and the comical giant of later folklore - in which Fionn is challenged by the Scottish giant Angus, and, after building the Giant's Causeway, is aided by his clever wife Una in evading his enemy's grasp. This story, minus Fionn's companions in the Fianna, appears in such titles as Finn MacCoul and His Fearless Wife: A Giant of a Tale from Ireland and Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin: An Irish Tale, although the challenging giant in those retellings is named Cucullin/Cuhullin. Given that her collection also features a tale involving Cú Chulainn, the epic hero, rather than the later comical figure, perhaps Carroll changed the name deliberately, to avoid confusion.

Eisert, a tale in which the king's favorite poet, Eisert, angers his lord, and is dispatched to the land of giants he has described at court. This turns out to be Ulster, under the rule of King Fergus. I'm not familiar with this tale, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Is Eisert a leprechaun? One of the fairy-folk? Is Fergus, Fergus mac Róich?

The Beggarman, taken from an Fhiannaíocht, in which the Prince of Tír na nÓg, on his annual visit to the human world, assumes the shape of an old beggarman, and defends the honor of the Fianna, and of Fionn, when a foreign prince arrives to challenge their fastest runner to a race.

And finally, Oisín, also from an Fhiannaíocht, which follows the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill and Sadhb, of the Fear Dorcha: their short-lived time together, Sadhb's return to captivity, and Fionn's discovery, some years later, of his son, Oisín.

I cannot say, all things considered, that I enjoyed Great Irish Legends as much as Carroll's earlier collection, although I appreciate the fact that she is aiming her work at a younger audience. Somehow, though, the result of these tellings felt a little flat to me, and I wasn't very pleased, either with The Brown Bull of Cooley (all the men of Ulster are prevented from fighting by a "sea witch's" curse), or The Giant from Scotland (I prefer the heroic Finn, but if you're going to give us the comical one, just do so). Still, those looking for simplified retellings of these stories might want to take a look at this one, just to see if it suits their needs.
… (mer)
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AbigailAdams26 | 1 annan recension | Apr 25, 2013 |
Taken mostly from the An Rúraíocht (Red Branch/Ulster) and An Fiannaíocht (Fenian) cycles of Irish mythology, the six stories contained in Yvonne Carroll's Irish Legends for Children are some of the better known tales from this tradition, and, together with the colorful illustrations of Lucy Su, make an admirable introduction to the subject, for very young children. Here we have:

Children of Lir, the lone selection from na Scéalta Miotaseolaíochta (the Mythological Cycle), which follows the story of the four children of King Lir, transformed into swans for nine hundred years by their jealous step-mother, Aoife.

Deirdre of the Sorrows, a tale from An Rúraíocht, in which the beautiful Deirdre, daughter of Fedlimid mac Daill (Feidhlim in this story), is raised in isolation after a prophecy foretells that she will bring death and disaster to the men of Ulster. Promised in marriage to King Connor, Dierdre's love for the warrior Naoise, and their defiance, in running away together, precipitates a series of events that fulfill the prophecy.

As always, with this tale, I find myself wondering two things. First, Dierdre's guardian, in her isolation, is named Leabharcham, which contains the Irish word for book (leabhar): what significance, if any, does this have? Second, what the devil do Irish storytellers mean, when they say things like "So Deirdre did bring sorrow and trouble to Ulster as the druids had foretold"? No! The idea that someone else should choose Dierdre's husband for her, caused all the trouble. If she'd been free to choose for herself, and no one felt they had the right to intervene, then the whole darn thing would have been moot. Ah well... spilled milk, as the say.

Setanta, another tale from An Rúraíocht, which tells the tale of the youthful son of the King of Dundalk, how he came to the castle of King Connor at Armagh, how he proved himself, and how he gained the name Cú Chulainn ("the hound of Culainn"), becoming one of the greatest heroes of Irish mythology.

The Salmon of Knowledge, from An Fiannaíocht, which tells of the boyhood of Fionn mac Cumhaill - his training by two women (Bodhmall and Liath Luachra, unnamed in this telling), after the slaying of his father, his time with Finnéigeas the poet, and his consumption of the Salmon of Knowledge. Young readers are sure to get a kick (as I always do) out of the fact that the great hero Fionn derives much of his wisdom from sucking his thumb! Ha!

Fionn and the Dragon, a second tale from An Fiannaíocht, in which Fionn defeats a terrible dragon that has been besieging the High King's compound at Tara, thereby winning back the leadership of the Fianna from Goll Mac Morna, the warrior who killed his father.

And finally, Oisín in Tír na nÓg, about Fionn's son, and his time with Niamh of the Golden Hair, daughter of the king of Tír na nÓg.
… (mer)
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AbigailAdams26 | Apr 25, 2013 |
This is a collection of classic Irish folktales, complete with 1930's, art deco illustrations. Students will enjoy reading a different take on classic Western fairy tales and seeing the differences and similarities between them. For example, the student may recognize the vain ruler from "The Emperor's New Clothes" in "The King with the Donkey Ears." They will also enjoy reading about mythical figures like druids, expanding their mythological knowledge.

One quibble I had with this book was that the text was centered in the middle of the text box. I suppose that was to give it the feeling of an illuminated scroll, but I found it distracting. Other than that, this is a good addition to a collection of world folktales, from a country that doesn't get as much attention as other parts of the world.

For ages 5 - 8.
… (mer)
 
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ALelliott | 1 annan recension | Nov 19, 2011 |

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Associerade författare

Lucy Su Illustrator
Robin Lawrie Illustrator

Statistik

Verk
12
Medlemmar
313
Popularitet
#75,401
Betyg
3.2
Recensioner
4
ISBN
24

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