Eric A Kimmel

A clever spider tricks Elephant and some other animals into thinking the melon in which he is hiding can talk.

When a farmer sends his sons on three quests to determine who will inherit the farm, Ivan, who is small and simple, finds good luck and wonderful treasures in a castle filled only with cats in fancy costumes and wigs.

An original story, based on the Joha tales of the Arabic-speaking world, in which a hapless man finds a wishing stick that brings him nothing but bad luck. Includes an author's note about the history of Joha tales.

A simple, brief retelling of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem about the heroic efforts of Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, to save the people of Heorot Hall from the terrible monster, Grendel.

A retelling of the Grimm tale about the fisherman's greedy wife, set in the land of the Aztecs.

In this Southwestern version of the Gingerbread Man, a tortilla runs away from the woman who is about to cook him.

Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel visits the Emperor, leaving a new housemaid to prepare for his Hanukkah party, but returns to find that she has misused the clay man he created. Includes historical and cultural notes.

Stranded on an iceberg on his way to America, Simon remembers his mother's parting words and lights the first candle on his menorah while praying for a miracle, which soon arrives in the form of a friendly polar bear.

In this version of the Spanish folktale, Medio Pollito, the half-chick, ventures from his safe barnyard home all the way to Madrid, aided by the friends that he helped along the way.