This week we’re reading — and loving — this collection of folk tales from around the world. Here’s an excerpt from Jane Yolen’s open letter to her daughter and granddaughters that starts off the book:
“This book is for you because in it are folktales about regular sword-wielding, spear-throwing, villain-stomping rescuer-type heroes who also just happen to be female. About women who use weapons or their wits or a combination of both to get away from danger or disaster. Stories that range from the medieval armored knight Bradamante to the magic-wielding African Nana Miriam, from the Jewish pirate princess to the serpent-slaying daughter of a Japanese samurai.”
The stories in Not One Damsel in Distress: Heroic Girls from World Folklore were collected and told by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Susan Guevara and published by HMH Books for Young Readers. This is a reissued edition with the original published in 2000.