We love bringing you stories from other cultures and Storytime Issue 51 is a shining example of that. Our cover story this month comes from the Spanish author, Luis Coloma. It features Spain’s version of the tooth fairy – an adventurous little mouse called Perez. It’s the first time one of our Around the World Tales has made the cover, but we’re sure it won’t be the last. What better way is there to brighten winter’s gloom than to indulge in some international travel?

Also in Storytime Issue 51, among other wonderful tales, we bring you an African myth, a folk tale from America and a fairy tale from Scandinavia. Find out more about the latest issue of Storytime below and the talent behind each story.

 

Inside Storytime Issue 51

As mentioned above, our myth comes from Africa and features that amazing trickster, Anansi the spider. This time, he’s in the classic story Anansi’s Pot of Wisdom. Julio Antonio Blasco Lopez’s brilliantly quirky illustrations fit the story perfectly and, without giving too much away, kids should appreciate the ending. This month, school and home educator subscribers get a free Anansi Resource Pack with classroom activities and lesson ideas. Find out more here.

Our new fairy-tale series, which is set in Storyland, continues with Jack and the Beanstalk in Jack’s Magic Harp Band. Jack is back in town and he’s excited about performing. However, when he loses his voice, he is forced to hold emergency auditions. If you need a reminder of who lives where in Storyland, download the map here. Storyland’s official illustrator, Giorgia Broseghini, created the gorgeous art for this story and the map.

Our poem should make you chuckle, as it’s packed with hair-raising silliness. It tells the story of how a man’s pigtail gets the better of him. A Tragic Story was written by 19th century satirist and Vanity Fair author, William Makepeace Thackeray. Sean Longcroft provides the suitably silly art.

Rosaria Battiloro returns to Storytime to illustrate a sweet American folk tale – Mrs Mumble’s Apple Crumble. (Rosaria previously illustrated an Irish story for Storytime Issue 33.) This story has a delicious ending and an apple crumble recipe to download too!

We don’t just take you around the world in this issue, we also travel in time with a schoolboy called Tyler. It’s a new story from first-time writer and sci-fi fan Alex Evans, with illustrations by Werllen Holanda. We hope you enjoy your trip to the future. It should also provoke some interesting conversations about the tools we use today. Will they still be around in centuries to come?

We chose our cover story, Perez the Mouse, because we know kids find it mind-boggling that different cultures don’t follow the same traditions. In the UK, we have the tooth fairy, but in Spain (and other Hispanic and European countries, including France), a little mouse takes your baby teeth away. You can find out more about him in the issue and enjoy more of Elena Aiello’s illustrations.

This issue’s Famous Fable, The Woodpecker and the Lion provides an interesting counterpoint to the better-known The Lion and the Mouse (from Storytime Issue 2). Why not read the two fables in one sitting and compare their moral lessons? You could also compare the illustrations. Tihomir Celanovic created this issue’s majestic lion and illustrated King Duck for Storytime Issue 29.

Finally, we round off Storytime Issue 51 with a Favourite Fairy Tale from Scandinavia – The Princess on the Glass Hill. Boots is a familiar character in many Scandi stories. He’s the hard-done-by younger brother who’s usually picked on by older brothers or grossly underestimated by his parents. Boots, as you’d hope, always proves everyone wrong. You can see him surpass expectations in this story wearing a suit of golden armour, no less. Emanuela di Donna’s illustrations are lots of fun too.

 

As well as our stories, you’ll find story-linked puzzles, a memory test, a mousey make, hairy drawing, a game and a competition. You can also win three musical books from Quarto, which are perfect for Christmas. Enter here for a chance to win.

Speaking of which, if you like Storytime Issue 51, then you’ll LOVE our Christmas issue. It features Gingerbread Man, Santa, Christmas pudding, magical farm animals, Christmas trees, Brer Rabbit and more. If you’re considering getting someone a Christmas gift subscription, make sure you do so by November 27. That way, the issue will reach them (or you) on time. After that point, you can buy it from our Back Issue Shop and get it in time for Christmas.

In the meantime, let us know if Perez the Mouse visits you this month! Happy reading!