While April Fool's Day isn't really connected with tricksters in the tale sense of the term, we all have them on the brain during the day. We do our best to not be gullible and not be fooled, so I thought highlighting a lovely collection of trickster tales (which might give us a few clues about what to do - or not do - next year, since today is pretty much over at minutes to midnight), was appropriate.
Trick of the Tale: A Collection of Trickster Tales by John & Caitlin Matthews, illustrated by Tomislav Tomic
Description:
Celebrate the slyest trickster tales from around the world in a lavish volume that gives a well-loved story tradition its rightful due.
Enter (carefully) the world of the tricksters, those wily creatures who lie their way out of trouble, cheat when they get a chance, and devise elaborate tricks to get what they want —- with delightfully unpredictable results. This truly diverse, elegantly illustrated collection follows such clever characters as Anansi, Coyote, Brer Rabbit, and others who play a role in a multicultural array of storytelling traditions, from African to Inuit to European, Tibetan to Native American to Japanese.
This collection of trickster tales, retold and edited by John & Cailtin Matthews (a writing pair you see often with regard to fairy tale and folklore collections), is illustrated by Tomislav Tomic, whom you may know from his beautiful work in illustrating the special edition Lang Orange Fairy Book for the Folio Society.
Can you match the titles to the illustrations?
And I'm so glad to see at least one Anansi story here! There is persistent confirmation that Neil Gaiman's Anasi Boys really will be making it's way to screens in the foreseeable future too, as a multi-part mini series of hour long episodes by the BBC... (*whooping and cheering*). Expect a revival of trickster tales when that - eventually - happens too!
