I ran into a book recently, The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yōkai of Japanese Myth. I became more and more intrigued as I flipped through the pages, and I knew I needed to explore folklore and folktales and learn some more. What better place than a library!

What is folklore?
Folklore covers a wide span of traditional beliefs and stories of a community, such as myths, legends, practices, superstitions, etc.  Folklore is commonly passed from generation to the next by word of mouth.

What is a folktale?
Folktales focus on the stories that have been passed down from the ancestors of a particular group of people on to their younger generations.  Folktales vary widely in genre, ranging from fairy tales, historical, adventure, to ghost tales.  Like folklore, folktales pass along generations through word of mouth.

Culture plays an important part in both folklore and folktales, but this does not make them interchangeable.  Folklore captures a large range, from beliefs to superstitions, and is told in more of an informative, and even instructive way to the listener.  Whereas folktales are only the stories passed down to younger generations.  Here are a few books on different folklore and folktales that are on our shelf at Mead Public Library.

The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yōkai of Japanese Myth by Thersa Matsuura, Illustrated by Michelle Wang

I have always been intrigued by Asian Folklore, but not to the point where I’ve pushed to learn more.  Seeing this book gave me the push I needed.  I’ve heard of yōkai (the Japanese word for supernatural beings, like ghosts, demons, etc.), but was far from understanding.  This book is a wonderful teacher!  The writing is very light and entertaining, and the illustrations are vibrant and colorful, fitting each yōkai perfectly.
Each section starts with an overview of the yōkai, then it gives a nice background and popular stories the yōkai is found in, and then finishes with modern stories.

The Anthology of English Folk Tales

This collection of stories has been gathered from across England.  There is even a map of England right at the beginning and shows each title and where in England it originated.  Each story starts with a short synopsis about the storyteller, where they have come from and gone to, and how they have impacted parts of England and the world with their retelling of tales. 

These folktales range from hilarious, fantastical, to murderous.  Some were quick reads, and others had a lot more depth.  Each story will leave you with a trail of thoughts afterwards, just to spin them all up again with the next tale.

African Myths & Tales : An anthology of classic tales

This book has a large collection of African folk tales and myths passed down from one generation to the next.  With each story title, you are also informed of the area of Africa the tale originated.

One tale that I really liked is Kitangatanga of the Sea, which is found in the Wit & Wisdom section, page 327.  A man who lives in a hut with his wife sets sail to trade goods, and leaves behind his wife in a hut without a door.  This is not a selfish man. He has provided his wife with all she could want. But, to build a hut without a door for his wife to live in while he is gone is not taken well. So, she decides to set sail and get to the location before he does. Upon passing her husband, who is in awe of this quick sailing stranger, he asks, “Who is that in the ship that is passing me?” and in response she says, “It is I, my name is Kitangatanga of the sea.”.  This interaction repeats multiple times.  To find out why, check out this book to read the rest!

Native American Folktales

The collection of stories in this book come from the American Mosaic.  The American Mosaic is a project dedicated to the cataloging of Folktales from specific American ethnic traditions.  This book is geared more towards academic use, but I found that I liked its structure for casual reading as well. 

It is separated into four sections, and each story starts with a note about the contents and meaning behind the words.  I found that these tales have a lot of traditional meaning behind the character and setting, and it would be hard to follow on its own. But the beginning note explains how the story topic is used and interpreted in Native American Folktales.  For example, the Raven is seen to be a trickster figure, and when used in a tale can have many contradictions surrounding it. Is this Raven only a trickster, or potentially a hero?

Great Lakes folklore: legends of the five sisters by Charles Cassady, Jr.

I once went on a clear bottom kayak tour in Baileys Harbor, Door County.  Not only were the views amazing, but I also got to see a few shipwrecks and learn a bit about the history of shipwrecks on Lake Michigan.  

So, in seeing this book, my interest peaked. Of course there has to be all sorts of Folklore around these lakes! From violent weather, misadventure, and a ton of human error in early sailing; shipwrecks were frequent, and even some shipwrecks were never discovered.  So much history has been passed down from those who have lived on the land around these lakes, as well as those brave enough to sail them.

If you’d like to experience some of the lore behind the Great Lakes, its history, and even some monstrous tales, check out this book!