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The Archer and The Sun

2007

by Rob Cleveland and Baird Hoffmire

"In this classic story from China, we learn why the sun comes up in the morning and goes down at night. We also discover why a certain farm animal is there every morning to greet the sun. Why does the sun go up in the morning and down at night? The Archer and the Sun is an ancient story from China. It tells the legend of a time when there were many suns in the sky and it was miserably hot. The people got together to come up with a solution to make their living conditions more hospitable. They decided to call upon the best archer in the land to come and shoot down all of the suns except for one. As a result, the remaining sun naturally became afraid of the archer and hid behind a mountain, leaving the world cold and dark. Then the people had to devise a plan to get the sun to come back from hiding and after several failed attempts, they found a solution. This Chinese folktale will teach readers about the importance of citizenship, resourcefulness and sharing. This story ends with a section of facts about the Archer and the Sun, exploring Chinese traditions and myths such as why roosters crow in the morning and what the year of the rooster means as well as general "did you know" facts.Rob Cleveland is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also an actor and comedian who can be seen in the films Drumline and That Darn Cat." -- publisher

Folklore

How Tiger Got His Stripes

2006

by Rob Cleveland and Baird Hoffmire

"Many years ago, the proudest animal in the jungle was not the peacock but the tiger. In this timeless folktale from Vietnam, we see how Tiger's pride leads him to covet wisdom and how, with the help of a wise farmer, he earns his stripes. Winner of the Storytelling World Honor Award This humorous folktale from Vietnam, retold by Rob Cleveland, tells the story of Tiger, who was once the proudest animal of the jungle. He was even prouder than the peacock. Of course what Tiger was most proud of was his beautiful golden coat. But unfortunately for Tiger, he did not have wisdom and was jealous that only Man seemed to possess it. So Tiger approached Man and demanded that he give Tiger his wisdom. Man then uses his wisdom to outsmart Tiger when he finds himself tied to a tree with a rope. While trying to escape, Tiger burns his coat on the rope, leaving permanent stripes on his beautiful golden coat. This wisdom story will teach readers the importance of courage, caring and resourcefulness. This award-winning story is a "pourquoi" tale from Vietnam. Pourquoi tales are origin stories that explain why an animal or plant looks or acts the way it does. This is one of many stories told across Asia that deal with the origin of the tiger's stripes. Rob Cleveland is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia and is the author of several Story Cove books." -- publisher

Folklore

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