CAMBRIDGE 'LEGENDS'
LEGENDS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD (Cambridge University Press 1986)
THE TREE IN THE MOON and other Legends of Plants and Trees
(Cambridge University Press 1989)
KING LEOPARD'S GIFT and other Animal Legends
(Cambridge University Press 1990)
(chosen by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups for their ‘pick of the year’ list)
“stimulating and well researched...will give children much pleasure and enhance their knowledge of other cultures” - TES
“Rosalind Kerven’s retellings are accessible to the eye and ear and the success of each story lies in its affinity with the oral tradition… worth adding to any storyteller’s source library” - School Librarian
“the style of writing is strongly oral… a useful and enjoyable book” - British Book News
“particularly helpful introduction...approachable and encourages further exploration of animal legends” - Signal Selection of Children’s Books
“told in a manner accessible to children but faithful to the oral story-telling styles of their source cultures” - New Jersey Goodlife
Although I had already published several children’s novels, Legends of the Animal World was the first book I wrote in the ‘myths and legends’ genre. It was well received, so I was commissioned to write two more for the Cambridge Legends series.
Each book consisted of short retellings of 11 or 12 stories, with a large colour illustration to accompany each one. They were sourced from many different countries including Australia (Aboriginal peoples), African-America and Native America, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Jamaica, Inuit, New Zealand (Maori people), Brazil and Norway – as well as some from Britain and Ireland.
They sold well in the USA and Australia as well as the UK.