Four Asian Folktales

Rae Bass, a children's librarian at Seattle Public Library, is the host for this lovely quartet of puppet plays produced at the library. In "Oniroku," a Japanese "Rumpelstiltskin," an ogre builds a bridge for a carpenter, and then demands his eyes for payment - unless the carpenter can guess the ogre's name. "Kyogen Stories" features two miniplays, "The Terrible Leak" and "Stolen Smell," that cleverly play with our perceptions of language. In "The Brocade Slipper," a Chinese version of "Cinderella" performed with hand and rod puppets, a friendly fish takes the place of the fairy godmother. And in "Uncle Toad and the Emperor," a Vietnamese shadow play, a major drought causes Toad and his friends to take a trip to the Emperor. Following each play, Bass demonstrates how the puppets were made and used, and also suggests that the library has many more fairy and folk tales available for children to read. Another quartet is also available entitled Four Classic Favorites (with "The Three Little Pigs," "Jack the Giant Killer," "Anansi's Stories," and "Knee High Man") at the same price. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (Available from: Video Presentations, Inc., 2326 Sixth Ave., Suite 230, Seattle, WA 98121;1-800-458-5335.)