Fairy Tales of Ireland - Softcover

William Butler Yeats is widely regarded as one of the finest English language poets. His eclectic output frequently draws on his chief passions for the occult and the history of his homeland. The poetry, while often mystical and romantic, can also be gritty, realistic and frequently political. Yeats was also a major playwright and founded the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's national theatre. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

Grade 7 Up-- Nineteen stories are appealingly illustrated with Lynch's black-and-white line drawings and silhouettes. Folktale enthusiasts will recognize familiar themes and motifs in "The Twelve Wild Geese" (similar to Andersen's "Wild Swans"); "The Lazy Beauty and Her Aunts" (a Rumpelstiltskin variant); and "The Haughty Princess" (related to the Grimms' King Thrushbeard). Also included is Yeats's version of the Fin McCoul/Clever Oona story, "A Legend of Knockmany." While several of the tales are thematically mature, the majority have swift action, humor, magic, and the language of Yeats to recommend them for reading or telling aloud to older children. With an introduction aimed at adult readers and closing notes on sources, this is a good additional title for large folktale collections, and is much more accessible than Yeats's original two-volume set. --Janice M. Del Negro, Chicago Public Library
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