Dan Keding’s latest book is a compilation of folk tales about elders. The author, a performer and storyteller himself, has previously published similar collections of tales on various topics. He presents his Elder Tales as a set of “material on elders” for educators, storytellers, and general readers (xiv). Keding encourages the reader to make use of the stories, and to seek and listen to stories by elders.

The book provides an overview of tales about elders from various continents. The author has compiled stories mainly from Asia and Europe, but gives us also examples from Africa, and North and South America. This compilation of “elder tales” comprises also various genres: trickster tales, animal tales, tales of magic, stories about justice, and so forth. Keding offers the reader a retelling of the narratives with brief background information about his sources and valuable references to other versions of similar stories.

The first chapter, “Wisdom,” presents elders as protagonists whose knowledge is demonstrated in a humorous manner. The selected stories illustrate experience and wisdom. They underscore the central role of elders and the richness they represent for the community. The value of the elders’ knowledge--ascertained in the narratives--becomes the key of the stories. Chapter 2 consists of trickster stories. The protagonist elder overcomes the most powerful ones thanks to wisdom, ruse, and knowledge: not only the king, the general, and the bishop are defeated, but also the devil and Death itself. Last but not least, youth is overwhelmed by the power of elders. Chapter 3, “Heroes,” provides samples of stories of fear, ruse, bravery, war, forgiveness, and love. The heroes find their strength in wisdom and knowledge and thus become for the youngsters persons to model themselves on.

The fourth chapter deals with families. Good and bad examples illustrate relationships between youth and their elders. Also, we are given examples of children who are uncaring for their parents and grandchildren devoted to their grandparents. Cruelty, greed, envy, and jealousy are brought up in chapter 5, “Justice by accident,” in which we get to meet the devil’s grandmother in a wonderful tale from Germany. Other stories in the chapter originate in various storytelling traditions from Albania, Scotland, Israel, Indonesia, Greece, Estonia, and Korea. Tales of magic and wonder are compiled in chapter 6, where myths, ghost stories, tales of courage and revenge and magic and cunning from countries as various as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Brazil, Holland, India, Vietnam, Spain, and Russia provide a broad overview of the genre.

Animal tales are also included in the book, in a specific chapter. We are taught how aging animals also deserve respect and possess wisdom. Keding presents in chapter 8 “Stories for elders,” narratives with foolish characters. They exemplify life wisdom in a humorous manner. A delightful story from the Middle East renders an insightful reflection about knowledge: “Knowledge is like the carrot, few know by looking at the green top that the best part, the orange part, is there. Like the carrot, if you don’t work for it, it will wither away and rot. And finally, like the carrot, there are a great many donkeys and jackasses that are associated with it” (151).

A few stories emerge as central messengers in the collection. “The story bag” (47) could sum up Keding’s attitude toward storytelling. The story tells about a boy who amassed stories in a bag, causing their frustration at not being able to come out and be shared. It ends with a conclusion full of wisdom: “And so it is that stories are to be shared, passed from one person to another over great distances through all time. As long as they are shared and spoken, they are truly alive and well” (49). Keding appeals to responsibility in collecting and telling stories, and “The story bag” illustrates metaphorically his effort.

Keding ends the compilation with a section suggesting how to use the book with school children and with elders. Thereby he makes clear his main goal with his publication: stories are not only to be read; they have to be used, or “kept alive” as we can read in “the story bag.” Stories will lead to new stories, and Keding advises how to trigger storytelling and reflection on tales with children and with elders.

Although the original tellers remain invisible, Keding’s book presents the advantage of compiling fantastic tales full of wisdom. They keep living their life--even though out of their context--thanks to Keding’s publications.

Dan Keding’s book Elder Tales: Stories of Wisdom and Courage from Around the World is a useful and comprehensive collection of narratives concerning a significant topic in storytelling and in life. The stories can be used as pedagogical tools and communication triggers but the lack of information about the original storyteller and contextual background limits the possibility of using the stories for research. Thus, the book is not a contribution to the study of folk tales; its aim is rather to exemplify the topic of elders in storytelling and to highlight the pedagogical value of narratives.

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[Review length: 838 words • Review posted on May 29, 2008]