©2000-2010 Diane Wolkstein / Cloudstone Productions, New York City. All rights are reserved.
The Magic Wings
Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Dutton, out of print.
Spanish edition published by Hyspamerica.
Longing to fly, a Chinese goose girl desires to greet the flowers of spring, provoking a chain reaction of competitors who also wish to fly. A story often told at Easter and Spring.
“It would be hard to name any folk story with richer philosophical meanings.”
— Wilson Library Bulletin
Adpated as a play by the Okoboji Summer Theatre of Spirit Lake, Iowa.
Pre-Kindergarten through Third Grade.
Books from M to Z
The Magic Orange Tree
and Other Haitian folktales
Illustrated by Elsa Henriquez.
Random House-Schocken, New York, softbound. ISBN 0-8052-1077-6. First published 1978, 2nd edition published 1997.
Hardcover edition out of print.
Please e-mail us to order this book by mail.
A classic collection of twenty-seven easy to read and tell Haitian stories with illustrations, music, and introductory notes. Excellent for beginning storytellers.
“This book is sheer delight. Grown-ups of all ages, as well as children of all ages, will revel in it.”
— Lillian Ross, The New Yorker
“Wolkstein's prefatory notes are so eloquent and so filled with flashes of light thrown upon the customs, beliefs, and practices of the Haitian people, that nothing more seems to be wanted.”
— Katharine Briggs
“It is a joy to have this book, not only to read it, but to listen to it. The Magic Orange Tree is a gift.”
— P.L. Travers
American Library Association Notable.
Recommended for families and all ages.
The story of "Owl," retold as Owl in Love, was scored to music by composer Jon Deak and performed at New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
"Owl," rewritten as "Owl and Nightingale," was scored to music by Australian composer Pat Rix for her 2002 opera My Life, My Love, which was premiered at the State Opera in Adelaide, Australia.
Japanese edition published by Iwanami Shoten.
Finnish edition published by Salainen Kirjasto.
The story “Mother of the Waters” was published as a standalone picture book in Korean by Hansol Education Co. Ltd. in 2009.
Oom Razoom
or: Go I Know Not Where,
Bring Back I Know Not What
A Russian Tale
Illustrated by Dennis McDermott. HarperCollins, New York, 1991. ISBN 0-688-09416-3.
Out of print. Please e-mail us to order this book by mail.
A Russian fairy tale in which an envious King sends his archer "I Know Not Where." The archer discovers the secret of his belovéd's heart.
“A plum of a Russian tale unfolds seamlessly...rich in captivating language... [illustrator Dennis] McDermott beckons readers to curl up and be transported to unexplored realms.”
— Publisher’s Weekly
Recommended for all ages.
American Library Association Notable - Social Studies.
The Red Lion
Illustrated by Ed Young. Thomas Y. Crowell, New York, 1977. Out of print.
A Sufi tale of a Persian prince who runs away three times before finding the courage to face his own Red Lion.
“In each situation, the prince finds that he has merely postponed rather than escaped the ultimate confrontation with his fears... told in a flowing, rhythmic style... a superb addition to the storyteller's repertoire.”
— The Horn Book
“[A] thought-provoking, teaching tale...”
— Booklist
Recommended for all ages.
ALA Notable Children's Book - Social Studies.
Squirrel’s Song
A Hopi Indian Tale
Illustrated by Lillian Hoban. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1976. Out of print.
Squirrel and Chipmunk are best friends until Chipmunk makes up a song about Squirrel. "Can a song catch you?" Squirrel worries.
“When the Hopi actually tries to catch the capering animals, Squirrel shows his friend there are more facets to a living creature than a song can capture.”
— School Library Journal
Recommended for Kindergarten and First Grade.
Step by Step
Illustrated by Jos. A. Smith. HarperCollins, 1994.
ISBN 0-688-10315-4.
A friendly, easy-to-read story of a small ant who ventures out by herself to visit her friend and returns home safely.
“A spare, well-honed tale in an appealing setting that will make it a winner with the pre-school set.”
— Kirkus Reviews
The participatory refrain, "step by step," helps children to learn to read.
Recommended for Kindergarten and First Grade.
Sun Mother Wakes the World
An Australian Creation Story
Illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft. HarperCollins, New York, 2004, hardbound. ISBN 0-68-813915-9.
The indigenous people of Australia believe that their first ancestors created the world and its laws. They also believe that the world is still being created in a continual process they call the "Dreamtime." Diane has crafted a powerful retelling of an Australian creation story, illuminated by illustrator Bronwyn Bancroft's authentic, beautifully realized paintings.
“Veteran folklorist/storyteller Wolkstein retells the tale...with strong but understated feeling and glints of humor; Bancroft...depicts Sun Mother as a graceful, golden form, bringing light to a swirling, distinctively stylized, brightly patterned world.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Treasures of the Heart
Holiday Stories That Reveal the Soul of Judaism
Random House, 2003. ISBN 0-805241-44-2.
A unique rendition of stories in the Hebrew Bible that are part of the foundation of Judaism and Western literature. Biblical characters such as Moses, Ruth, Solomon and others -- their passions, ethical dilemmas, and changing relationships with God -- are rendered with astonishing immediacy, achieved through careful research and a storyteller's grace.
“Wolkstein's imaginative scenarios and intimate style help readers to become listeners, as the oral rhythms of Haggadah are passed from teacher to student.”
— Publisher’s Weekly
“Treasures of the Heart is a heart opener--authentic, current, and available to readers of all backgrounds. An inspiration!
— Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, lecturer at Naropa University and author of Wrapped in a Holy Flame
“Treasures of the Heart will be treasured by all those who seek to join the temporal with the spiritual in Jewish tradition. With her bold yet deeply meditated understanding of our most compelling biblical and rabbinic stories, Wolkstein lets Jewish holy days shed a new light on how we live now — and how we can live in the future.”
— Alicia Ostriker, author of Stealing the Language
“Turning and weaving are the choreographic movements that Diane Wolkstein has used in composing her extraordinary expansive book... She has turned the Torah to reveal its seventy faces interweaving, in various combinations, oral legends, Talmudic and midrashic texts, history texts, academic findings, along with her own reinterpretations and reflections...This is a book that will truly give the readers an understanding heart, listening ears and vision through new eyes.”
— Parabola
BUY IT NOW
The Visit
Illustrated by Lois Ehlert. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1977. ISBN 0-394-83449-6
(library-bound version: 0-394-93449-0). Out of print.
In a giant world of stones, leaves, and branches, a little ant's journey to visit her friend is a big adventure — one that she does slowly, step by step. The simple, rhythmic language of the story enables the reader to come along in the same way.
White Wave
A Chinese Tale
Illustrated by Ed Young. Harcourt, 1996. ISBN 0-15-200293-60.
First published by Thomas Y. Crowell in 1979.
Korean edition published by Better Books.
A Chinese tale of a young farmer who finds a moon snail and discovers that it houses the Moon Goddess, White Wave. When the farmer forgets what he knows, he loses the Goddess - who returns in an unexpected manner.
“Our favorite picture book for ages 3-7 is veteran folklorist Diane Wolkstein's White Wave. Haunting and dramatic, this is a profoundly simple tale of loss, grief, and rebirth.”
— The Feminist Bookstore News
A beautiful, eternal story about love in its many dimensions.
— Priscilla Moulton
Recommended for all ages, especially Kindergarten through Third Grade.
Featured on National Public Radio, and in both the American Storytelling video series and Jimmy Neil Smith's book Homespun: Tales from America's Favorite Storytellers (Crown, New York, ISBN 0-517-56936-1).
ALA Notable.
White Wave has been of comfort to many children who have lost relatives, friends, and belovéd animals.
“My stories go back and forth from the telling to the writing. Almost every story I write I tell many times. When children ask me which is your favorite book, I usually answer the one I’m writing now.”
— Diane Wolkstein
