Introduction to African Stories by Moonlight. The most memorable evenings I had as a child were those in which, together with other children, I listened to adults tell us stories which were often accompanied with rhythmic and delightful songs. When I started raising my own family in the city, my children looked forward to those nights when we would regale them with those stories and songs. I noticed then that many urban children were not exposed to these stories, as they were no longer in the environment in which they were told. It was after I did some studies on Indigenous African Education as a Visiting Scholar in the African Studies Center at UCLA, that I realized the molding influence of these stories on our character. Storytelling, of course, was a basic ingredient for traditional African education. I have therefore decided to share some of these stories with those children of African descent who are now away from the environment where they are told. Children and adults of other cultures will enjoy these stories, and learn from the wisdom embedded in them. The enthusiastic reception given to them by the multicultural classes to which I read them in the Long Beach Unified School District in California, further encouraged me to seek to publish them. I have written ten short stories in a language suitable for school readers, and a wider audience. If these stories help to revive storytelling in homes and communities, one objective for writing this book shall have been achieved. For the benefit of teachers who want to use the book to teach English, social studies, or multicultural studies, and for the benefit of families who would like to use the book for entertainment and learning, comprehension questions and answers have been prepared on each of the stories. These are available from [email protected]

First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque. They were also the inspiration for Mizoguchi Kenji's brilliant 1953 film Ugetsu. The title Ugetsu monogatari (literally "rain-moon tales") alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between human and animal and between the waking world and the world of dreams. The remaining stories feature demons, fiends, goblins, strange dreams, and other manifestations beyond all logic and common sense. The eerie beauty of this masterpiece owes to Akinari's masterful combination of words and phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore. Along with The Tale of Genji and The Tales of the Heike, Tales of Moonlight and Rain has become a timeless work of great significance. This new translation, by a noted translator and scholar, skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose.

Under the bright, shiny moon, an owl tells her chicks a bedtime story; a brave little beaver is inspired by a family legend, and a young mouse weaves a magical tale… A simply gorgeous anthology of animal stories that's just perfect for bedtime reading. Snuggle up with your little ones and share these sweet stories together before they go to sleep. Moonlight Tales is a beautiful addition to Stripes's hugely successful range of anthologies. With delightful illustrations from Alison Edgson and featuring brand-new stories from much-loved authors such as Holly Webb, Michael Broad, Penny Dolan and Elizabeth Baguley. As the nights draw in, Moonlight Tales would make a wonderful stocking filler this Christmas.

Remi Adedeji is an esteemed Nigerian children's writer, and associate editor for Bookbird in Nigeria. She started writing story books for African children when she discovered that the only books available to African children were alien to African culture. Many of her stories are Nigerian folktales in which the tortoise features prominently; this new title in the Heinemann Frontline series is no exception. The volume contains ten short stories based upon ancient folk tales.The reader will learn how the oil palm got its nuts; why the vulture has no hair on his head; why the tortoise's back is cracked; and how the tortoise married the king's daughter.

Rabbit waits for the moon. But the moon takes its time, so Rabbit hops back to his burrow and goes to sleep. What happens in the world when Rabbit isn’t looking? Well . . . magic. And moonlight. . . . The goats on the mountainside see it. The deer, birds, and raccoons see it. Even the fish see it. And finally, happily, Rabbit does, too. Do you?

An after-dinner walk in the moonlight leads to a series of confessions of first loves. That is until Jessop takes his turn and decries the notion of love itself. He speaks of a tragic affair between an old schoolfriend of his and an innocent Sinhalese girl, and so introduces the motif of these three stories - the incompatibility of East and West.