Edited by Joanne Asala, the stories are vividly and dramatically interpreted and portrayed in the paper-cuts (wycinaki) by Alice Wadowski-Bak, noted paper-cut and folkore artist.¶The work of Alice Wadowski-Bak, native of Niagara Falls, New York, is found in private collections and galleries worldwide. The art of wycinanki appeared in Poland in the middle of the 1800s, especially in rural areas where sheep shears were readily available. The method of folding, layering, coloring, and overlay is related to the ancient Chinese art of the block print. Artist Wadowski-Bak explores both wycinanki and oriental stencil cutting. Her origianl designs for this book attest to her exquisite artistry.¶This is a treasure of folk art and lore. A very special gift for personal collections.This book of engaging folk stories includes such tales as "The Violin," "The Headache Cure," "Midsummer's Eve," "The Flower Queen's Daughter," "The Legend of the North Wind," "The Flaming Castle," "The Village Dance," and "The Unfinished Tune."The stories were collected by Joanne Asala, with wycinanki (paper-cutting) illustrations by Polish-American artist Alice Wadowski-Bak.

Polish Customs, Traditions, & Folklore is organized by months beginning with December and Advent, St. Nicholas Day, the Wigilia (Christmas Eve) nativity plays, caroling and then New Year celebrations. It proceeds from the Shrovetide period to Ash Wednesday, Lent, the celebration of spring, Holy Week customs then superstitions, beliefs and rituals associated with farming, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, midsummer celebrations, harvest festivities, wedding rites, nameday celebrations, birth and death rituals. Line illustrations enhance this rich and varied treasury of folklore. Many of the customs and traditions found herein are extinct even in today's Poland. World wars, massive immigration, the loss of the oral tradition, urbanization and politics have changed the face of a once agrarian people and their accompanying life style. In the U.S., the desire for membership within the "melting pot", marriages outside one's ethnic group, movement to the suburbs away from the "old" communities where customs and traditions were once strong, further weakened the link. Although the purpose and meaning may have been lost and forgotten, the oczepiny ceremony (the unveiling) is still the mainstay of almost every wedding where the bride declares Polish heritage. Many Polish American communities still reenact the harvest celebrations, reminding themselves of their ancestors' reverence for the grains and gifts of bread. Eight million Americans still claim their ancestry as Polish, many still diligently practicing that which they learned at their parents' and grandparents' knees. Much has also been neglected or completely forgotten.

'At once a gripping psychological thriller and a finely crafted work of literature ... An exhibition of stylistic virtuosity, a pyrotechnic display of fine writing' Financial Times 'Part psychological thriller and part literary puzzle' Grazia Zoya Andropova, a young Russian refugee, finds herself in an elite New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by her new country's paranoia about Soviet spies. When she meets charismatic fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov – whose books Zoya has obsessed over for years – everything seems to change. But she soon discovers that Leo is bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera, and that their relationship is far more complex than Zoya could ever have imagined.

Reading these fairy tales, you will enjoy the wisdom and life experience of many generations of Polish people that are behind them. If you want to feel the humor of this wonderful nation and get a glimpse of its people's kindness, just continue reading these wonderful tales. This book comprises the following 50 fairy tales: 1.Maria: What Is Destined to Come Shall Come 2.Anuszka the Golden Braid 3.About Two Girls - A Kind One and a Wicked One 4.The Girl and the Prince in the Cow's Skin 5.Lazy Girl 6.Sermon 7.Three Lamps 8.About a Simple Man Who Comforted His Master 9.People Getting Rich 10.Extraordinary Wife 11.Owl and the Hawk 12.The Reason Why the Hare Eats No Meat 13.Dog's Winter Thoughts and Summer Thoughts 14.Is there justice in this world? 15.Mazek's Debt 16.Very Worst Punishment 17.It Does not Stab, nor Does It Shoot, yet It Knocks One Senseless 18.About a Rich Gentleman 19.How a Smith Worked His Way to Heaven 20.About a Prince Who Did not Want to Die 21.A Present for the Kings' Godson 22.About the King's Son 23.How a Simple Man's Son Became the King and Married a Sea Girl 24.How the Dog Got the Wolf Wear Boots 25.Gustek's Misfortune 26.Two Brothers 27.Miracle at the Mill 28.Lark and the Wolf 29.Spellbound Pike 30.Ostruda Stone 31.The Dwarf and the Bear 32.Nobleman and Michal 33.Punished for Guile 34.Misfortune 35.Ram Brother and Duck Sister 36.Shepherd 37.Golden Fish 38.Gold Trot 39.Healing Water 40.Prince and His Helpers 41.About a Cockerel 42.Fisherman's Son and the Water Man's Daughter 43.Boy and His Dog and Cat, and the Lion Cub 44.One Who Went to Ask the Sun 45.Magic Gun, Fiddle, and Boots 46.Glass Hill 47.Fear 48.Titelitury 49.Tailor's Wife and the Countess 50.How the Slug Defeated the Fox. This book contains only basic Latin symbols.

The book comprises the best of Polish folk tales as well as short stories by the most renowned Polish authors, such as: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław St.Reymont, Bolesław Prus, Adam Szymanski, Stefan Zeromski, Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, Zofia Rygier-Nałkowska, Wacław Sieroszewski. It is undoubtedly the best compilation of Polish fairy tales and children's short stories.