Speak Bird Speak Again

A collection of Palestinian Arab folktales which reflect the culture and highlights the role of women in the society.

Why do snakes eat frogs? What makes a man-eating ghoul turn vegetarian? And how can a woman make a bored prince smile? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in this delicious anthology of Palestinian folk tales collected and retold by Sonia Nimr. A wry sense of humour runs through the characterful women, genial tricksters and mischievous animals who make an appearance. Sonia's upbeat storytelling, bubbling with wit and humour, will delight readers discovering for the first time the rich tradition of Palestinian storytelling.

The critically acclaimed, award-winning, modern classic Speak is now a stunning graphic novel. "Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless—an outcast—because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. With powerful illustrations by Emily Carroll, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak: The Graphic Novel comes alive for new audiences and fans of the classic novel. This title has Common Core connections.

These 27 traditional folk stories were written down, shortly before her death, by Jamal Sleem Nuweihed, who had recounted them to the children of her extended family over many years. Authentically Arab in their themes, yet timelessly universal, they are sometimes magical, sometimes naturalistic, and combine a wealth of vivid detail with elements of pathos and humor. Translated by family members of various generations, then expertly edited, the book is a precious store of the kind of tale endlessly cherished but in danger of disappearing.

"A Tongva creation story of Catalina Island and how the black-crowned night heron came to be"--

Martha worries that her recent bouts of bad luck might be contagious! Uh-oh. Martha walked under a ladder—and then she broke a mirror—so now she thinks she’s jinxed! Helen tries to explain that all the accidents are just coincidence. But when a nearby toddler stumbles and a waiter takes a clumsy spill, Martha worries that her bad luck might be rubbing off on everybody else. Will Martha be spreading bad luck for seven whole years? Includes a "Test Your Knowledge" activity on common superstitions.

Folktales are instrumental in ensuring the survival of oral traditions and strengthening communal bonds. Both the stories and the process of storytelling itself help to define social, cultural and political identity. For Palestinians, the threat of losing their heritage has engendered a sense of urgency among storytellers and Palestinian folklorists. Yet there has been remarkably little academic scholarship dedicated to the tradition. Farah Aboubakr here analyses a selection of folktales edited, compiled and translated by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana in Speak, Bird, Speak Again (1989). In addition to the folktales themselves, Muhawi and Kanaana's collection is renowned for providing readers with extensive folkloric, historical and anthropological annotations. Here, for the first time, the folktales and the compilers' work on them, are the subject of scholarly analysis. Synthesising various disciplines including memory studies, gender studies and social movement studies, Aboubakr uses the collection to understand the politics of storytelling and its impact on Palestinian identity. In particular, the book draws attention to the female storytellers who play an essential role in transmitting and preserving collective memory and culture. The book is an important step towards analysing a significant genre of Palestinian literature and will be relevant to scholars of Palestinian politics and popular culture, gender studies and memory studies, and those interested in folklore and oral literature.