World on a Maple Leaf: A Treasury of Canadian Multicultural Follktales
Published by the Edmonton Public School Board, Resource Development Service, World on a Maple Leaf: A Treasury of Canadian Multicultural Folktales (available at Amazon.ca, Chapters and Audrey’s) is a collection of 25 folktales that have been written by people from different cultural backgrounds who have called Canada ‘home.’ Rooted in cultures from around the world, the stories not only offer a different imaginative world to the children, but an opportunity to learn different languages, albeit a few words of each, as they delve into the worlds of spiders and foxes, kings and farmers, old women and young maidens, from China, Japan, India, Ireland, Afghanistan, Lithuania, and around the world. While some of the stories have originated outside and then traveled to Canada with people coming here from other parts of the world, others are distinctly rooted in the Canadian soil. These stories will give children an opportunity to study various cultures that have become part of the broader Canadian culture, and see that there are universal elements that we all share as humans irrespective of all kinds of differences. Put together, they bring about the universal ideals of sharing, honesty, perseverance, truth, respect for the elders, helping the needy, defeat of the evil, and the values of human rights and equality. This collection adds to the existing repertoire of children’s literature in Canada.