Tom Thumb
The famous tale from the Brothers Grimm included in this book is only one of the stories from around the world about a very diminutive but resourceful character trying to earn his or her place in the world. This international collection of stories revolves around a surprisingly frequent theme: an extremely tiny child who starts out in life either unwanted or humorously accident prone. A quest begins, often initiated by one of these accidents or by a spectacular event that could only befall someone two inches tall. The character must use wit, heroics, and even trickery, to survive a series of adventures that are sometimes exciting--sometimes harrowing.
MARGARET READ MACDONALD is a children's librarian with the King County Library System, Seattle, Washington. She is on the board of the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS) and has edited numerous collections of folktales for storytellers, including The Storyteller's Sourcebook, Twenty Tellable Tales, and Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About. Dr. MacDonald holds a Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University, Bloomington.