Tales of the Friendly Forest

Written by Alexi Lushkin
Translated from Russian by Galina Krylova

This kindle book is a collection of ten fairy tales told from the point of view of several animals living in the forest. At the outset the reader is introduced to a poem that tells of the song of the forest. The animals in the tales introduce themselves one verse at a time. In the beginning, the forest was in chaos. Each of the animals went about doing whatever he wanted. One day a clubfooted bear shouted out to the other animals of the forest from the top of a tree that from now on there would be a truce; all animals would be friends to one another and there would be no territorial boundaries. From that point on, all the animals of the forest had their own names, but they were all friends and helpers to each other.

The rest of the stories focus on one or two animals who are able to teach the reader about compassion for others, the need to share knowledge, not to be afraid of the unknown, and to be true to oneself. In the story about fashion, the animals decide to be fashion mongers. Even though the boars delight in rolling around in the mud, they then rub against the trees ridding themselves of all dirt. The animals decide that boars are the neatest and cleanest animals in the forest. Appearances can be deceiving! In the story about the forest beasts watching children play hockey, children learn that TV and cinema did not always exist, there should be time for other pursuits.

These short stories are intended for children and adults. The format is a bit unusual in that the book begins with a poem and then switches to verse. In a few places the flow is a bit choppy due to the translation. Still, I found the stories refreshing with good lessons for children and reminders for adults. The book can be broken up into sections for younger children and read independently by children eight and older. Makes a nice bedtime story book for children who love animals.

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The Elephant, Cow and The Yummy Bananas (Shortest Story Book Series for Children)

Written by Sarah G.

This is the story of a baby elephant and a cow who are the best of friends. One day they are walking in the forest when they come upon a banana tree laden with ripe fruit. Cow asks elephant to reach the banana by using its trunk. Elephant obliges him, but suddenly elephant remarks, “I am hungry and I will have it.” Cow is upset and reminds his friend that he saw the tree first and should have its fruit. The two friends argued for a long time. After a while, a monkey sauntered by. The two friends asked him to be a mediator dividing the bananas equally and offering him a share. Monkey thought for a time before jumping up into the tree grabbing a banana and then peeling it. He did not divide the banana, but peeled it giving cow and monkey equal pieces of peel. Then he began to eat all of the banana himself!

The elephant asked him, “Why are you justified in eating the banana and giving us only the peel?” Then the monkey pointed out that they are two friends who are on opposite sides arguing, but that he is in the middle. Isn’t it logical that he should eat the middle part, while the two parties arguing eat the parts that are on the two sides? While the two friends pondered about this, the monkey ate all the rest of the bananas and left cow and elephant with only the peels. Finally, the two friends realized their mistake. Elephant was the first to yield. They admit to each other that they were wasting time arguing, and that friends need to share with each other. By being greedy, each of them was exploited by the monkey. From that day on, cow and elephant resolve to play and help each other sharing without hesitation.

This kindle short story is a great read aloud for young children who are in the “me” stage. The animal friends are an easy way to introduce the values of sharing and friendship. My one criticism is that the book lacks illustrations which could have been very effective in reinforcing the concepts that the author is delineating in the story. Parents and classroom teachers might want to use the book to address sibling rivalry or “how to play well and get along with others.”

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