The role of objects and images in everyday life are illuminated incisively in Material Vernaculars, which combines historical, ethnographic, and object-based methods across a diverse range of material and visual cultural forms. The contributors to this volume offer revealing insights into the significance of such practices as scrapbooking, folk art produced by the elderly, the wedding coat in Osage ceremonial exchanges, temporary huts built during...

Award-winning artist Scott Gustafson, inspired by the Golden Age of illustration, re-tells and re-imagines some of our best known fairy tales through his inimitable illustrations in Classic Fairy Tales Vol I. The fixed layout ebook format retains the lavishly illustrated spreads from his Classic Fairy Tales printed book (over 190,000 copies sold). These fabulously retold family favorites can be read aloud or enjoyed through the dramatic word-for-word...

Cronus, a giant Titan, is obsessed with power, and he goes to great lengths to preserve it. However his own sons may be his downfall when an epic battle between the Olympians and Titans explodes. Will Cronus lose his precious power?

Medusa, once a bewitching beauty, has become a hideous monster with snakes for hair. When men look at her, they turn to stone. Whe King Polydectes sends Perseus for Medusas head, he thinks Perseus will soon be another one of Medusas stone men. Or will he?

Why is there no "Grand Theory" in the study of folklore? Talcott Parsons (1902—1979) advocated "grand theory," which put the analysis of social phenomena on a new track in the broadest possible terms. Not all sociologists or folklorists accept those broad terms, some still adhere to the empirical level. Through a forum sponsored by the American Folklore Society, the diverse answers to the question of such a theory arrived at substantial agreement:...

The study of folklore has historically focused on the daily life and culture of regular people, such as artisans, storytellers, and craftspeople. But, what can folklore reveal about strategies of belonging, survival, and reinvention in moments of crisis? The experience of living in hostile conditions for cultural, social, political, or economic reasons has redefined communities in crisis. The curated works in Theorizing Folklore from the Margins offer...

Snow White is the fairest in the land. When the wicked queen wants that title for herself, Snow White flees into the forest where she meets the Seven Dwarfs. But the queen is determined to be the fairest in the land. Will Snow White ever escape her evil clutches and live happily ever after? This storybook includes beautiful, full color art in the style of the beloved film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

When Cinderella's cruel stepmother forbids her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets unexpected help from her mice friends and her Fairy Godmother. Cinderella attends the ball as a mysterious guest and dances with the prince. At the stroke of the midnight, she loses one of her glass slippers and transforms back into a maid. Will the prince ever find her now? This storybook includes beautiful, full color art in the style of the beloved film, Cinderella....

Scholars of the occult explore the phenomenon of demonic possession and expulsion through centuries of Western history in this essay anthology. Instances of exorcism have been widely documented for centuries, with references to demonic possession and expulsion appearing in the Bible as well as ancient Roman epic poetry. In Exorcism Through the Ages, scholars examine the historical record, analyzing exorcism practices in Jewish, Catholic, and Greek...

Works on Jewish humor and Jewish jokes abound today, but what formed the basis for our contemporary notions of Jewish jokes? How and when did these perceptions develop? In this groundbreaking study and translation, noted humor and folklore scholar Elliott Oring introduces us to the joke collections of Lippmann Moses Büschenthal, an enlightened rabbi, and an unknown author writing as "Julius Ascher." Originally published in German in 1812 and 1810,...