Books in the Greenwood Folklore Handbooks series

Included are explanations of the different types of Slavic folklore, the role of Slavic folklore in literature and popular culture, and the state of criticism and scholarship on this field of interest.

Just about everyone is familiar with folk and fairy tales. This reference is a convenient introduction to folk and fairy tales for students and general readers. Written by a leading authority, this handbook offers a broad examination of folk and fairy tales as a folklore type.

The handbook defines and classifies types of fairies, provides numerous examples and texts, overviews scholarship, and discusses the role of fairies in art, film, and popular culture. It provides numerous examples of fairy lore along with excerpts from different traditions, then examines various approaches to the study of fairies.

From the ancient world of traveling bards in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, to the contemporary world of storytelling festivals, fan fiction, and digital story conferences, this reference unravels confusion between concepts of folklore and story, and demonstrates how they are linked.

Written by the foremost authority on proverbs, this reference gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers a concise yet comprehensive overview of proverbs in world culture. The volume begins with definitions and classifications of proverbs and a discussion of their origin and dissemination.

A type of folklore, myth is central to all cultures. It defines and classifies types of myth and provides numerous examples, many of which illustrate the significance of myth to contemporary society.

Provides an introduction to folklore from South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This volume presents an overview of the cultural background of South Asia. It then examines different types of folklore and the difficulties of defining and classifying folklore genres.

Written especially for high school students and general readers, this volume is an accessible introduction to German folklore. The volume begins by defining and classifying different types of German folklore.

Few folklore figures are as famous, enigmatic, and influential as the Pied Piper, the notorious catcher of rats and children. Written for students and general readers, this book surveys the origin and history of the Pied Piper legend and discusses its significance in literature, art, film, popular culture, and political criticism.

Accessible to students and general readers, this book is a concise but thorough introduction to Caribbean folklore.

In every land, various traditions, customs, and legends have developed around food. Culturally and ethnically inclusive, from soul food to Navaho fry bread, the volume looks at basic Jewish and Islamic food traditions and Asian, Latin, and European influences on the foods of America.

Included are chapters on the definition and classification of children's folklore, the presence of children's folklore in literature and popular culture, and the scholarly interpretation of children's folklore.

Hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure are part of a mysterious world of African American spirituality that has long captured the popular imagination. It also examines the scholarly response to hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure, and it explores the presence of hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure in popular culture.

It looks at the critical and scholarly response to Arab folklore and the place of Arab folklore in contemporary culture. It surveys the critical and scholarly response to Arab folklore and discusses the importance of Arab folklore to popular culture.

Was there a Cinderella tale in the ancient world?The volume begins by asking how we can attempt to define folklore in the first place, and how we can make sense of the vast amount of materials available.