The region of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado holds a unique place in the world of Spanish folk literature. Isolated from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world for most of its history since its first settlement in 1598, it has retained, even into our own time, much of its Hispanic folkloric heritage from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-ballads, songs, poems, folktales, sayings, anecdotes, proverbs, riddles, and folk drama.

 

In this book, written in the late 1930s and never before published, Aurelio M. Espinosa, New Mexico’s pioneer folklorist, presents the first comprehensive, authoritative account of the relict folklore, bringing together the results of his collecting during the first third of this century, in the Southwest and in Spain, and his many ground-breaking scholarly studies.

Blyton, Enid - Five On A Treasure Island

[unabridged audiobook with text + radioshow]

The very first Famous Five adventure, featuring Julian, Dick, Anne, not forgetting tomboy George and her beloved dog, Timmy! There's a shipwreck off Kirrin Island! But where is the treasure?
The Famous Five are on the trail - looking for clues - but they're not alone! Someone else has got the same idea. Time is running out for the Famous Five, who will follow the clues and get to the treasure first?

How is a tiny fertilised egg able to turn itself into a human being? How can an acorn transform itself into an oak tree?

Over the past twenty years there has been a revolution in biology. For the first time we have begun to understand how organisms make themselves.

Miyamoto Usagi is no Bugs Bunny. He's a rabbit bodyguard, a samurai who wanders the mountains, plains, and villages of a 17th-century Japan populated almost exclusively by anthropomorphic animals. Cats, snakes, rhinos, and ninja moles plot and fight their way across a land ravaged by civil war. The 10 stories in the first volume introduce Usagi, the evil Lord Hikiji, and a host of other characters. The stories themselves can stand alone, but taken together they begin to form an ongoing saga of treachery and revenge. Sometimes violent, sometimes funny, Usagi's adventures are filled with fascinating historical detail. The costumes, landscapes, and buildings are beautifully drawn, creating such a sense of realism it's easy to forget the hero is a rabbit. If you buy the first book in this series, you'll want the rest.

Usagi Yojimbo is the kind of quality work that transcends time, genres, demographics, and even age groups. It crafts a delicate and beautiful balance between honor and savagery, cute innocence and dark brutality, simple heart-warming stories and multi-part epics that shape a dense continuity. Whether or not you've ever been a fan of feudal Japanese culture, furry anthro characters, or independent, non-superhero comics, Usagi Yojimbo is a comic that can't help but impress even the harshest critic.

Not only suitable, but much recommended for young learners, Reading level: Ages 9-12, can serve as well as a coloring  book to enliven lessons - stovokor, Usagi addict :)