The third volume that I have read of Finn Bevan's Landscapes of Legend series - which connects the worlds of geography and mythology for young readers - Fabulous Beasts presents seven animal folktales from around the world. Each selection is preceded by a brief discussion of the animal in question, as well as the cultural background of the tale which follows.

The trickster spider is tricked in the West African Anansi and the Chameleon; while Dakuwaqa - the great god of the sharks - is defeated by a giant octopus in the Fijian How the Great Shark God Met His Match. In the Chinese tale, How a Tortoise Saved the World, the goddess Nu Gua uses a tortoise to avert catastrophe, when a battle between the fire god Zhu Rong, and the water god Gong Gong, endangers the world. Raven features in two Native America tales from the Pacific Northwest, Raven Steals the Moon and Raven Creates the World; while the Jaguar is the star of the Brazilian rain forest story, How the Jaguar Lost Its Fire. Finally, the Inuit story of the goddess Sedna is set out in How the Seals Came to Be.

Like Mighty Mountains and Sacred Skies, this thematic collection of folklore was engaging. I continue to appreciate the fact that this series highlights the connections between folklore and geography, and find Diana Mayo's accompanying illustrations charming. I did wish that some more specific information, as to culture of origin, was given for the two Raven tales, as well as for the Brazilian tale of the jaguar. This latter also featured in Philip Ardagh's South American Myths & Legends, where it is listed as Fire and the Jaguar, and is described as a Kayapó myth. I'm not sure what source material Bevan was using, but it surely wouldn't have been that difficult to be more specific. Leaving aside the question of attribution - which seems to pop up with depressing regularity, when it comes to North and South American tales - this was a fairly pleasing collection, although I did wonder how the theme of animals fit into the larger purpose of the series. ( )