When The Talking Tree and other Stories was published in 1955, Augusta Baker had been the head of storytelling at the New York Public Library for two years. When she was appointed the Coordinator of Children's Services in 1961, she became the first African-American ever to hold an administrative position in that institution. Her work in researching and promoting children's literature that portrayed African-Americans in a positive light had national influence, as did her work with the American Library Association's Children's Services Division, and on various Newbery and Caldecott committees.

In light of this pioneering role in the world of children's literature and librarianship, I was eager to read her book, the first of two such international folkloric anthologies (the second being The Golden Lynx and Other Tales, published in 1960). I was somewhat surprised to find that none of the twenty-eight tales contained herein are African or African-American, a selection choice that had me wondering, in light of Baker's activism to promote positive literature about blacks, whether this was the result of her own editorial process, or one imposed upon her by her publishers. Of course there's nothing to say that an African-American must include tales with an African background, but the information that these stories were selected from those actually told at library story-hours suggests that the program was not yet as inclusive as it could have been.

Leaving this aside, I enjoyed the selections that were presented, although I found the text itself a little old-fashioned. This probably isn't so surprising, given the fact that many of the selections were taken from older collections. Here the reader will encounter:

The Talking Tree: an Italian tale in which a king, determined to have all the rarest and most beautiful things in his palace, sets out to find the Talking Tree, freeing the King of Spain's daughter in the process.

Vardiello: another Italian story, originally found in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone, in which a prudent woman named Grannonia manages her half-wit son well enough that he does not give away their good fortune.

Cinderella: which is listed here as an English tale, although I have always considered it French, at least in this form.

Tom Tit Tot: an English variant on the well-known Rumpelstiltskin tale-type, in which a strange little man offers to weave five skeins of flax a night for the distressed queen, but asks a terrible price in return.

The Fairy Wife: a Welsh story in which a young farmer kidnaps a fairy maiden, eventually making her his wife, until an accident sends her back to her people.

Ned Puw's Farewell: an eerie tale, first recorded in The Welsh Fairy Book, in which a fiddler disappears into the terrible Tal Clegir Cave one night.

The Horned Woman: in which an Irish housewife defeats the twelve witches who occupy her house one night, with the help of the Spirit of the Well.

The Coming of Finn: in which Fionn mac Cumhall, one of the greatest heroes in Irish mythology, first appears at Tara, winning his rightful place by defeating the terrible wizard, Allen son of Midna.

The Seal Catcher and the Merman: a Scots tale in which a great seal hunter is confronted with the results of his work, when he is brought to the underwater lair of the seal-people. This is clearly a selkie tale, although that word is not used.

The Fox and the Wolf: a rather Aesopic fable set in Scotland, in which a fox uses deception to hoard an entire cask of butter, only to get his just deserts in the end.

The Lame Dog: a fascinating Swedish tale that is very similar, in its first half, to the Norwegian East of the Sun and West of the Moon, or the Greco-Roman Cupid and Psyche. Here a young princess weds a lame dog (rather than a white bear), and is taken to his fantastic palace, where her every desire is granted. But her curiosity about her husband leads to disaster, and soon she must seek for her lost love, facing three trials of loyalty.

The Princess and the Glass Mountain: a Swedish tale in which a young man is aided by a magical wild man (a dwarf, perhaps?), in his quest to win a beautiful princess. This tale reminded me strongly of the Russian story of Chestnut-Grey, or the Norwegian The Maid on the Glass Mountain, found in Asbjørnsen and Moe's collection.

The Mill at the Bottom of the Sea: a Danish porquoi tale, also found in the work of Hans Christian Andersen, explaining how the sea became salt.

"To the Devil With the Money": another Danish tale, in which a very foolish man manages to lose all the money given to him by his three troll sons-in-law, eventually perishing through his imitation of their antics.

The Magic Apples: a Norwegian story in which a young man wins the hand of a reluctant princess, with the help of some unusual apples that cause horns to grow on the head of she that eats them.

East of the Sun and West of the Moon: that classic Norwegian tale in which a young girl is married to a white bear, until her curiosity causes her to lose him, precipitating an extraordinary quest to win him back.

The Blue Lake: an epic eleven-part fairy-tale from Spain, in which the evil sorcerer Rudizo, of the Palace of Pombal, causes suffering with his wicked enchantments, both to his own innocent niece and nephew, Natalia and Carlos, as well as to the residents of the nearby Castle of Floridel. When his plot to do away with the Count of Floridel and marry the Countess goes awry, Rudizo curses their innocent daughter Starlita, turning her into a mermaid in the Blue Lake. Can her four brothers - Augusto, Enrique, Federico, and Aurelio - win the aid of the Fairy Kindheart, and the suit they will need to rescue Starlita? This involved tale was one with which I was completely unfamiliar, and I wish that some source had been listed, as I would love to learn more about it.

The Parrot of Limo Verde: a Brazilian tale, in which a lovely princess loses her parrot-prince, as a result of jealous neighbors who booby-trap her window, and must seek for him, wearing out shoes of bronze. Similar in some respects to Cupid and Psyche and East of the Sun and West of the Moon, which also relate the tale of a search for a missing (supernatural) husband, this tale seems to be quite widespread in Latin America, as a very similar tale (Pajaro Verde/The Green Bird), can be found in the Mexican-American tradition.

The Green Sergeant: another Brazilian tale, concerning a young princess who escapes execution at the hands of her father's soldiers, and disguises herself as a man, becoming the "Green Sergeant" in the service of another king.

The Tale of the Balaton: a Hungarian tale explaining how the Lake of Balaton came to be, and why little stones in the shape of goat's hooves can be found on its shores.

The Miraculous Stag: which explains the genesis of the Magyar (Hungarian) and Hun peoples. This well-known story can also be found in Kate Seredy's Newbery Medal-winning novel, The White Stag.

Krencipal and Krencipalka: a Polish tale which tells of a poor brother and sister who gain everything they need, simply by seeking it. The conclusion of this story reminded me strongly of The Bremen Town Musicians, from the Brothers Grimm.

Lie-A-Stove: a second Polish tale, this one concerning a lazy young man who wins the hand of the princess, with the help of a magical wishing fish. Very similar to Russian tales such as The Fool and the Fish.

King Solomon's Carpet: a Jewish folktale involving the biblical king, and his travels around the world on a magic flying carpet. Through his interaction with the wind, an ant-queen, and a long-abandoned palace, Solomon learns of the pitfalls of vanity.

Chanina and the Angels: in which a poor man, longing to make a suitable gift to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, finds an abandoned piece of marble and works hard to make it a thing of beauty. But how is he to transport such a heavy gift to the Holy City?

The Brahmin, the Tiger and the Seven Judges: an Indian tale in which a Brahmin and a Tiger appeal to seven others for judgement, when the Brahmin releases the Tiger on the understanding that he (the Brahmin) will not be harmed, only to face imminent consumption.

The Valiant Chattee-Maker: another Indian tale, in which a poor chattee-maker unknowingly captures a tiger, leading to an extraordinary change in his circumstances.

And finally, How Molo Stole the Lovely Rose Red, a Chinese tale in which a master swordsman aids his young employer in stealing a beautiful young woman from a prince's court. ( )