Yolen, Jane. 2003. MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: WORLD FOLKTALES FOR STRONG BOYS. Ill. by Raul Colon. New York: Silver Whistle. ISBN 0152163193In MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: WORLD FOLKTALES FOR STRONG BOYS Yolen retells folktales from all over the world that portray boys using their brain rather than their brawn to get ahead in life. Yolen begins the book with a letter to her sons and grandsons explaining why using the brain to solve problems is a better solution than fighting. She then provides fourteen examples of boys and young men using the power of their mind to be courageous and strong in situations such as outsmarting a troll who wants to eat them, facing pain and fear to return a mother’s treasure, or giving up a reward to save another’s life. At the end of the book, Yolen provides notes on the historical origins of each folktale and how she often combined or adapted the tales from several versions found. Yolen also gives information on characters and themes that are found in various other folktales from around the world. Following the notes, she lists a bibliography of sources that were used to research the various folktales that she retells in this collection. Colon provides simplistic black and white pencil sketches that compliment and add emphasis to a section of each tale.
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