Kentucky Folktales

June 1, 2012

Professional storyteller and Circle of Excellence Oracle Award winner Hamilton presents examples of those traditional narratives that so many have heard from childhood, especially in the South or in Appalachia. She presents the folktales here in themed chapters arranged by genre, e.g., "Haunts, Frights, and Creepy Tales," incorporating all varieties of story, from family anecdotes and legends to oral histories and a few well-told lies (tall tales). The narratives showcase human nature at its best--kind, brave, and good--and at its worst--ignorant and evil. Hamilton uses vivid prose in presenting this Kentucky collection, including truly local tales as well as ones that will be familiar to all, e.g., about Daniel Boone. Her notes and commentary on the origin of the tales, for example, "Kate Crackernuts," deriving from late 19th-century Scotland, add a valuable scholarly element to the stories. Hamilton invites the reader to "read the stories frozen in print; [but] then thaw them out and bring them to life again, '' and then share them with others. VERDICT This is an entertaining collection of folktales and folklore that will remind all who read it of the value of storytelling to the human imagination. It will encourage readers to explore the lore of their own communities, no matter how near to or far from Kentucky.--Nancy Richey, Western Kentucky Univ. Lib., Bowling Green

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