Folk tales have been around as long as humans have told stories and are part of every culture across the world.  They tell of human courage and resourcefulness, give strong clues about a culture's values and may touch on deep-seated fears we harbour.  They were told by storytellers long before they were written down.  They are like smooth old pebbles; they have been tumbled by years of retelling so that that sharp edges have been off leaving only the essence of the story.  They were originally told for adults but in the last two centuries have been relegated to the nursery.  Sarah Hayes has masterfully done all these things with her modern folk tale, Lucy Anna and the Finders.

Lucy Anna lives on the edge of a great wood (as protagonists of folktales are wont to do) which is inhabited (as woods are wont to be) by strange creatures called the Finders.  One day the Finders find Anna's little red horse and take him off deep into the wood.  This infuriates Lucy Anna so much that she storms off to get her little red horse back.  On her way to retrieve her horse she fills her back-pack (as modern protagonists are wont to carry) with nine-fir cones, several whirligigs, an apple and a load of nuts.  In true folk tale style Lucy Anna finds her horse, but comes upon the Finders too close by to steal it back.  So she does what every good protagonist does ... she takes out of her backpack each of the items she has carefully packed and uses them to solve her problem.  Having solved her problem she jumps on her little red horse who 'rides like the wind' (as all equine companions in folk tales are wont to do) all the way home.  There ends the simple folk tale of Lucy Anna and the Finders - back home safe and sound - complication resolved (as all good folk tales are).

But this folk tale like most others is more than its sum of story parts.  It is about Lucy Anna's moral outrage at having her personal property stolen. It is about her resolve to stand up for her rights.  It is about her courage to face scary creatures that lurk in woods, and finally it is about good out-maneuverering the naughty.  It is a wonderfully empowering modern folk tale that preschoolers will love.  They too will be outraged at the Finder's brazen theft of Lucy Anna's little red horse; they will cheer Lucy Anna on into the forest to get the little red horse back, they will tremble excitedly as she courageously faces the Finders, and they will breath a sigh of relief when Lucy Anna returns home safe.  And all the while they will scan the bright and expressively coloured pages so energetically illustrated by Sarah Hayes.

Oh, and in case you adults feel you have missed out on anything, watch carefully the children to whom you read this story - you will more than likely witness their emotional growth as they imbibe the lessons Lucy Anna learns about problem solving and in so doing, come away from the story a little stronger and wiser (as listeners to folk tales are wont to do).

Review by Sarah Mayor Cox

© 2001 Sarah Mayor Cox