Five New Books in the It's Not About... Series by Veronika Martenova Charles

It's Not About... Series by Veronika Martenova Charles: I wrote about the first five books in this series almost three years ago. This year five more books were added. I missed these earlier this year, but I am thrilled to see they have been published. I haven't seen these but I saw the original five since they were sent to me for review and they are great tools for sharing different versions of fairy tales in a classroom or elsewhere--well, you know, away from SurLaLune which offers a similar service. These versions by Charles are easy reading level for early and middle readers with cool characters sharing the stories, so they are safe for the classroom, too, unlike some of the tales shared on SurLaLune.

Series description:

More first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun.

The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story:

It's Not About the Ball! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on The Frog Prince and has The Promise from Scotland, The Frog Boy from Vietnam, and The Singing Frog from Chile

It's Not About the Tiny Girl! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on Thumbelina and has The Peanut Boy from Chile, Little Inch from Japan, and Baby-man from Native America

It's Not About the Diamonds! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on the story of Diamonds and Toads and has The Three Gnomes from Germany, Rice Cakes from Indonesia, and Old Man of the River from Africa

It's Not About the Straw! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on Rumpelstiltskin and has The Elf from Germany, Lady in Green from Scotland, and The Bridge from Japan

It's Not About the Beanstalk! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on Jack and the Beanstalk and has the Bean Tree from Appalachia, Olaf and the Troll from Norway, and Molly and the Giant from Scotland

As one friend starts his story, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins.