The Fear Not Angel

This collection of six stories by an American author draws liberally on the oral tradition, though supplemented with literary infusions. The stories are by and large modern fairy tales with the usual mixture of magic and make-believe. Some are suffused with religious and spiritual sentiment, expressed more explicitly than encountered in children's literature nowadays on this side of the Atlantic. (The author was for many years a Lutheran minister.) They set out to evoke a sense of wonder at the mystery and beauty of creation and invite reflection on the cycle of life, death and renewal in nature, and in human affairs the nature of being and reality. The stories are however sufficiently grounded in a child's world to hold the attention of all but the most worldly of 8-12 year olds. The collection is in a sense genuinely American, featuring an African-American story ('The Fear Not Angel' which gives the collection its title and cover image), a couple of Native-American stories and the rest from mainstream America. The metaphysical element elevates the book above the common-place and, with the approach of the new Millennium, may well find a ready market.