ION CREANGA Tales and Stories

 When I picked this book up I thought it would be just another book of the usual fairy tales. However, when I got home and took a better look inside, I realised that this was a collection of stories that were mostly unfamiliar to me. Do you see any you  recognise?

 Then taking a look at the publishing info I saw that it had been translated. But from what?

The illustrations were not the usual vintage fare but had a folksy quality to them. Once I googled the book it became clear.

"Ion Creangă (1837-1889), one of the outstanding Romanian classics, was born in the village of Humuleşti, in northern Moldavia, a mountainous region inhabited by a population of ancient descent."

"Part of Ion Creangă's contribution to the short story, fantasy and children's literature genres involved collecting and transforming narratives circulating throughout his native region, which intertwine with his characteristic storytelling to the point where they become original contributions."There's plenty more to read on Wikipedia if you are interested.
I have spied a few copies of this on ebay, mostly in the UK if you would like a copy for yourself. I am looking forward to some fresh bed-time stories and the kids and I enjoyed the first one last night.
Here are some of the many illustrations throughout the book. There are also a few colour pictures.

Here the peasant girl is spinning using a drop spindle. I recently learned how to spin like this so I was thrilled to find this illustration.