“What’s that at the door? It’s a story!/ A story, by gosh and by gum.” So begins this energetic collection of six retold folktales. As a storyteller, Jan Andrews is intimately acquainted with that traditional idiom, yet she also shows an understanding of contemporary young readers. Based on tales from India, Palestine, Canada, and elsewhere, these stories feel both old and new. Experienced readers will recognize familiar motifs, while kids will guffaw at the thought of Otherworld farts that grant rewards, or a girl who foils a genie with a single curly black hair. Clever tricksters abound, and Andrews’ text gallops ahead, making ample use of oral techniques such as repetition of words and incidents, and an intrusive narrator who says things such as, “You can believe this or not, as you’ve a fancy. But it’s as true as the nose on your face.”

In some cases Andrews rewrites a traditional tale with a female rather than a male protagonist, with interesting results. Each tale is introduced by a poem that presents the story as a person knocking at the door, and variations on the phrase “once upon a time” knit the series together.

Francis Blake’s bright and wacky illustrations are the perfect complement to these lively stories. His pictures, both large and small, appear on almost every page. Filled with manic energy, exaggeration, and visual jokes, these illustrations humorously reinforce the themes of the triumph of brain over brawn and the dignity of ordinary people. Although in one story the repetition is overwhelming, this collection revitalizes the folktale form and will find many young fans.