Elinda Who Danced In The Sky: An Estonian Folktale, adapted by Lynn Moroney, illustrated by Veg Resiberg

Ironically enough, although this is an Estonian folktale, as the adapters of this book so helpfully tell us, the book is adapted from a German-language text, H. Jannsen’s Marchen und Sagen Des Estinischen Volkes and W.F. Kirby’s The Hero of Estonia, although the tale originally comes from the epic Estonian heathen myth the Kalevipoeg. The book and its publishing represent the contemporary fervor for obscure heathen myths around the world [1], and represents an Americanized retelling of a just-so story, namely the presence of the Milky Way in the sky. As far as stories go, it is a brief one, showing a spirited young woman who does not want to be tied in one place and does not want to be overshadowed by her husband, but whose choice of a husband is thwarted by the will of his people, who refuse to let him return to take Elida as his bride. The story thus has elements of thwarted romance and feminist politics. It is unclear, of course, how much of that springs from the myth itself and how much of it springs from the political ideology of the American woman who adapted it, as one cannot assume that the adaptation was a faithful one in this atmosphere of corrupt speech.

Nevertheless, despite the political overtones of the book and the obvious pagan nature of the story that is being told, the pictures are lovely and well-drawn. It is a shame, though, that Elinda’s rejection of the North Star for being in one place, the Moon for revolving around the same path, and the sun for being so bright as to overshadow any potential spouse come off as feminist whining, the hatred of stability and the envy of strength. Those readers who want to appreciate Estonian culture would likely be better served reading the myth unadulterated, and it is a shame that the lovely photos of this book have to be wasted on a text that combines a praise of heathen religion with a paen to proto-feminism. There are, fortunately, a lot of better books to read to children [2], so this folktale is better left alone, which is a shame, as the Estonians likely have a lot of great stories worth telling, hopefully by people who do not seek to twist those tales into contemporary gender politics.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/book-review-sacred-stories/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/krampus/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/book-review-in-search-of-ancient-wisdom/

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/book-review-why-are-you-so-scared/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/book-review-andi-the-bee-ants-in-the-bee-hive/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2016/02/18/book-reviews-the-princess-in-black-the-princess-in-black-and-the-perfect-princess-party-and-the-princess-in-black-and-the-hungry-bunny-horde/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/book-review-ruth-and-the-green-book/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/book-review-where-is-simon-sandy-3/