Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World
by Yoshi Yoshitani.
(Ten Speed Press, $18; hardcover)
The 78 stories gathered in Beneath the Moon show the universality of themes that frequently appear no matter what the culture—searching for love, searching for riches, and overcoming evil. For readers who grew up reading fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, there are old favorites represented here along with stories not as widely-known. One I particularly enjoyed meeting for the first time was “Matsuo’s Sake,” explaining how sake became the preferred drink of the kami in Shintoism, and that dragons covet sake.
The artist, Yoshi Yoshitani, has created rich, crystalline illustrations presented alongside each one-page retelling. The colors are jewel-like: amethyst, ruby-red, and particularly lovely shades of blues and greens that are especially striking in “Yemoja,” a Nigerian tale of a Yoruba deity, and “Rainbow Crow,” a Native American story. (I don’t know what medium she used for this art, but Ten Speed Press did a good job reproducing the saturated colors.) Beneath the Moon is a lovely compilation for anyone who enjoys stories from all four corners of the world.
From the press release -
YOSHI YOSHITANI is an illustrator based in California who has done work for The Walt Disney Company, Image Comics, Valiant Comics, IDW Publishing, DreamWorks Animation, and Rebellion Publishing. Illustrator of the graphic novel Zatanna and the House of Secrets, Yoshi is currently working on a young adult graphic novel for DC Comics. Yoshi regularly appears on panels at comic book conventions such as Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, C2E2, HeroesCon, LightBox Expo, WonderCon, DesignerCon, Thought Bubble, and Dragon Con.
