February and freezing. In sunlight and starlight the wind blew from the east. It gripped the land. It poked its fingers under doors and through squints and along passageways. A collection of 20 tales which have their origins in folklore, traditional stories and superstitions from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, this attractive book has great old stories told in a modern way. The stories of mysterious goings on and unexplainable magic are fascinating because although the roots of the stories are sometimes a little familiar, there is an exciting unpredictability to them and there aren"t always happy endings. All the stories are told in a lyrical and interesting way and are served with a good measure of black humour. For example, in "The Cow That Ate The Piper", three hired men are accompanied on a foggy journey by a piper. Coming across a dead man in the road, the piper tries to take his new shoes, but finding them frozen onto his feet, he has to take the feet as well. In a roundabout way, this grisly act and a farmer"s misunderstanding later brings the hired men great luck. A fun volume for those who like their fairy stories to be a little bit different. (Ages 9-11) --Rachel Ediss