Taffy Thomas – författare

In this enchanting new book, one of the country’s most celebrated storytellers has gathered together traditional tales that have their roots in the cold and long, dark nights of midwinter. Herein you will find magical accounts of the Legend of Tinsel, the Christmas Cat and the New Year’s Bell, with a number of wintery riddles to unpick while enjoying the festive season and welcoming in the New Year. With so many folk tales intrinsically linked to ancient seasonal customs, there are a few included here relating to traditions such as the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels (Devon), the Viking ‘Up Helly Aa’ (Shetland) and Tom Bawcock’s Eve (Cornwall). This is a book to curl up with in front of an open fire on long winter nights and to share and retell over a steaming mug of mulled wine.

From 2014 to 2018, people all over the world will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. They will not only be honouring those who lost their lives on the battlefield between 1914 and 1918, they will also be remembering everyone who played a part in, or lived through, those troubled times. First World War Folk Tales is a very special collection of legends and folk tales from the First World War era. This special centenary collection shows how elements of truth can become legend, how people often attempt to explain the strange and the mysterious through stories and tales, and how storytelling can ease the pain and burden of war.

Did you know that if you look closely around Scafell Pike in the winter you might find a great dragon? Or that hidden in the forest around Egremont you might catch a glimpse of the fabled fairy folk? What, you don’t believe me? Read these tales then take a look for yourself. This collection is full of stories that Taffy has told over the years, and that children love to hear time and again. Including a gang of smugglers and an ugly face-pulling competition, not only will children love to read them, or listen to them being read, the tales will also stimulate an interest in the area, and help children engage with their own surroundings wherever they live.

We have been fascinated by riddles for as long as we have had language – think of the legend of the sphinx in Greek mythology. This wonderful book includes both magical riddle tales and simple challenges, with clues and answers hidden in intricate illustrations. Discover how the farmer saved his daughter by solving the fairies’ riddles or how the old hen-wife helped the two brothers solve the mystery of their father’s will. Have a read – you’ll be hooked.

‘You and me, me and you, we all bring something to the stew, From the tales we tell, to the food we’ve got, we all bring something to the pot.’Over the last fifty years, Taffy Thomas has shared the stage with noted Lakeland chefs, who have tickled his palate with tastings and information about dishes and ingredients, which he uses to season these magical stories, telling the oral history of food.This feast of traditional tales is spiced up with the rhymes and riddles that always enrich Taffy’s work, as well as charming illustrations from artist Dotty Kultys, and will appeal to all who savour stories and food.

These engaging folk tales from Cumbria were collected as fragments that the author has brought back to life. Shaped by the natural world, local customs and generations of chattering, these traditional tales reflect the unique Cumbrian wit and wisdom. Herein you will find intriguing accounts of Hunchback and the Swan, the Screaming Skulls of Calgarth, the Millom Hob Thross, Hughie the Graeme, Cumbrian Crack, and Billy Peascod’s Harp. They will make you want to visit the places where they happened and meet some of the characters that feature in them. Including charming illustrations from the local artist Steven Gregg, this captivating collection will be enjoyed by readers time and again. Taffy Thomas has lived in Grasmere for well over thirty years, and is a highly experienced storyteller with a repertoire of more than 300 tales. In the 2001 New Year Honours List he was awarded the MBE for services to storytelling and charity, and in 2010 was appointed as the first UK Storyteller Laureate.

‘We can’t look out for the land unless we love the land, and we can’t love the land unless we know its stories.' - Taffy Thomas MBEThis book is the third in a trilogy of nature-inspired volumes of folk tales by well-loved storyteller Taffy Thomas. Collected over many years spent travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles in his work as a professional storyteller, and told in his well-honed style, these traditional tales are engaging, entertaining, humorous and powerful. With captivating illustrations and a centre section of illustrated trails, this collection will reconnect readers to the land through story.

From crowded train stations to quiet woods and from city centres to our own back gardens, birds remind us that nature is everywhere. But do you know which is the king of the birds? Has anyone ever told you how the brave swallow got its forked tail? And what of the owl, who was really a baker’s daughter?Take a look inside The Magpie’s Nest, where a hoard of stories, riddles and rhymes is waiting for you.Suitable for all ages and charmingly illustrated by Lakeland artist Becca Hall, this is an essential collection of stories for all who love the natural world.