Fables and Fairytales have been used through out the ages as cautionary tales to children. They are warnings to be good, to stay on track and listen to elders.

This book highlights that essence as well as brings in the cultures the tales are derived from. Even though this is a children's book, I really enjoyed reading it and liked the fact that each tale was illustrated differently.

Thank you NetGalley and Iron Circus Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this.

#IronCircusComics #NetGalley

Fantastic art style and story-telling. The stories themselves are a bit hit or miss, some were insightful to read, while others felt lacking. Definitely a spice of variety.

**Thank you to Iron Circus Comics and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

Thus is an excellent collect of short graphic novels. I enjoyed each one and recommend this collection to graphic novel enthusiasts. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Middle Grade is not something I read a lot, I am pretty set on adult fiction. But this anthology looked interesting. There are some nice stories here and some that I liked less. The artwork spans various types, some of it is very simple, some very nice. The usual mixed bag. The individual stories are generally fairly short, they often also feel unfinished.

I am disappointed in the choice of settings. Mostly the stories originate from the Philippines, there are a few from Hawaii and one story from Fiji — I had hoped for more variety. Do the Philippines even count a belonging to Oceania? And why is New Zealand mentioned in the blurb? There is no story from New Zealand.

I liked The Legend of Apolaki and Mayari by Kim Miranda. What a pretty story with nice sketches! Brother and sister end up fighting each other, a Filipino folkloric story.

Also pretty good was Nanuae the Sharkboy by Gen H. Set in Hawaii. There is shapeshifting (yay!), sharks (yay!) and the story is told a lot through images instead of text, which was done well. The ending was a bit abrupt.

The Legend of the Coconut Tree by Yiling Changues was that singular story from Fiji. Beautiful artwork. I would call it illustrated poetry? Very pretty, although I am not sure if I understood the ending correctly.

Nice enough as a whole. I would probably recommend this to friends.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

It was a great read. I loved the writing style and illustration. Overall, a great reading experience. Highly Recommended.

This collection of cautionary tales from the Pacific is just incredible. The Philippines, Hawaii, and Fiji are all represented, with artists who bring these tales to life in a variety of artistic styles, from cartoon to fantasy art. This is the fourth entry in the Cautionary Fables and Fairytales series, which has done wonders in getting folk and fairy tales from all over the world into the hands of readers. What are you going to find in here? One story, "The Turtle and the Lizard", is written entirely in Baybayin, an old Tagalog script, and invites readers to learn Baybayin at the end of the story. The title story is an achingly beautiful Hawaiian tale of loss; The Tyrant Has Horns is a tale about a horrible ruler who grows horns on his head, coming to you from the Philippines. Every story transports readers to a fantasy world, and every story gives readers a window into a new culture. Get this series on your shelves.

National Geographic has maps and information about the geography of Australia and Oceania, and you can direct readers who want to learn more about the region to the Encyclopedia Britannica. And you know how much I love Teachers Pay Teachers, so check for the freebies you can find there for anyone who wants to learn more (or if you want to run a super cool program).

I love the idea of this book! A collection of cautionary tales from the Pacific. My favorite tale from this collection was Ibalon Epic. I loved the comic style illustrations, the layout of the story, and the characters.

My least favorite tale from this collection was The Turtle and the Lizard. While it was cool that it was written in old Tagalog (Baybayin) and there is a chart to help you learn Baybayin. I found the illustration style very distracting and I am too lazy to go back and try and translate the story. Although I think it would make an interesting project in a school or library setting.

Overall, I would give this collection a three out of five stars.

Anthologies are always hit or miss, and this had some stronger and weaker stories in terms of art and writing. But the thing that kept this book consistently engaging was the source material. Other than a few stories from Hawaii, I haven't heard or read many stories from Oceania and the different narratives made this much fresher than yet another retelling of Grimm's or the Greeks. The title story is a standout as is the tale of sharkboy and the Pilipino story of Alan and the Hunters.

This collection could never figure out what it wanted to be and who its audience was. Some stories were perfect to be picture books for small children, but would turn off older readers (such as the Middle Grade this is marketed as) by that alone. Others would be great for the tweens and almost tweens who grew up on Moana. Especially with the TV show coming and the long discussion over a sequel. Others are just baffling. A story written in a form arcane to native speakers, which is only explained at the *end* of the story, and then left for the reader to translate like the worst code game ever? And if transcribed that way, would it be English or Tagalog? Because I can read one of those and not the other. And the rest of the book is in English and marketed as Middle Grade? Also, there is mild swearing in one, and violence in a couple of them (shark eating people) that would not mesh well with the assumed audience here.

Because of all of these inconsistencies, I can't really recommend the book to anyone! I hope there are some plans for the better stories to come out individually, or to make their way into a more appropriate collection.

I want to thank Netgalley and Iron Circus Comics for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting collection of folktales from different cultures. I must say that it's quiet fascinating to give those folktales more life by making it a graphic novel. I like how the art compliments the creepy vibe of each story. I also like how it did not stay in just one artwork style. And the balance between the artwork and the stories are so good, because it did not overlapped each other.

I can't really make a decision in which story I like more. All are unique and quiet interesting. Although I kinda prefer it to be a bit longer so the readers can more explore each folktales. I'm from the Philippines and I am so impressed at the stories that features my country in this book. I love how they put small details regarding our traditions when it comes to folklore. I haven't really heard most of them before, so I was really glad that I read this book.

Overall, I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars. If you're looking for a quick and interesting collection of folktales, this one might be for you!

Thanks to Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is a collection of short graphics novels. All are myths and own voice stories. A few were good others felt flat to me. Authors are different for every story so the graphic style was also different which I really enjoyed. Overall it was a good experience.

A collection of short graphic novel stories telling myths, legends, and folklore from around Oceania.

These stories are mostly cautionary, but some are funny and some are sweet too. The art styles in the various stories span a broad range of styles. All of them are black and white, but it is really amazing just how much can be done without color. Many of the illustration styles reflect the culture of the story in some way. I liked the variety of stories, and I think this book is a nice way to get introduced to some of the folk characters of the Oceania region. A good chunk of them are various cultures of the Philippines, but there are also several Hawaiian, Manoan, and other cultures represented. Because some of the stories are a little on the spooky or disturbing side, I’d recommend this book as a whole for middle school on up, but some of the individual stories would be totally ok for younger kids.

Notes on content [based on ARC]: One minor swear. No sexual content. One woman is not clothed but other things are strategically and very sufficiently covering everything important. There is one illustration at the very end of the book showing a bare butt. Some of the stories involve violence but most was implied instead of shown and nothing was exceptionally gory. There are some stories with soul snatchers out to get people and other such things, but I’d say they are more mildly spooky than gonna give you nightmares for life scary.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Iron Circle Comics
This is a collection of old folktales and fairytales, some with a different twist to them with illustrations to describe the story. This gives off very sitting by campfire storytelling. However, you must pay a lot of attention to the illustrations otherwise you might not understand what is happening. Best to take your time with this one.

When I added up and divided what my average rating would be for all these stories, it came out to 2.75, but I am rounding up due to the fact that I learned a lot, these are mainly all own voices stories, and overall I think this is an important and super cool graphic anthology centering Pacific Island folklore.

Tabi Po by Iole Marie Rabor: ★
Interesting to learn about the tradition of tabi tabi po, but I didn't quite follow the story itself and didn't like the art style.

Pele and Poliahu: a Tale of Fire and Ice by DJ Keawekane & Kel McDonald: ★★★★
I really appreciated all of the Hawai'ian mythology in this one and the descriptions that helped explain everything. I also liked the art style a lot! Super fun story overall.

The Dancing Princess by Mariel Maranan: ★★★★★
LOVED this! So interesting and intense. The art style was to die for as well.

The Night Marchers by Jonah Cabudol-Chalker & Kate Ashwin: ★★
Super super short and sweet story. I just really did not like the layout of the panels. I think it adds intensity to the story, but it was more difficult for me to follow.

The Legend of Apolaki and Mayari by Kim Miranda: ★★★★
This was so adorable!!! I love mythology and folklore SO MUCH!!! I'm learning so much!

Nanaue the Sharkboy by Gen H.: ★★
I wish this was longer and more in-depth. The art style wasn't my favorite.

Thousand Eyes by Paolo Chikiamco & Tintin Patoja: ★
This one was really difficult for me to follow and I just couldn't get into the sci-fi elements.

The Story of Benito by Nicole Mannino: ★★★
This unique art style was a nice switch up from the other stories in here. I really liked the messages this story shares and think it'll benefit readers, especially young ones.

The Legend of the Coconut Tree by Yiling Changues: ★★★★★
LOVED the mixed-up art style of this. Those font changes?? Amazing! This is such a cool legend and it's retold in such a fascinating way.

The Turtle and The Lizard by Cy Vendibil: ★★
This story is written in both, an old style of Tagalog script called Baybayin and Filipino. Because of this, I didn't completely understand the story as well as someone who understand those languages/scripts. I did enjoy the art style and could draw some conclusions based on the illustrations alone. I also thought the "Let's learn Baybayin!" section at the end of the story was informative and fun!

Kapo'i and the Owl by Sloane Leong, Kate Ashwin & Meredith McClaren: ★★★★
I really liked this one! I thought it was kind of spooky (like nearly all folklore tends to be) and a fun read!

The Tyrant Has Horns by Diigii Daguna: ★★★
Good morals within and cool art style. Not my favorite, but definitely worthy!

The Ibalon Epic: A Retelling of Baltog by Mark Gould: ★
I just could not get into this art style and it disrupted my reading experience. I'm not a fan of comic-like art usually. I like the message about having no shame in what you do for a living and that all jobs are worthy, but I just couldn't connect.

Left in the Canefields by Brady Evans: ★★
I liked the art and concept, I just wish there was more to the story overall.

The Alan and the Hunters by Rob Cham: ★★
I wish. I had more background or information, but super cool still!

The Hula Manō by Sloane Leong: ★★★
Don't personally speak the language, so I cannot understand the poem, but the art is to die for!

Thank you to NetGalley and Iron Circus Comics for an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a refreshing short story collection, I would absolutely recommend this to every child and grown-up who is not familiar with Pacific folktales.

I enjoyed reading every story and learned so much. Art styles were excellent, they suited every story and every story was fast-paced and intriguing.

All in all, a perfect collection.

With a bit of culture, history, and some beautiful artwork, this comic had me so excited to have children and all of the amazing reading material to come in the future. I really enjoyed every story within this anthology comic series and I would very much enjoy reading more of it, or more from any of the contributors.

I love the Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales series and was so excited to get my hands on the most recent edition, featuring stories from the Phillipines, Hawai'i, and Fiji. I do think this volume has more variation in quality than some of the others, but I also really enjoyed how experimental some of the comics were with form. Overall, another really enjoyable edition to the series that I'd definitely recommend for anyone looking for fable / fairy tale retellings (especially if they're mostly only familiar with European tales).

My favorites / standout comics included: Pele and Poliahu: A Tale of Fire and Ice, Thousand Eyes, The Tyrant Has Horns, and The Alan and the Hunters.

this was a very interesting book and i liked many of the short stories in it. however, as a filipino reader, i felt like the inclusion of filipino stories in here felt rather out of place. i know that the intent was pure and for good reasons, but to be completely honest, barely any filipino living in the philippines consider themselves as pacific islanders or from oceania, although i assume fil-ams do consider themselves as pacific islanders. yes, filipinos do have genetic links to pacific islanders but many consider themselves first and foremost as asian/southeast asian. that being said, i did enjoy the stories written by the filipino authors in this graphic novel and how there were so many of them. which is sadly rare for many anthologies.

We watched a Disney movie in which there were Polynesian legends and myths: one of which was the night marchers. I picked up this novel because of that movie and because my son and I had been discussing different cultures and their legends. He mentioned he wanted to read more Polynesian myths. This graphic novel will be perfect for him (he's 10).
I loved that these were "shorts". Think short stories, but short graphic novel tales. I loved the melding of art styles, myths and legends. Some had modern takes/twists, some were classics and one was in ANOTHER LANGUAGE! (I thought it was super cool they included a graphic novel in a native language that isn't usually written down and the short story itself can be used a language lesson!) From the gods to demigods to mere mortals, these stories left me wanting the whole story. My hopes is that each author is developing their "short" into a longer piece as that may quench my desire for more.
I did like the diversity and the visual appeal of so many collected legends and myths in one place.

This is part of the Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales series. There are several stories and they are all from different areas of the Pacific. With a different creative team for each story you get a variety of writing and art styles. The book is in color and some art is simple, but it works for the type of stories being told. I enjoy mythology, fables, and folk tales and read a lot of them. But even then, I saw stories I have never read before. I look forward to checking out the rest of the series.

4 stars