A scholar of children's literature, Bedell has kept the marvelous details of the Icelandic stories, but retained the storyteller's right to fashion them into narratives that appeal today. Translator Terry Gunnell (folkloristics, U. of Iceland-Reykjavik) provides an introduction setting the tales within the context of oral and written narrative in Iceland. There is no index. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)