Whispers from the Earth: Teaching Stories from the Ancestors Beautifully Woven for Today's Spiritual Seekers

I have to admit I skipped the introduction and dug straight into these short fables. My first thought was this would be interesting to read to my daughter as bedtime stories. I was disappointed that there weren't any pictures to look at as I read them out loud. Many of these stories are safe for children especially if you grew up on Brothers Grimm but there are some stories with adult themes. My daughter is too young to read well and these stories though simple were mostly above her head. When I finally got back to reading the introduction, I realized that the author did not intend this book for children at all.

This collection of short stories is old fashioned. The overarching themes are honoring the Earth and demonstrating right and wrong behavior. There is a nostalgic feel here of people searching for something long lost. I was surprised to learn that the authors channeled these stories by spirit. This is a step beyond the usual claim of divine inspiration! Students of Thornton also contributed some channeled stories. I was taken by "The Wildfowler's Tale" by Tony Richardson because it captures the kind of complaint of a changing world that we hear today and yet is coming out of true events in the past. Thornton is British and some tales are distinctly British with names like Grumblethwick but others seem influenced by the Americas with characters like Grandfather Sun.

I think only time will tell which of these stories will find a place in our modern cultural consciousness. Part of what makes the stories of the past matter is that they have that kind of staying power, speaking to something universal across time. It's a tall order to intend new or new found tales to stick. If you have a special place in your heart for old fashioned folk tales, parables, legends and myths, then you may enjoy these tales.

~review by Larissa Carlson

Author: Taz Thornton
Moon Books, 2015   
pp. 77, $10.95