myth

You might be wondering why the Smithsonian Libraries would choose a book based on beasts from fantasy, but behind every myth is some truth. The family of “cryptids” includes such familiar creatures as Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster, plus several other questionable beasts of land and sea. This book, illustrated with black-and-white photos and drawings, attempts to apply the scientific method to reports of these mythological creatures. The goal is to separate fact from fiction, i.e., what is pure imagination from what is actually possible.

This is a famous historical work documenting Hawaiian oral traditions, originally written by Davida Malo in the 19th century. Malo's “Hawaiian catechism” not only documents indigenous Hawaiian myths and genealogy, but also describes cultural norms and taboos, rituals considered essential to well-being, and native Hawaiians' deep connections with their islands through names. While Ka mo'olelo Hawaii has been in print on-and-off for more than 150 years, this edition benefits significantly from the efforts of translator and editor Malcolm Nāea Chun.

Alpine Flowers Tales (Alpenblumenmärchen) is a 1922 illustrated storybook that describes the woodland adventures of two acorn children who get swept away by the autumn winds. Author Ernst Kreidolf (1863-1956) was a Swiss painter largely known for his watercolor illustrations for children's books about flower fairies and small creatures in nature. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library has a large collection of 19th century illustrated children's books in many languages.

Irish author Thomas Keightley, who was active during the 19th century, is considered a pioneer in the field of modern folklore studies. In his groundbreaking work, "The Fairy Mythology," he concludes that similar myths developed in different locations spontaneously, in the vein of the Brothers Grimm's approach, in which they compared the myths of one region to similar tales in other, unrelated regions. This upended the widely held belief that there was a common source to similar myths.