Naomi Adler author page

Naomi Adler biography

Naomi Adler is a children’s author, storyteller and educator who was born in Israel. She trained as a Montessori teacher and worked for many years at the Polka Theatre for Children in London. Her work there included workshops involving drama, storytelling, movement, dance, puppetry and mask-making. She has also led creative workshops for people with additional needs in hospitals, special schools, day centres and community centres, and has worked internationally, including in Bulgaria and Slovenia.

Adler’s The Dial Book of Animal Tales: From Around the World was published by Dial Books for Young Readers in 1996, with illustrations by Amanda Hall. The collection brings together nine traditional animal stories from different cultures, including the Indian tale The Rabbit in the Moon, the German story The Musicians of Bremen and the Chinese tale The Dragon and the Cockerel. The stories explore animal behaviour, relationships and explanations of natural phenomena.

The collection was subsequently published by Barefoot Books as The Barefoot Book of Animal Tales, with later paperback editions retaining Hall’s illustrations. The anthology also includes stories from Australia, Thailand, Africa, Canada and Brazil.

Adler also wrote Play Me a Story: Nine Tales About Musical Instruments, illustrated by Greta Cencetti and published by Millbrook Press in 1998. This collection features nine traditional stories connected with music and musical instruments, including The Pied Piper, the Irish tale Fairy Music and The Horse-Head Fiddle, which explores the origins of a traditional Mongolian instrument.