People of all ages love watching tricksters get into trouble—and wriggle right back out again. Today we laugh at characters like Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Ace Ventura, and even Bart Simpson. But tricksters have been around much longer than cartoons and movies. Every culture in the world has its own clever mischief‑maker. In Africa, there’s Anansi the Spider. In the American Southwest, Coyote causes chaos. In the Pacific Northwest, Raven stirs things up. In the American South, Rabbit is always ready with a trick. Ireland has the leprechaun, and South America has the sly Fox. Josepha Sherman gathered forty of these wonderful stories from around the globe.

Tricksters are some of the most exciting characters in stories from all over the world. They’re clever, playful, and full of surprises. Sometimes they act a little foolish, sometimes they’re amazingly wise—and often they manage to be both at once. Their adventures remind us that using our wits can help us stand up to bullies, solve problems, and even have a little fun along the way.