A tiny bat brings rain and fruitfulness to the parched African forest, in a Maasai story that explains why bats only venture out at night and why the sun pauses for an instant each evening before sinking below the horizon....
Who is the cleverest creature of all? In order to find out, the king has issued a challenge: who can make him a robe of smoke? The swift hare, the sly fox, the fierce leopard, and the mighty elephant try but each one fails. It is up to the tortoise, ...
Proud of his shiny, magnificent shell, greedy Mbeku the tortoise demands the best of everything from the other animals, until tired of his tricks, the birds decide to give him his comeuppance, in a traditional Igbo tale from Nigeria....
When clever spider Ananse invites Akye the turtle to dine with him, Akye is tricked out of getting a single bite of his meal, but he gets his revenge when he in turn prepares a splendid meal for Ananse and then sends him home hungry. Reprint....
In order to have his reward from Grandmother, Yoanes must first gather enough eggs to take to market. But Grandmother''s hens don''t make the job easy. They lay their eggs in the strangest places-the bedroom, the cow barn, and even the outhouse. A...
High in the sky, a hawk circled and searched. Then quick as an arrow, he dropped to the ground.
To little Kitoto, each day brings constant danger. Even his search for food can end in disaster, especially when the sharp-eyed hawk is lookin...
Dume's Roar is an original tale inspired by the "King of the Animals" theme and by the "Tortoise Trickster" character so popular in African fables. Here Dume the lion, proud and vain, claims he is best suited to be King of the Forest. Though all ...
"I emptied my secret money box, arranged the coins in piles and the piles in rows . . ." The market is full of wonderful things, but Saruni is saving his precious coins for a red and blue bicycle. How happy he will be when he can help his mother carr...
When Tatu finds she can do nothing to improve her little brother's hateful behavior and make him happy again, she goes to an old spirit woman for help. The spirit woman tells Tatu that to cure Maulidi, she must pluck three whiskers from a lion! Armed...
This beloved classic has been fully redesigned including new art mixed with the original award-winning artwork and a new cover. One night the old man looked at the stars but one was missing! Suddenly he heard footsteps. He turned his head to see ...
A little hare is frightened away from her cave by a loud, booming voice that threatens to eat her. Many of her friends offer to help. Unfortunately each animal panics when it hears the voice claiming to be a monster.
... In this story, the young girl Ra-Eli watches as her family agonizes over the illness of her baby brother Samson. When they approach a healer, the answer comes:
"Hold a ceremony to honor your ancestors and ask them to help, a joyful ceremony...
The kindness of ancestors and angels restores a helpless infant to health in this gentle story, beautifully illustrated with vibrant colors and vivid depictions of traditional African garments and customs. -- Midwest Book Review
In t...