Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales is a cause for celebration, landmark work that gathers in one volume many of Africa's most cherished folktales. Mandela, a Nobel Laureate for Peace, has selected these thirty-two tales with the specific hope that Africa's oldest stories, as well as a few new ones, be perpetuated by future generations and be appreciated by children throughout the world. In these "beloved stories, morsels rich with the gritty essence of Africa," we meet, among many...
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"A treasure for everyone in the family."—Bill Cosby Bill Cosby A wonderful book that introduces children and adults alike to the magical world of African fairy tales and creation myths....a treasure for everyone in the family.
Foreword71The Enchanting Song of the Magical Bird92The Cat Who Came Indoors123The Great Thirst154King Lion's Gifts185The Message236The Snake Chief267How Hlakanyana Outwitted the Monster298Words As Sweet As Honey from Sankhambi339Mmutla and Phiri3610The Lion, the Hare, and the Hyena4011Mmadipetsane4312Kamiyo of the River4813Spider and the Crows5114Natiki5615The Hare and the Tree Spirit5916The Mantis and the Moon6217The Snake with Seven Heads6618The Hare's Revenge7119The Wolf Queen7420Van Hunks and the Devil7921Wolf and Jackal and the Barrel of Butter8322The Cloud Princess8723The Guardian of the Pool9324The Sultan's Daughter9625The Ring of the King10226The Clever Snake Charmer10627Asmodeus and the Bottler of Djinns10928Sakunaka, the Handsome Young Man11529The Mother Who Turned to Dust11830Mpipidi and the Motlopi Tree12431Fesito Goes to Market12832Sannie Langtand and the Visitor134Glossary141About the Authors141About the Artists142Credits143
\ Bill CosbyA wonderful book that introduces children and adults alike to the magical world of African fairy tales and creation myths....a treasure for everyone in the family.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyNobel Peace laureate Mandela understandably gets top billing here, but this collection of short fables compiles writings and translations by numerous authors and features illustrations by a diverse collection of artists. Together, the tales and their accompanying artwork create a patchwork of legends drawn from all over the African continent, from Morocco to Kenya to Swaziland. Snakes with seven heads and Zulu tricksters are found here, as well as various creation myths and a Kenyan lion (with the familiar name of Simba) who teaches a cunning hyena a lesson. The colorful birds, giant elephants and mischievous children populating the volume teach sometimes cryptic lessons about obedience, perseverance, cooperation and the simple strangeness of life. In one story, the children of an East African village must destroy a beautiful and enchanting bird that has brought bad luck to the surrounding countryside. In another, a courageous girl frees a prince from the spell that made him a python. In tales such as these, the dream-like, unpredictable symbology and sometimes cruel morality of myths resonate, and, in Mandela's words, the "gritty essence of Africa" shines through in stories with universal themes. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ Library JournalSouth African hero Mandela chooses 32 African folktales, some predating Ovid, and decks them out with specially commissioned illustrations. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalGr 1-5-Mandela states in the foreword, "It is my wish that the voice of the storyteller will never die in Africa-.," and he has chosen 32 traditional tales for this handsome oversized volume. While nearly half the selections have their origins in South Africa, the rest represent some of the continent's most cherished tales and come from Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and other sub-Saharan countries as well as a single selection from Morocco. Each story is introduced with a short provenance or source note, and a frontispiece map matches each tale with its geographical area. Told by a variety of storytellers and folklorists, or gleaned from previously published sources, the tellings vary from literary to contemporary. The book also provides a showcase for 18 illustrators, mostly from South Africa, who contributed one full-page illustration per story. This is a rich collection that would provide depth and breadth to any classroom study alongside the many single-tale picture-book editions readily found on library shelves.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.\ \
