Description
From Publishers Weekly Nobel 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. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 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 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal South African hero Mandela chooses 32 African folktales, some predating Ovid, and decks them out with specially commissioned illustrations. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Gr. 6-12, younger for reading aloud. From desert to jungle to veld and misty mountain, the African landscape plays a vital role in each of these 32 lively folktales, retold here with the rhythm and immediacy of the oral tradition. Most of the stories are from southern Africa, but even these are immensely varied (a Cinderella story from Namaqualand, a hare-and-hyena tale from Botswana, a Malay-Indian story from Cape Town). There are also several from other parts of the continent, including Morocco, Nigeria, and Uganda. The stories range from the lyrical San creation myth "The Mantis and the Moon," to sly trickster tales, silly farce, and a gruesome warning to disobedient children. Then there's a Xhosa tale about a snake with seven heads, retold by writer Gcina Mhlope. A brief note at the beginning of each story discusses its folklore motifs and probable origin. The vibrant, full-page color paintings by various contemporary illustrators range from folk art to computer graphics. Of course, the name in the title adds appeal; storytellers will want this. Hazel Rochman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Nelson Mandela (1918―2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as the first democratically-elected President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Mandela established the Nelson Mandela Foundation as his post-presidential office in 1999. It is a not-for-profit organization which has, since 2004, been transformed into an archive and trusted voice on his life and times. It carries out its mandate to promote Mandela’s vision and work by convening dialogues and creating platforms for engagement around critical issues to promote social justice. Read more
Features & Highlights
- "A treasure for everyone in the family." ―Bill Cosby
- 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 others, a Kenyan lion named Simba, a snake with seven heads and a trickster from Zulu folklore; we hear the voices of the scheming hyena and learn from a Khoi fable how animals acquired their tails and horns. Several creation myths tell us how the land, its animals, and its people all came into existence under a punishing sun or against the backdrop of a spectacularly beautiful mountain landscape. Whether warning children about the dangers of disobedience or demonstrating that the underdog can and often does; win, these stories, through their depiction of wise animals as well as evil monsters, are "universal in their portrayal of humanity, beasts, and the mystical." What is particularly exciting about this book is that many of the stories, in their oral form, are almost as old as Africa itself. Most of them were, in fact, first told in various African tongues around evening fires in centuries past; tales from, for example, the San and the Khoi, the original hunter-gatherers and livestock herders of Southern Africa. Translated into English and other European languages chiefly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from their original languages; be they Karanga, Nguni, Xhosa, or one of many others; these folktales are a testament to the craft of storytelling and the power of myth. Accompanied by dozens of enchanting, specially commissioned color paintings,
- Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales
- ; culled from African countries as far-flung as Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya; presents a fountain of precious knowledge that will be treasured by children, as well as adults, for years to come. color illustrations
