Books with author Ashley Bryan

A long time ago -- a very long time ago -- thunder and lightning didn't live in the sky. Uh-uh! They lived right in a village on the west coast of Alkebulan -- called Africa today. Thunder was a mother sheep and Lightning was her son. But Thunder and Lightning no longer live on the west coast of Africa -- or in any village, for that matter. Where they live now and how that came to be is what this story is all about, told in Ashley Bryan's rhythmic prose and vibrant, colorful illustrations.

Who built the stable where Jesus lay? Multiple Coretta Scott King Award–winner Ashley Bryan has a very good idea in this beautiful and moving new layer to the nativity story.Riding in an open Jeep across the plains of Africa, beloved and nationally acclaimed author and illustrator Ashley Bryan found himself comparing the terrain to Jerusalem, and the bumpy journey to that of Mary’s travel on a donkey. And he came up with a question: Who built the manger where Mary and Joseph found shelter?The answer is conveyed in this beautifully crafted picture book that envisions a young boy, a shepherd and carpenter both who, out of love and kindness, cleared the way for another shepherd and carpenter to be born on Christmas day.The boy looked in the infant’s eyes And in his heart he knew The babe would be a carpenter He’d be a shepherd too.Told in gentle rhyme and illustrated with Ashley Bryan’s enormous talent, this is a picture book that captures the reason for the season in all its wonder and beauty. Who Built the Stable? is a celebration of Christmas, of the kindness of children, and of the new hope born with each new baby.

Why an alphabet book of African American poets? Simply as a way of presenting the work of many poets, poets who write for adults as well as children, in a form that both children and adults can enjoy. Though this is not an alphabet book in the traditional sense, it is an A to Z look at twenty-five poems and one African American spiritual selected by Ashley Bryan from a wide range of African American poets. His selections are, for the most part, not complete poems, but fragments -- samples that are complete in their own way, and that inspired him to create pictures that capture the essence of the poetry in another form. his marvelous paintings, in tempera and gouache, are his salute to the twenty-five poets whose works are included. Well known for his story-telling, his picture books, his own poetry, and for his lectures on African American poetry, Ashley Bryan here gives readers of all ages a chance to share the joy he has experienced in the work of some of the poets he especially enjoys.

Come gather round, young and old, and hear these stories from Africa, retold and illustrated by the incomparable Ashley Bryan. The fourteen stories in this collection are some of his favorites, previously published in The Ox of the Wonderful Horns; Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum (Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration); and Lion and the Ostrich Chicks (Coretta Scott King Honor Book). Retold with rich, musical narration, and illustrated with Mr. Bryan's distinctive paintings, these tales are full of fun and magic and a few lessons to be learned. They are tales of tricksters, chieftains, and both wise and foolish creatures. You will learn why Frog and Snake never play together, or why Bush Cow and Elephant are bad friends, or of the problems that a husband has because he likes to count spoonfuls. Although the stories come from many parts of Africa, they are full of the universal human spirit, to be shared and treasured for every generation, uh-huh.

From celebrated legend Ashley Bryan, a lavishly depicted cautionary tale of fearlessness and many-headed monsters.There was a little boy who knew no fear... Nope, no fear at all. Not even when his grandma warns him of the giants—the two-headed giant and his three-headed brother, that is. Because this wild, fearless boy isn’t scared of any many-headed giants at all! So one day, he slips away. He just takes off and leaves his grandma behind. After all, what does he care? He’s got his mangoes, and the sunshine, and his flute. And he isn’t scared one bit. But our boy isn’t really bad, you know; just wild. And soon he misses his grandma. So he turns around, and runs right into—those monsters. He’s about to discover that he may indeed have something to fear…their terrible, horrible singing voices! This trickster tale from the French Artilles will have readers toe-tapping and trying out their own singing voices.

Ashley Bryan says, "My mother had a proverb for any situation, attitude, or event." Many of us have had the same experience. But have you ever heard, "As a crab walks, so walk its children" or "A log may lie in the water for ten years, but it will never become a crocodile"? These are two of the twenty-six African proverbs Ashley Bryan has chosen to illustrate in this book. Having grown up with proverbs, it was no surprise to Mr. Bryan when he began reading African literature to find African proverbs along with African stories. The proverbs grew out of the lives and experiences of the varied African peoples. Each proverb here is credited to a specific tribe, yet, as Ashley Bryan explains, most were known in other tribes as well. And in fact, all are true for people everywhere. We may not see crabs often, but we understand about crab children, and even people who do not have crocodiles nearby know that they do not begin as logs. This is a book to treasure for its rich universal wisdom and its gloriously evocative illustrations.