Books with title African Folktales

This exciting collection of traditional African folk tales introduces you to a host of interesting people and unusual animals. Eighteen authentic fables, recorded as they were told by tribal members of Nigerian and other cultures, range from the imaginative "Story of a Farmer and Four Hyenas" to an entertaining account of "The Man with Seven Dogs."In "The Magic Crocodile," you'll meet a reptile with very strange powers, while "The Boy in the Drum" teaches a valuable lesson in the importance of obeying one's parents. In "The Hare and the Crownbird," a fine, feathered friend is rewarded for its acts of kindness. You'll also learn why a ram has a large head and a tortoise a small one in "The Greedy but Cunning Tortoise"; and in "A She-Goat and Her Children," you'll discover how a clever animal managed to provide food for her children.Set in large, easy-to-read type and enhanced with Yuko Green's 19 lively illustrations, this collection of time-honored folk tales will delight readers of all ages.

The deep forest and broad savannah, the campsites, kraals, and villages—from this immense area south of the Sahara Desert the distinguished American folklorist Roger D. Abrahams has selected ninety-five tales that suggest both the diversity and the interconnectedness of the people who live there. The storytellers weave imaginative myths of creation and tales of epic deeds, chilling ghost stories, and ribald tales of mischief and magic in the animal and human realms. Abrahams renders these stories in a narrative voice that reverberates with the rhythms of tribal song and dance and the emotional language of universal concerns.With black-and-white drawings throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

The deep forest and broad savannah, the campsites, kraals, and villages—from this immense area south of the Sahara Desert the distinguished American folklorist Roger D. Abrahams has selected ninety-five tales that suggest both the diversity and the interconnectedness of the people who live there. The storytellers weave imaginative myths of creation and tales of epic deeds, chilling ghost stories, and ribald tales of mischief and magic in the animal and human realms. Abrahams renders these stories in a narrative voice that reverberates with the rhythms of tribal song and dance and the emotional language of universal concerns.With black-and-white drawings throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

This exciting collection of traditional African folk tales introduces you to a host of interesting people and unusual animals. Eighteen authentic fables, recorded as they were told by tribal members of Nigerian and other cultures, range from the imaginative "Story of a Farmer and Four Hyenas" to an entertaining account of "The Man with Seven Dogs."In "The Magic Crocodile," you'll meet a reptile with very strange powers, while "The Boy in the Drum" teaches a valuable lesson in the importance of obeying one's parents. In "The Hare and the Crownbird," a fine, feathered friend is rewarded for its acts of kindness. You'll also learn why a ram has a large head and a tortoise a small one in "The Greedy but Cunning Tortoise"; and in "A She-Goat and Her Children," you'll discover how a clever animal managed to provide food for her children.Set in large, easy-to-read type and enhanced with Yuko Green's 19 lively illustrations, this collection of time-honored folk tales will delight readers of all ages.

This addition to the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library completes Roger Abrahams's masterful survey of taletelling in the black world by showing the vital forms African stories took as they entered the New World. These 107 tales come from the canefields of the antebellum South, the villages of Caribbean islands, and the streets of contemporary Philadelphia. Throbbing with life, they range from earthy comedy (in recounting the scandalous doings of tricksters Rabbit and Fox) to inventive "just-so" stories explaining why the world is the way it is, to moral fables about encounters between masters and slaves, kings and servants, black and white. Together, they robustly demonstrate the ways an uprooted people have drawn from the traditions of their past to fashion a life -- and with it, a whole new and vital culture -- in the New World.

A delightful collection of folk tales from West Africa including 18 Anansi tales, as well as 17 others. Includes the story of how the tales came to be called Anansi tales. In the olden days all the stories which men told were stories of Nyankupon, the chief of the gods. Spider wanted the stories to be about him. Nyankupon agreed, on one condition, namely that he bring him three things: a jar full of live bees, a boa-constrictor, and a tiger. How Anansi contrived to achieve all these tasks is related in the opening story. Suitable for ages 6 and up.

American Bookseller - Pick of the ListThe range and mastery evidenced in the stories selected by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young―veteran storytellers and teachers in their own right―is due in large part to the fact that they include so many favorite stories of acclaimed African and African-American storytellers. Designed to entice even the most reluctant reader, these stories are not only fun to read, but are bound to be repeated and shared. The seven sections – Young Heroes and Heroines, Animal Fables, Trickster Stories, Parables About People, Bigger Than Life, In the Park and in the Dark, and Brother Rabbit Today – are introduced by brief topical essays and include individual story notes to further enhance both the learning and the enjoyment of these stories.In his introduction to African-American Folktales, Dr. Rex Ellis underscores the multicultural opportunity afforded by this collection: "They are stories that continue to be told by African Americans because...they transcend color and culture. They are stories that represent our common experience."

Folktales are timeless and, although they are a product of a particular culture, they have universal relevance because they give insight into the human condition. In Folktales from Africa, award-winning South African author Dianne Stewart has retold stories from the length and breadth of the African continent. Beautifully illustrated by Marjorie van Heerden, this collection of twenty stories is certain to entertain and delight the reader, as well as give insight into the countries from which the tales have been sourced.

As a child in his native Kenya, Dr. Vincent Muli wa Kituku learned many stories from his mother. She told him stories as she cooked, as she washed, and as she harvested corn. Now, Dr. Kituku presents eighteen of those folktales in both English and Kikamba, the language of Kituku's East African culture. Comments following each story develop the story's themes and moral direction. The stories, together with the author's comments, provide an excellent foundation for discussion with children in any environment.