Tales from the African Plains: 9

A collection of folktales from Kenya and other parts of Africa, including “The Crocodile, The Boy and The Kind Deed,” “Why The Moon Comes Out at Night,” and “Wacu and The Eagle.”

The Three Little Dassies

In this adaptation of the traditional folktale, three little dassies (also called rock hyraxes) build their houses in the Namib Desert of Southern Africa, hoping for protection from the eagle that lives atop a nearby mountain.

The Ancestor Tree: 9

Saddened by the death of their special friend, the very old man who told them stories and jokes, the village children decide to go against custom and plant a tree for him in the Forest of the Ancestors.

What the Animals Were Waiting For

Cowbells tinkle. And over there, a family of elephants munches on dry grass, flaps huge ears like slow fans, and waits. It is a time of waiting. The gazelles, the wildebeest and the zebras are all waiting. The lions, too, and the crocodiles are waiting. Little Tepi watches the animals and wonders what is coming. Soon there will be rain, and food for everyone! In simple, stirring verse, this stunningly illustrated picture book tells the story of the dramatic cycles of life on the Masai Mara range in Africa — one of the last great, wild places on Earth.