Because Osebo the leopard won’t share his magnificent drum with anyone, Nyame the Sky-God offers a reward to whichever animal presents the drum to him.
The Leopard’s Drum: An Asante Tale from West Africa
Africa
Materials from Africa
The Ancient Africans
A retelling of several ancient African myths, with background information describing the history, geography, belief systems, and customs of various peoples of Africa.
Api and the Boy Stranger
In this Ivory Coast legend, Api and her family are repaid for their kindness to a stranger with a mysterious warning to leave their village and go to the other side of the river Amman.
Mcheshi Goes to the Game Park/Mcheshi Aenda Hifadhi Ya Wanyama
Mcheshi’s uncle, a game ranger, takes her and her brother Mungwana for a ride through a game park.
Kassim’s Shoes
Kassim succumbs to pressure to abandon his old shoes but has trouble discarding them.
Snook Alone
Through the power of faith, a monk named Abba Jacob and his loyal rat terrier, Snook, are reunited after being separated by a ferocious storm.
Emeka’s Gift
This is a concept book to teach and delight. As a young African boy travels to visit his grandmother, he passes through the village market, where he sees lots of things Granny would like — four brooms, five hats, six necklaces, seven musical instruments, and so on. Stunning photographs taken in Emeka’s southern Nigerian village illustrate this heartwarming story.
The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks
In this retelling of a Masai tale, a mongoose helps an ostrich get her chicks back from the lonely lioness who has stolen them.
Peering down from her treetop perch, a lonely lioness admires the noisily cheeping clan of Mother Ostrich and thinks, “I would be happy to have just one child.” So she leaps down, gurum! and steals all four ostrich chicks. Accepting the lioness as their mother, the chicks follow right behind he. Mother Ostrich is frantic! As she chases after the lioness, she enlists the help of gazelle, hyena, jackal, and mongoose.
The Royal Drum: An Ashanti Tale
A read-aloud rebus treasure from the Ashanti in Ghana. Who is the laziest animal of all? All the animals gather together to help make a drum for the king of the jungle, but Anansi makes certain that Monkey ends up with the hardest job of all.
Kalahari Bushmen (Threatened Cultures)
Explores the culture of the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, examining their traditions, language, music, games and toys, family life, and hunting skills, and discusses various threats to their culture