The king challenges the animals in his kingdom to prove their wisdom by making him a robe of smoke, but only the tortoise is able to satisfy him.
The King and the Tortoise
Africa
Materials from Africa
Bedtime Hullabaloo
One night in the silly savannah as some animals are preparing for bed, they are disturbed by a loud hubbub and set out to discover its source.
Nii Kwei’s Day
Nii Kwei lives in Accra, the capital of Ghana. He gets up at 6 o’clock every morning. He helps his sisters and brother tidy up the compound, then he eats a breakfast of coco (corn porridge), bread, fried eggs and a chocolate drink. At 7:30 he goes to school in a taxi. Later, on his way home, he goes to Abraham’s material store with his mother. He ends the day playing football with his cousins, back at the compound. This book is part of the series A Child’s Day, photographic information books concentrating on the daily lives and experiences of children in countries around the world, published in association with Oxfam.
Why the Sky Is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale
The sky was once so close to the Earth that people cut parts of it to eat, but their waste and greed caused the sky to move far away.
The Honey Hunters
An African folktale in which various animals peacefully follow a honey guide bird, but find that sharing the honey among themselves causes problems.
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.
Nabulela: A South African Folk Tale
When the village girls cruelly trick the daughter of their king, he will forgive them only if they kill Nabulela, a treacherous white-skinned monster. A tale of the Nguni people
King of Another Country
A young African drummer learns the difference between extremes and moderation when the King of the Forest teaches him to say “yes” instead of “no.”
The Camel That Had No Hump
All the camels are worried when a baby camel is born among them without a hump. The adult camels try unsuccessfully to fix this problem. Surprising events lead to a happy ending to this gentle story where children expand perceptions of the differently gifted among all of us.
Clever Ali
When seven-year-old Ali’s greedy pet steals cherries from the wicked Sultan for whom his father keeps carrier pigeons, Ali is given three days to find 600 new cherries or his father will be thrown into the deep, dark oubliette. Includes facts about carrier pigeons and the sultan on whom this story is based, as well as an excerpt from “In Praise of Books” by al-Jahiz.