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The
Fire Children
Written
by Eric Maddern
Illustrated
by Frane Lessac |
This delightfully
colorful tale, rooted in West African tradition, tells of
the sky-god Nyame and his creation of the world. Soil, trees
and flowers are hung in a basket to create the Earth and the
moon serves as a trapdoor to cross over from one to the next.
Two little spirit people, Aso Yaa and Kwaku Ananse, living
deep within Nyame grow curious about this new world...as they
climb up into his mouth to attempt a better look, Nyame sneezes
them onto the earth; thus the first inhabitants. Aso Yaa comes
up with the idea to create little people out of clay and call
them "children". Day after day, they create tiny
figurines, often leaving them too long on the fire or having
to remove them early because Nyame unexpectedly drops by ("Are
you enjoying my earth?" he asks from the doorway, a massive
head peering through). Aso Yaa and Kwaku Ananse breath life
into the little figures who immediately stand up and go play
with one another. The different cooking times yielded a cacophony
of skin colors; Madden's objective of diversity is poignantly
illustrated in the equal love Aso Yaa and Kwaku Ananse pour
out on their children. The bold illustrations make marvelous
use of contrasting black in this tender story of a family
in the universal sense.
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"Why
the Sky is Separate from the Earth"
in
Told Tales
Written
by Josepha Sherman
Illustrated
by Jo-Ellen Bosson
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The nine folktales
featured in Josepha Sherman's compilation range from creation
to moral, from India to Spain. In this Botswanan adaptation,
she touches upon a theme common to creation stories, that
of the need to separate the earth from the sky. The introductory
notes suggest that folklore was often used to make people
feel more powerful, a factor she considers especially evident
in the case of women. Here, the world is finally finished
except that the sky hangs over the communities like a "too-low
ceiling". Everyone has to bend over, the women are always
burning themselves on the fire by coming too close to the
flames and the tall folks can't stretch. One woman, after
burning herself three times, goes at the sky with her stirring
stick and punctures it repeatedly. It breaks into small clouds
that whirl away, revealing an endless blue sky. The people
rejoice but the woman returns to her cooking, assuring the
others with a smile that she is no hero, just a woman with
a hungry family. Each story is accompanied by a finely detailed
pencil illustration and an introduction. Also included in
this collection are sample activities, folklorist notes and
a bibliography.
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Other
African Tales
Anderson,
David A. (Sankofa). The Origins of Life on Earth: an
African Creation Myth; illustrated by Kathleen Atkins
Wilson. Sights Productions, 1991.
This richly illustrated tale
welcomes readers into the cosmology of West Africa in
the story of Obatala, a discontent orisha who longs to
go beneath the mists of the sky kingdom and subsequently
creates the world and all of humanity.
Gakuo, Kariuki.
Nymba ya Mumbi: the Gikuyu Creation Myth; illustrated
by Mwaura Ndekere. Jacaranda Designs, 1992.
This story accounts for the
nine clans of the Agikuyu people in a familial story of
a mother, father and nine daughters at the very beginning
of time. Includes endnotes and bibliography.
Greger,
C. Shana. Cry of the Benu Bird: an Egyptian Creation
Story. Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
The first child, Atum, was
born of a lotus flower and commisioned to "continue
the work of creation". His great successes eventually
yield the city of Heliopolis and the creation of all the
gods (from his sweat) and all of the people (from his
tears). The benu bird, omnipresent throughout the story,
adds a cyclical element to Greger's adaptation. Finely
detailed illustrations, calm and muted, contribute greatly
to this tale.
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