Recommended Reads from the Children's Collection @ the Education Library

An African folk tale of Malaika Nyambura.

Little Imani is the smallest one in her village. The other children make fun of her and tell her she's too tiny, that she's an ant, that a meerkat might stomp her, and that she'll never amount to anything. Imani begins to believe them. At bedtime, Imani's mama tells her traditional Maasai stories about the moon goddess Olapa and Anansi the spider. They accomplished the impossible. Imani's mama tells her that she is the one who needs to believe if she wants to reach new heights. So Imani sets out to touch the moon.

Rabbit has a problem - someone is inside her house and won't let her in.

One day in the bush, Leopard starts to build a home. Little does he know that Sungura the hare is building the same hut. The animals decide to share the house, but when Sungura starts a family he grows fearful of having the ill-tempered Leopard so near his little ones.

Challenged by his master to spend a bitter-cold night alone in the mountains, Fire on the Mountain is about an Ethiopian boy who bets his future that he will succeed. When his master refuses to recognize the boy's victory, the boy and his sister decide to beat the rich man at his own game. It's all in Jane Kurtz's fantastic tale, Fire on the Mountain.

An African folktale tells how the sun and water once lived on earth as friends, but because the sun failed to build his house large enough, he and his wife, the moon, were driven into the sky when the water came to visit them.

Presents six tales about Spider, including those which explain how he got a thin waist and a bald head and why he lives in ceilings and dark corners.

Donso, a West African hunterman, learns the importance of living in harmony with nature and the necessity of placing humans among, not above, all other living things.

When the clever spider Anansi runs into difficulty on his long journey, he calls on his six sons for help. In trying to determine which of his six sons to reward for saving his life, Anansi the Spider is responsible for placing the moon in the sky.

Mosquito tells a story that causes a jungle disaster.

A long time ago, Thunder and Lightning didn't live in the sky. They lived right in a village on the west coast of Alkebulan, called Africa today. Thunder was a mother sheep and impetuous Lightning was her son. How did they come to leave their home on Earth behind?

After a stormy night, a farmer finds a baby eagle that has been blown out of its nest and takes it home and raises it with his chickens. When a friend comes to visit one day, he tells the farmer that an eagle should be flying high in the sky, not staying on the ground. Twice, the farmer's friend tries to get the eagle to fly, but it sees the chickens on the ground and drops down each time. At last the friend, followed by the farmer, carries the young eagle back into the mountains and places the great bird on a rocky ledge, just before sunrise. As the air is filled with golden light and the sun appears, the friend cries, "Fly, Eagle, fly!" and the eagle raises its wings and soars upward, out of sight.

This story retells the Yoruba creation myth in which the deity Obatala descends from the sky to create the world and how earthly creatures were formed and how the world began spinning.

Yoyo has listened to Mama Cécile's song about how to make ndolé (bitterleaf stew) her entire life. As Mama Cécile and Yoyo set off to market, Mama reminds Yoyo what will happen if she refuses a fair price for the stew--Brother Coin, the Great Spirit of the Market, will put a curse on their market bowl. When Yoyo refuses to heed Mama's advice, she is faced with the task of trying to regain a blessing from the god himself. Back matter includes further information about Cameroon and its people and traditions as well as a recipe for ndolé--Cameroon's national food dish.

A shepherd for the herds of a sheikh, Hosni listens to the elders' tales of faraway places and longs to travel...After an opportunity arises for him to journey to a distant city, he spends his money on a cryptic verse from a wise man. His companions laugh and tell him he has wasted his money. In fact, the verse's wisdom saves him from tragedy.

When Jouha counts the ten donkeys carrying his dates to market, he repeatedly forgets to count the one he is riding on, causing him great consternation.

Thirty-four English-language stories from many different cultures (and one Spanish-language tale from Mexico) all share a common theme: a dangerous character knocks at the door and pretends to be a familiar, protective family member or friend to those inside who have been warned not to open the door to strangers. But the door is opened, and there the adventures begin. These folktales include a wide range of narrative twists and diversity of tone. They come from Europe, Asia, Africa, India, and sections of the Americas.

These stories are authentic folk literature, flashing with the mirror images of war and peace. Children as young as six can learn to see the choices before them. How to make peace happen by choosing peace and working hard for it is at the heart of this book.

Once there was a little boy who played the ukelele. Wherever he'd go he'd play. His father was a magician. Wherever he'd go, he'd make things disappear. Soon the townspeople grew tired of the boy's noise and his father's tricks, and banished both of them to the edge of town. There they lived, until one day the terrible giant Abiyoyo appeared. He was as tall as a tree, and it was said that he could eat people up. Everyone was terrified, except the boy and his father, and they came up with a plan to save the town.

Inspired by a traditional African folktale, this is the story of Mufaro, who is proud of his two beautiful daughters. Nyasha is kind and considerate, but everyone--except Mufaro--knows that Manyara is selfish and bad-tempered. When the Great King decides to take a wife and invites the most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land to appear before him, Mufaro brings both of his daughters--but only one can be queen. Who will the king choose?