Prolific children's folklorist Verna Aardema, who produced more than thirty folktale retellings over the course of her career—both collections and picture books, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon—made her debut in this collection from 1960, which presents nine stories from Africa. The selections include:

Tricksy Rabbit, a tale from the Waganda/Baganda people of Uganda concerning that leporine trickster, who outwits his friend Elephant when both seek to trade cloth for cattle. It is taken from Henry M. Stanley's My Dark Companions and Their Strange Stories (1893).

Wikki, the Weaver, an original story relating the tale of a West African hunter who discovers how to weave, thanks to the encouragement of his wife, and the tutelage of a spider. Aardema's retelling is based upon one found in Mary H. Kingsley's Travels in West Africa (1897).

The Sloogeh Dog and the Stolen Aroma, a story collected in the Belgian Congo, but believed to come from Sudan, concerning a starving dog who is brought to court for enjoying the smell of a rich man's food. This tale type, in which payment is sought for the enjoyment of a smell, is widespread globally, with many variants. In some tellings, the payment exacted is the sound of money, but here the punishment meted out to the ostensible thief—the whipping of his shadow—is actually a punishment of the wealthy man. It's interesting to note that "Sloogeh" is believed to be a corruption of "Saluki," the greyhound-like breed of dog found in the Middle East and northern Africa. This version of the tale comes from the 1954 novel Beyond the Hungry Country by Louise Stinetorf.

Madame Giraffe, ostensibly a story from the Egbe (Yoruba) people of Nigeria, adapted from the 1930 An African Savage's Own Story by Bata Kindai Amgoza Ibn Lobagola. In the story, Elephant ends up protecting Madame Giraffe from the depredations of Lion. Aardema used another story from this author in her 1969 collection, Tales for the Third Ear, from Equatorial Africa. As it happens, it turns out that Bata Kindai Amgoza Ibn Lobagola was really an imposter, an African American named Joseph Howard Lee, who masqueraded as an African "savage" and entertainer, and who published his "autobiography" (LoBagola; An African Savage's Own Story) in 1930. Given this fact, I am unsure as to whether the story included here, or those in his folktale collection (The Folk Tales of a Savage), actually represent traditional tales from Africa, or whether they were Lee's own creations.

Monkeys In the Sausage Tree, an ostensible Sudanese tale (relocated by Aardema to southern Africa) in which a group of monkeys ask a man for help, but then double-cross him, as they are at war with humans. This story is also taken from An African Savage's Own Story by Bata Kindai Amgoza Ibn Lobagola.

Nansii and the Eagle, a tale from the Kpelli tribe of Liberia, in which the trickster spider Nansii (AKA: Anansi) attempts to outwit Hare and enjoy some eagle stew all on his own, only to be outwitted himself. The story is taken from a 1954 Liberian pamphlet, Liberian Fables Book I.

How Dog Outwitted Leopard, another Ugandan tale, in which lazy Dog at first outwits Leopard, with whom he has been partners and roommates. As a result of his actions, Dog becomes the companion of man. Like Tricksy Rabbit, this tale is adapted from one found in Henry M. Stanley's My Dark Companions and Their Strange Stories (1893).

Koi and the Kola Nuts, a Liberian tale about a young chief's son who makes good use of his inheritance of a sack of kola nuts, helping a variety of creatures in need and aided by them in turn. This story is adapted from Koi and His Heritage, a tale to be found in the booklet, Nemo and Other Stories, published in 1954 by the National Fundamental Education Centre in Klay, Liberia. Aardema would go on to publish this story again in the 1999 picture book, Koi and the Kola Nuts: A Tale from Liberia.

The Prince Who Wanted the Moon, a tale from the Congo River, in which a spoiled prince's desire for the moon brings destruction to himself, his father and his people. This story explains how gorillas, baboons and long-tailed monkeys came to be. It was also taken from Henry M. Stanley's My Dark Companions and Their Strange Stories (1893).

As someone who has read almost everything Verna Aardema has published, I was curious to see where she began, and Tales from The Story Hat did not disappoint. One can see the beginning of the author's lifelong preoccupation with retelling African folklore here, and the origin of one of her later works. 1960 was a productive year for Aardema, who published this collection, as well as three picture books: The Sky-God Stories, The Na of Wa and Otwe. Like this collection, all of those books were illustrated by African America artist Elton C. Fax, who also worked on Aardema 1966 follow-up to this collection, More Tales from The Story Hat. I was quite interested to see that the introduction here was written Augusta Baker, the ground-breaking librarian who became the first African American to hold an administrative position at the New York Public Library, where she was the head of storytelling for many years, and the Coordinator of Children's Services. Ironically, although Baker herself was known for her work promoting positive images of African Americans in children's literature, her own folklore collections—The Talking Tree and Other Stories: Fairy Tales from 15 Lands (1955) and The Golden Lynx and Other Tales (1960)—did not contain any African tales. In any case, this is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts, although I do not think it is as widely available as many of the author's subsequent books. ( )