African folktales.

The third collection of African folktales I have read from Ashley Bryan - following upon The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum - Lion and the Ostrich Chicks contains four traditional stories, taken from four distinct traditions. Accompanied by Bryan's lovely woodcut (I believe) illustrations, in both color and black and white, these tales are as entertaining as they are enlightening, giving the young reader/listener an insight into the cultures from which they come. Selections include:

The titular Lion and the Ostrich Chicks, from the Masai people of Kenya, in which Mama and Papa Ostrich's six chicks are forcibly "adopted" by a lion with sinister intentions. This story also appears, in a somewhat different form, in Verna Aardema's picture-book, The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks: A Masai Tale.

Son of the Wind, a tale from the "bushmen" of South Africa, in which the playful son of the wind befriends a young boy named Nakati. This was a very interesting story, not only because it points to the importance of the wind, to the hunter-gatherer societies of southern Africa, but also because it highlights the respect given to names, within their cultures. When Nakati finally discovered the name of the Son of the Wind, his use of it creates quite an effect!

Jackal's Favorite Game, a folktale from Angola, described the hide-and-seek games of Jackal and Hare, and the way in which Jackal is finally convinced to be a real friend to Hare, rather than an opportunist only interested in his own pleasure.

Finally, Foolish Boy is a west-African tale involving everybody's favorite spider trickster, Anansi. When a humble farming couple are finally given their wish, and have a child, Jumoke is labeled "Foolish Boy" by the villagers. But his patient parents have faith in him, teaching him to do better every time he makes a mistake, until one day, the foolish one outwits the trickster himself! ( )