The Leopard's Drum: An Asante Tale from West Africa - Hardcover

Souhami, Jessica

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316804665 ISBN 13: 9780316804660

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1996

Synopsis

When Osebo the leopard refuses to share his magnificent drum with Nyame, the Sky God, Nyame offers a reward to the animal who can bring him the drum, and a small tortoise undertakes the task of outwitting Osebo.

About this title

About the Author

Jessica Souhami studied at the Central School of Art and Design. In 1980 she formed Mme Souhami and Co, a travelling puppet company using colourful shadow puppets with a musical accompaniment and a storyteller. Her illustrations, like her puppets, use brilliant colour and bold shapes and her characters leap and swoop across the spreads. Her books for Frances Lincoln are Sausages!, In the Dark, Dark Wood, Baba Yaga and the Stolen Baby, Leopard's Drum, No Dinner!, Rama and the Demon King, The Famous Adventures of a Bird Brained Hen, The Little, Little House, Mrs McCool and the Giant Cuchulainn and King Pom and the Fox. Jessica lives in North London.

From Booklist

Ages 3^-6. Artful simplicity is at the center of this African pourquoi story. Nyame, the sky-god, promises a reward to whoever brings him the leopard's drum. One by one, the animals of the forest try, but with no luck. It is the small tortoise, Achi-cheri, who triumphs by using her wits to trick the leopard, and in the bargain, she wins a hard, protective shell. The story exhibits a fine symmetry between the spare yet rhythmic text ("your fine drum, your huge drum, your magnificent drum" ) and the vibrantly colored cut-paper pictures. Although McAlinden sometimes leaves too much white space, his illustrations have an appealing sense of balance and composition. Even when the leopard is not at center stage, for instance, his presence is felt through a polka-dot tail tucked in a corner or a paw along the edge of the page. A pronunciation guide would have been helpful; no source note. Julie Corsaro

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316804665
• ISBN 13: 9780316804660
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 30
• Editor: Keller John
• Illustrator: McAlinden Paul