Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393052125 ISBN 13: 9780393052121

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

"A treasure for everyone in the family." ―Bill Cosby

Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales is a cause for celebration, landmark work that gathers in one volume many of Africa's most cherished folktales. Mandela, a Nobel Laureate for Peace, has selected these thirty-two tales with the specific hope that Africa's oldest stories, as well as a few new ones, be perpetuated by future generations and be appreciated by children throughout the world. In these "beloved stories, morsels rich with the gritty essence of Africa," we meet, among many others, a Kenyan lion named Simba, a snake with seven heads and a trickster from Zulu folklore; we hear the voices of the scheming hyena and learn from a Khoi fable how animals acquired their tails and horns. Several creation myths tell us how the land, its animals, and its people all came into existence under a punishing sun or against the backdrop of a spectacularly beautiful mountain landscape. Whether warning children about the dangers of disobedience or demonstrating that the underdog can and often does; win, these stories, through their depiction of wise animals as well as evil monsters, are "universal in their portrayal of humanity, beasts, and the mystical." What is particularly exciting about this book is that many of the stories, in their oral form, are almost as old as Africa itself. Most of them were, in fact, first told in various African tongues around evening fires in centuries past; tales from, for example, the San and the Khoi, the original hunter-gatherers and livestock herders of Southern Africa. Translated into English and other European languages chiefly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from their original languages; be they Karanga, Nguni, Xhosa, or one of many others; these folktales are a testament to the craft of storytelling and the power of myth. Accompanied by dozens of enchanting, specially commissioned color paintings, Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales; culled from African countries as far-flung as Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya; presents a fountain of precious knowledge that will be treasured by children, as well as adults, for years to come. color illustrations

About this title

About the Author

Nelson Mandela (1918―2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as the first democratically-elected President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Mandela established the Nelson Mandela Foundation as his post-presidential office in 1999. It is a not-for-profit organization which has, since 2004, been transformed into an archive and trusted voice on his life and times. It carries out its mandate to promote Mandela’s vision and work by convening dialogues and creating platforms for engagement around critical issues to promote social justice.

From AudioFile

What a special collection of preserved and retold folklore, creation stories, and fables from Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and all over the African continent! Some of the stories lend themselves better to a more dynamic reading, and those are the most successful ones in this format--CCH Pounder reading "Sannie Langtand and the Visitor" is a standout, as is Don Cheadle's performance of the charming "Fesito Goes to Market." Not all of the celebrity narrations and individual productions are as successful--it's particularly distracting when words are obviously dubbed in, for example--but as a whole, the collection is funny and magical, enhanced by wonderful music from Johnny Clegg and Vusi Mahlasela (and don't miss the illustrations, included in a bonus PDF). That this is a benefit production makes it even more special--bravo. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0393052125
• ISBN 13: 9780393052121
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Mandela Nelson