And in the Beginning... - Hardcover

Sheron Williams

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068931650X ISBN 13: 9780689316500

Publisher: Atheneum, 1992

Synopsis

An African-American tale of the creation of humankind follows Mahtmi, the Blessed One, as he creates a man in his image from the richest and darkest soil at the foothills of Kilimanjaro and uses the smoothest part of the pearl for his smile.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 2-5-- In Grandmother Shammama's version of creation, Mahtmi the Blessed One combines divine power with human perplexity. He creates the first being, Kwanza, in his own image. But after he allows Kwanza to go off on his own into the new world, Mahtmi suffers from loneliness and makes other humans--from the red soil of Georgia and the sand of Normandy, with fish eyes and horsehair. When Kwanza returns he is sadly put out, forgetting in his jealousy that he himself received deer's eyes and pearls for teeth. Mahtmi kindly bestows one last token of his special love for Kwanza: he tightly curls every hair on the young man's head. The manifest message of pride and self-esteem is carried in a story of gentle humor and pithy observation. Both Kwanza and Mahtmi are easy to relate to, and the vernacular narrative encourages such connection. Williams uses quasi-dialectal speech (``For you see, Mahtmi understands our needs even when we ain't got a firm grip on them in our own minds.'' Its rhythms should make this a good read-aloud. Roth's superbly stylish watercolors are a wonderful complement. Their spare forms balance the fullness of the text and lend it a relaxed elegance. His depiction of Mahtmi and Kwanza offers as compelling a reason for black pride as the story itself. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

After Mahtmi created the world--``a mind-provokin' task''-- he modeled Kwanza, the first man, from the black earth near Mt. Kilimanjaro--``Intelligent company at last, he thought.'' Kwanza wanders off to explore; when he comes back, he finds that Mahtmi has created more people, from the sands of Normandy, red Georgia clay, and other elements. Seeing his tears of envy, Mahtmi heats his fingers in Old Faithful and curls Kwanza's hair, promising that he and his descendants will always bear this special token of love. Williams writes in a sprightly, natural style, casting this original folktale as one told by her grandmother, Shammama; Roth's strong-featured figures and rich, glowing palette reflect both the story's bright humor and its serious themes. A fine debut for both author and illustrator, well suited for reading alone or aloud. (Folklore/Picture book. 6-9) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 068931650X
• ISBN 13: 9780689316500
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Robert Roth
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1