The Coming of Night: A Yoruba Tale from West Africa

Riordan, James

ISBN 10: 0761313583 ISBN 13: 9780761313588

Publisher: Millbrook Pr, 1999

Synopsis

When the daughter of the river goddess Yemoya goes to the Land of Shining Day to marry a handsome earth chief, her longing for the cool darkness of her former home causes Night to be brought to the world

About this title

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3-The story of how Night was brought to earth. Aje, the daughter of the river goddess Yemoya, leaves her shady home deep underwater to marry an earth chief named Oduduwa. Although she loves him, she soon tires of living in a world of endless sunlight. Concerned about her happiness, Oduduwa sends Hippopotamus and Crocodile to the girl's mother to ask for Night. She sends it back in a sack but warns them not to open it until they reach her daughter for "Only she can control the spirits of Night." Hearing strange noises emerge from the bag, the animals open it, unleashing all of the night creatures. Frightened, Crocodile and Hippopotamus jump into the river and raise "...their eyes and noses above the swell" while Aje soothes the spirits and a hush descends on the land. Riordan's retelling is written in a style rich with descriptive language and images. Stow's illustrations utilize a combination of sun-drenched yellows and oranges with cool shades of blues. The soft, fluid lines of the richly textured artwork flow effortlessly within balanced compositions and create eye-pleasing scenes. This tale, also available in several anthologies, is not an essential purchase, but would enhance collections wanting more representation of West African folklore.
Paul Kelsey, East Baton Rouge Parish Public Library, LA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Aje, the daughter of the river goddess Yemoya, leaves her underwater home to marry, what she misses most is the night. The sun shines all the time in her new home and hurts her eyes. Her husband sends couriers to Yemoya, with the request that they return with some night. Yemoya gladly packs a sack for them, warning the creatures not to peek inside. Of course, that's a temptation too big for the animals to resist; all the bats, owls, gnats, spiders, and darkness whoosh out of the bag. At first, the animals are scared, but they soon adjust to the darkness, as does Aje, who falls into a deep peaceful sleep. The next morning, she names the morning star, the rooster, and the early rising birds as symbols of dawn. Riordan's language is perfunctory, but Stow's pictures portray both the fluid blue of underwater life, and the parching hot yellows and oranges of the earth. This competent retelling, fully sourced, could be added to more extensive folklore collections. (Picture book/folklore. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Millbrook Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761313583
• ISBN 13: 9780761313588
• Binding: Library Binding
• Illustrator: Stow Jenny
• Number of pages: 32