Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Woodburn Public Library | 398.2 PAYE | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | J 398.2 Paye 2002 | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A magical retelling of a creation story from Liberia.
"Long ago, Head was all by himself.
He had no legs, no arms, no body.
He rolled everywhere."
Head is all alone. Body bounces along, Arms swing about, and Legs stand around. They can't do much by themselves, so they try to join together. But how? Should Head attach to the belly button? Should Legs stand on Arms? If only they can work together, everything will be perfect.
This vibrant, joyous retelling of a traditional Liberian creation story shows how much can be accomplished with a little cooperation.
Author Notes
Won-Ldy Paye was trained as a storyteller by his grandmother. He is from the Dan people of northeastern Liberia, and now lives in Seattle, Washington.
Margaret H. Lippert has taught in the United States, as well as in Guatemala and Tanzania, where she learned many stories. She lives on Mercer Island, Washington.
Julie Paschkis was inspired by the Asafo flags of the Fante people from coastal Ghana while illustrating this book. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This humorous story from Liberia's Dan people suggests that all must work together to succeed in life. A disembodied Head rolls along but can't get the cherries or mangoes he wants to eat until he discovers Arms. Arms attach to Head and they are nearly squashed by Body. As Head assembles various parts, each piece attaches itself in a strange way until finally, with the addition of Legs, Head can recompose to make a full person-and those mangoes are delicious. The story is enhanced by expressionistic paintings whose bright-colored backgrounds make the black-and-yellow figures stand out. Colors and patterns were inspired by flags from the Fante people of coastal Ghana. Perfect for flannelboard and silly enough to enchant young listeners, this is a good tale to add to the storytelling repertoire.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"In this African creation story about how the human anatomy came to be," PW said, "the action plays out against a background so saturated with citrus colors that the spreads resemble African fabrics in their beauty and fluidity." Ages 3-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) "Long ago, Head was all by himself." With no arms or legs, Head rolls everywhere and can eat only the things he can reach on the ground. While dreaming of sweet cherries beyond his reach, he meets up with two Arms who cannot see. Together they pick and eat the cherries and are satisfied until they spy a mango tree across the river. Other body parts soon come along, and after they sort themselves into the proper configuration, the newly whole person stands up on tiptoe to pick the delicious mangoes. This simple fable about working together is related in a straightforward text; humor is inherent in the situation of the stray body parts bumping into trees and attaching themselves to one another in impossible ways-head to bellybutton, legs to hands, elbow to chin. Stylized black body shapes move through a setting that suggests lush vegetation: the gouache paintings contain images of plants and animals amid decorative borders and Matisse-like design elements. A brief author's note says that the story from the Dan people of Liberia is told to children "to illustrate the importance of cooperation"; the message is clear but takes second place to the strange and silly tale and the enticing illustrations in ripe fruit colors. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
PreS.^-Gr. 2. "Long ago, Head was all by himself," begins this raucous creation story from Liberia. Propelling himself by the ears, Head rolls the ground, scrounging for food. Then, at the base of a cherry tree, he meets two arms. They form a team: Head spots the cherries, and Arms pick them. Then Body bounces up, and the three parts join together--Head at Body's belly button, Arms by Head's ears. They find a mango tree, but the fruit is unreachable--until two legs appear. After much hilarious readjusting, Legs finally attach properly to Body, while Arms triumphantly reach for the mango. The graceful, spare text pauses in just the right places for comic effect, and Paschkis' vibrant paintings expertly avoid the story's grotesque possibilities by showing the opaque, black body parts as stylized symbols rather than realistic anatomy, swirling against uncluttered, tropical-colored backgrounds. A strikingly illustrated, unusual folktale, this will hit story-hour crowds right in the funny bone. --Gillian Engberg