After being ridiculed for her big ears, her fuzzy fur, and her uneven stripes, a little hyena tries to change herself into something else, but learns an amazing secret about the power of words to hurt and to heal. When she covers herself in pale thick dust, the other animals on the savanna believe that Pinduli’s a spirit sent to extract penance for their unkindness. Turns out that each of the animals was ridiculed for their own individuality, making them in turn tease another animal. Finding freedom in this revelation, Pinduli (a Swahili word for catalyst) extracts promises of apologies and throws in a request for food, knowing that it will ease her mother’s burden. Graphic paintings illustrate the stark savanna and its variety of inhabitants. Appendices introduce hyenas and the reason that some animals lack fur or feathers. Preachy, but Cannon fans will lap it up. (Picture book. 5-8)
