CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 21, 1971
"The simple style, large print, and handsome appearance make this an acceptable addition for younger readers, but there is no scarcity of fuller, more compelling, African collections."
The title story, which also appears in Kathleen Arnott's African Myths and Legends (1962) and is similar to the Irish "Billy Beg and the Bull," is accompanied here by four brief, moderately entertaining animal tales (one featuring the well-known Ananse the spider) and decorated with woodcuts in an emphatic African manner.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 10, 1974
"In all, this is not quite the ideal format for a "first book of spirituals," but Bryan's illustrations have an emotional toughness not usually found in work for children — one which refutes, albeit not very subtly, the misconceived notion that spirituals are either submissive or sentimental."
Stark sobriety of mood and fluid overall design meet in Ashley Bryan's black and white prints which feature African people and motifs, often mixed with biblical subjects.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 10, 1976
"An option."
We know before beginning—from Bryan's past collections, his illustrations, the prefacing Ashanti proverb, and the characteristic "we do not mean. . ." opener—that these are set in Africa and either real or pseudo folk tales; but nowhere does Bryan say so. . . let alone identify the specific culture and sources.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 9, 1977
"And if Spider's still singing then they're still dancing"—but to what beat is anyone's guess."
According to an appended note, this is retold from a collection of folklore of the Antilles, but it would be hard to place as it turns up here—with a strutting young man named Spider Ananse playing opposite Granny; a proper melting pot of crops which he tricks her out of; and his comparison of the dancing Granny to, of all things, a tumbleweed.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 19, 1980
"The idiomatic speech and other regional touches give the well-made little story some color, though like the jumbie it lacks the fullness of life that would convince you it's real."
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 20, 1981
"Pointed up with Bryan's fluent, emphatic woodcuts, they could catch the eye and the ear of a TV-trained audience."
Five more transplanted African folktales, equipped, for reading aloud, with much pum-pum, uh-huh, and a little be-bop, by the author/artist of The Ox of the Wonderful Horns.
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