The Big Race

Various animals get up to mischief—and learn their lessons—in Lorde’s collection of illustrated fables inspired by Barbadian sayings.

Mongoose, Ole Black Belly Sheep, Tan Cat, Green Monkey, and other Barbadian animals learn a series of lessons, delivered in Barbadian dialect. Mongoose gets into plenty of trouble with her tricks, such as stealing Mother Hen’s eggs or trying to scare Tan Cat into the duck pond. In other tales, Mongoose plays a side role, helping Green Monkey plan for his future, ferreting out some pawpaw thieves, and encouraging the bad behavior of Plumpy, a pig. Along the way, Ole Black Belly Sheep offers words of advice and wisdom: “What sweeten goat mout’ does bun he tail.” Each story is prefaced by a plainly stated moral, directed at young readers, repeated with a more lyrical rhythm within the folktales themselves. The use of Barbadian dialect, helpfully introduced in a glossary, may challenge young independent readers, but the general flow and other vocabulary are accessible to elementary schoolers comfortable with chapter books. The digitally painted illustrations are fewer and farther between than is common at this level, but for young listeners hearing the stories read aloud by an adult (as recommended in the introduction), the tales are full of enough fun to carry them through.

Wisdom—and giggles—are plentiful here.