WHY THE SUN WAS LATE

The jacket copy calls this a ""free rendition of an old African folktale."" It's about a fly with a mistaken sense of power who starts a chain reaction that terrorizes the jungle. In his arrogance he startled two boys who accidentally knocked a branch holding three squirrels, who fell wakening four snakes, who startled five elephants, who broke the eggs of the bird whose song wakes the sun. The jungle is left in darkness until the Great Spirit intervenes, passes judgment on the fly and saves the eggs. The illustrations are strikingly handsome. The jungle in the daylight is shown in brilliant color which captures even the iridescence of the fly. The scenes of the blackout demonstrate just as wide a range of shading hidden under the dark wash. A picture of hundreds of glowing eyes looking out in the dark manages to convey the great distress of the animals. A bonus to look at and a good story to use with groups of children.