COUNTING LEOPARD'S SPOTS

Although the language of the originals seems to have been oversimplified (there are no notes or sources given), these ten retellings about African animals—how the gluttonous zebra got its vulgar stripes, how the boastful hippo lost his silken hair and acquired his nocturnal habits, and more—remain thoroughly entertaining. The stories frequently hinge—as is appropriate for the genre—on some weakness of character (the witless lion, the tortoise without self-respect, the thieving monkey) that manifests itself as bad behavior or foolishness, so that the endings ring with a sense of just deserts, and, in some cases, border just this side of smug. The token trickster tale features a jackal, who pulls a fast one to reclaim the fruit of the Muula Tree. Warnes has an impressive knack for summoning the African landscape in expressive forms and very few colors. (Picture book/folklore. 3-7)