FIRE CAME TO THE EARTH PEOPLE: A Dahomean Folktale; KANAHENA: A Cherokee Story

by Susan L.--Adapt. Roth ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 1988

Two unusually spare, vigorous presentations of traditional tales with animal characters. The Dahomean (West African) story parallels the Prometheus myth: after Moon-God Mawa creates the world, she keeps fire (or light) for herself. Various animals try to steal it, but their attempts are foiled by Agbakankan the Fire-keeper, Flute-blowing man, and other tattletales--until Chameleon steals straw and gives it to Tortoise, who is able to use the straw to carry fire to earth in a heroic journey on which he must sometimes hide the fire beneath him. Roth uses dramatic, Matisse-like cutouts in intense colors on a black ground to illustrate this powerful tale. Kanahena is ""yellow, grainy, soupy""--cornmeal mush, a traditional Cherokee food. While preparing it, an old woman tells a little girl a story: Wolf steals persimmons till Possum tricks him with one so huge that it chokes him; then Terrapin uses his ears for spoons to eat Kanahena. Angry, the other wolves catch Terrapin--but he escapes, like Brer Rabbit, when they try to punish him by throwing him into the river. Here, Roth incorporates natural materials and their earth tones in well-designed collages, with ""pinked"" edges artfully conveying Cherokee designs and the wolves' sharp teeth. Told in terse, colorful language and full of action, these are excellent additions to folklore collections.

Pub Date: July 19, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1988

Categories: CHILDREN'S