ISBN: 9781485900030

Author: Lisa Grainger

Ages: 3-6 Years

There is a storyteller in almost every village in Africa. Telling stories is not her official job. By day she may be a Gogo, a teacher, a farmer or a

seamstress. But at night, round the fire, she will sit surrounded by young

children, old friends, neighbours and travellers. She will tell of how

it was in the olden days, when the earth was young, when man was a

hunter-gatherer, and when the animals roamed wild throughout the

continent. The author spent several months hiking around the villages, towns, farms and deserts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa, asking people who can’t read or write to tell her their favourite stories. The result is this children’s treasury of legends and fables, of witchdoctors and kingdoms of strange creatures and talking animals, which celebrates Africa and its ancient storytelling culture.