A Promise to the Sun: An African Story

Mollel, Tololwa Marti

ISBN 10: 0316578134 ISBN 13: 9780316578134

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1992

Synopsis

A tiny bat brings rain and fruitfulness to the parched African forest, in a Maasai story that explains why bats only venture out at night and why the sun pauses for an instant each evening before sinking below the horizon.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A story from Africa that tells why the bat hides in a cave all day, only venturing out at night. During a drought, Bat, the birds' distant cousin, is chosen by lot to find rain. She visits the moon, the stars, the clouds, and finally the fierce sun with her chanting plea: ``Earth has no rain, Earth has no food, Earth asks for rain.'' The sun agrees to bring rain in exchange for a promise that the birds will build him a nest, but when the rain comes, they are too busy celebrating to bother with their promise. It is only Bat who feels guilty, and she hides from the sun. The story has the power to move even the most phobic to sympathy for the bat as she listens wistfully to rain while perching in her cave. Mollel's skillful storytelling with its economical yet vivid descriptions will be enjoyed by readers, listeners and storytellers alike. In a style reminiscent of Nancy Van Laan's Rainbow Crow (Knopf, 1989), Vidal's vibrant watercolors portray a striking array of African birds, each with its own personality. The wide, full-page illustrations capture the breath and scale of the African landscape, and are large enough to use with a group. --Susan Giffard, Englewood Public Library, NJ
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Mollel ( Orphan Boy ) links two natural phenomena in one intriguing, if slightly disjointed, tale. Alarmed at the drought that afflicts their land, the birds send the Bat on a quest for rain. His petitions take him from moon to stars to clouds to wind and finally to the sun, who agrees to begin the rain cycle if the birds will build him a nest on the highest mountain. When the chattering creatures do not live up to their end of the bargain, the Bat retreats shamefully to a cave, ever after venturing out only at night. For its part, the sun lingers hopefully each night at the mountaintop before dipping below the horizon. Though some may feel that Mollel's story lacks consistency (the sun, for example, never questions the birds' failure to fulfill their agreement), he deftly depicts nature's many interconnections--and imbues his unaffected yarn with a modicum of drama. Vidal's ( The Legend of El Dorado ; Rainbow Crow ) watercolors, rendered in her typically dynamic palette, feature a brightly colored array of geographically appropriate flora and fauna. Her avian rainbow, in particular, stands in brilliant contrast to the barren savannah. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0316578134
• ISBN 13: 9780316578134
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 1
• Illustrator: Vidal Beatriz