The Princess Who Lost Her Hair: An Akamba Legend (Legends of the World) - Softcover

Tololwa M. Mollel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081672816X ISBN 13: 9780816728169

Publisher: Troll Communications Llc, 1992

Synopsis

The efforts of a kind-hearted beggar boy bring an end to the drought that has plagued the kingdom of a haughty princess.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-3-- This folktale from the Akamba people of East Africa concerns a vain princess whose refusal to give even a strand of her beautiful hair to a bird building a nest costs her her hair and her kingdom its livelihood. As famine descends upon the land, Muoma, a beggar boy, sets off to find the bird. For sharing his last food, water, and strength with an ant, a flower, and a mouse, respectively, he is rewarded, and subsequently helps and marries the humbled princess. Like much of sub-Saharan African folklore, this is a didactic tale. Mollel's text, though, is not heavy-handed. He builds sympathy for the boy, who is at first tempted to kill the bird for food but who shares with the other creatures because he knows hunger and loss. The interdependence of all living things figures strongly here and may be presented in light of current concerns. Reasoner's illustrations combine bright colors, straight lines, and broad flowing curves that build upon African motifs. In comparison with other stories, such as Mollel's The Orphan Boy (Ticknor & Fields, 1991), the illustrations lack depth. However, the explanatory material at the end is useful, and this is a lively and appealing retelling. --Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Troll Communications Llc
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 081672816X
• ISBN 13: 9780816728169
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Charles Reasoner