Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories from Liberia (World Stories) - Softcover

Paye, Won-Ldy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155591991X ISBN 13: 9781555919917

Publisher: Chicago Review Press - Fulcrum, 1999

Synopsis

Discover why Leopard has spots, and what happens when Mrs. Chicken meets a hungry crocodile. These and other Dan tales are engagingly retold with dramatic black-and-white linoleum prints.

About this title

About the Author:

Margaret H. Lippert grew up among storytellers. She worked for a year in Tanzania and a year in Guatemala, where she learned many more stories. Why Leopard Has Spots is her nineteenth book. Meg has traveled all over the world sharing her stories and offering workshops for teachers. Won-Ldy Paye is a member of the Dan ethnic group from Tapita, in the northeastern region of Liberia. He was trained by his grandmother to remember and retell the stories of the Dan people. Currently living in Seattle, he teaches Liberian arts in schools and colleges and performs at festivals. Ashley Bryan was born in Harlem and grew up in the Bronx. He was educated at the Cooper Union Art School and Columbia University, and went to Europe on a Fulbright scholarship to study art.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6-Paye is a tlo ker mehn from the Dan ethnic group of Liberia; his family's traditional role is to tell stories. He and Lippert have collected six traditional Dan stories. Told in a forthright, nonliterary style, the lively retellings make effective use of colloquial language. Several of the stories feature Spider the trickster, who may be known to kids as Anansi (or Ananse) from other traditional tales. Readers learn "Why Spider Has a Big Butt," what happens when he refuses to do his part on the village farm, and how his greediness is punished. Each selection is preceded by one of Bryan's appealing black-and-white linoleum prints. Endnotes are especially interesting: Paye's description of how he learned each tale is full of information about Dan culture and how stories are a part of the people's daily lives. A map and brief history of Liberia are also included. A good source for storytellers and teachers and a lot of fun for children, especially those who already like Anansi.
Sally Bates Goodroe, Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press - Fulcrum
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 155591991X
• ISBN 13: 9781555919917
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64