ASHLEY BRYAN'S BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD AND OTHER FOLKTALES

Ashley Bryan is the consummate storyteller--at one with his stories and possessing a seemingly effortless command of the storyteller's craft. Rhythm, voice, and sound effects all blend into a singular listening experience. Bryan's energy radiates from each of the tales in this Coretta Scott King Award winner. The signature story is one from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia in which the brightly colored birds urge Blackbird to share some of his fine and shiny black coloring with each of them. That folktales embrace cultures everywhere is brought to bear in tales of a lazy, yet crafty frog who tries to take advantage of a neighboring hen and of a slow tortoise and a speedy hare. Hear about times when one frog and one snake had a fabulous day of play and another frog "was pu-l-l-led to the east and pu-l-l-led to the west" in a terrible predicament and could only cro-o-o-ak! A.R. Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]