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A review by qui
Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell
5.0
I was very impressed with this book of stories. They were well-told and interesting, and they weren't your usual "Anansi/hyena is tricky" stories, either. There were some anthropomorphized animals, yes, of course, but generally these stories were completely unique and new to me.
Despite the fact that these stories are fantastic, I believe they would only be appropriate for the most worldly children--there are too many stories involving slavery, polygamy, cheating, and other non-child-appropriate things. A PG-13 rating, at least. Oh, and there was some gruesome descriptions of cruel deaths, too.
Because the book was first written in 1910, I'm also not sure that all the terms used to refer to African cultural things are politically correct (magic is called Ju Ju, for example). Something to think about.
Despite the fact that these stories are fantastic, I believe they would only be appropriate for the most worldly children--there are too many stories involving slavery, polygamy, cheating, and other non-child-appropriate things. A PG-13 rating, at least. Oh, and there was some gruesome descriptions of cruel deaths, too.
Because the book was first written in 1910, I'm also not sure that all the terms used to refer to African cultural things are politically correct (magic is called Ju Ju, for example). Something to think about.