G06: ELA: Stories Worth Sharing: Europe / Africa

In Hausa culture, you always begin telling a story in the same way: The storyteller says, “Ga ta nan ga ta nanku!” “I am about to begin!” And the children respond, “Tazo Mujita!” “We are all ears!”

Long before they were written down, African myths were kept alive by a strong oral tradition. Today, these stories provide a rich understanding of the cultures that created these fascinating tales. Traditional tales from seven different cultural groups, including those of Nigeria, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, the Kalahari, and Ghana.

Tells the story of Aesop and the history of his stories. A better collection than most, has some of the lesser known and very funny stories.

Wolf is a hunter, feared by every creature. But he has a secret: in the middle of the forest lives a girl whose beautiful voice has entranced him. The Wolf longs for friendship. But is he prepared to sacrifice his own true nature in order for his wish to come true? A contemporary fairy tale about difference, trust and the power of friendship to overcome any obstacle.

This new and fully re-designed edition of the now-classic book marks the tenth anniversary of Bhajju Shyam's momentous journey to London, U.K. Bhajju Shyam, a celebrated and award-winning artist from the Gond tribe in central India, was commissioned to paint the walls of an Indian restaurant in London. He spent two months in the city, and it was the first time he encountered a western metropolis. The book that emerged from his journey is a visual travelogue that both mimics and subverts the typical colonial encounter. With radical innocence and great sophistication, Bhajju brings the signs of the Gond forest to bear on the city, turning London into an exotic jungle, a clever beastiary. The London Underground becomes a sinuous snake, Big Ben transforms into a rooster crowing the time, and an airplane -- the first Bhajju ever encountered -- is compared to an elephant miraculously flying through the air. It is rare to encounter a truly original vision that is capableof startling us into reexamining familiar sights. By breathing the ancient spirit of wonder back into the act of travel,The London Jungle Book does just that.