The Magic Gourd

by Baba Wagué Diakité

Book Overview

Draught and famine have come to the parched forest. And when a hungry Rabbit rescues Brother Chameleon from a thorny bush, Chameleon repays him tenfold with a magical gourd that always stays filled... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439439604
• ISBN13: 9780439439602
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.2" x 12.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

African Fairytales

This is a wonderful story for children, it helps to develop the imagination. Its a fairytale for all!!! Highly recommended.

Fantastic Folklore

Diakite's retelling of this African folktale involving Brother Rabbit, Chameleon, a greedy king, a magic gourd and a magic rock is delightfully and originally illustrated with photographs of intricately painted ceramic bowls, platters and tiles that tell the story in detailed and relevant images. Further decorated at the edges with mud cloth patterns, Diakite has provided two pages of additional notes at the end of the book to help clarify the patterns' meanings as well as to give some background to his home of Mali, West Africa and some language translations. While written in traditional picture book format, this book is best read to youngsters for both the joy of oral storytelling traditions which are so important to folk tales as well as because of the potential unfamiliarity of some words and the occasional irregularity of traditional English grammar. Besides, they will not be able to keep their eyes from the illustrations long enough to read a whole page! A fun family read.

Generous cross-cultural package

This tale from Mali teaches that generosity and friendship are more valuable than material wealth.When Rabbit does a good deed for Chameleon, he is rewarded with a gourd that magically fills up with whatever its owner asks for. Rabbit requests carrots, couscous and other foods. Soon his family has sufficient food to invite friends and neighbors for meals.Word of the gourd spreads until it reaches the ears of a greedy king, who has his soldiers forcibly take it from Rabbit. The ruler then spends his days commanding the gourd to fill with gold. Rabbit wants his gourd back, but how can he recover it? In an "Author's Note," Diakite relates that he grew up in an extended family in rural Mali. The tales he heard around the fire at night kindled his imagination during days tending sheep and goats.The illustrations--reproductions of Diakite's hand-painted ceramic tiles, plates and bowls--are bordered with traditional patterns, each with a specific meaning, used by Mali's Bamana people in creating a unique textile known as mud cloth.The story, paintings, informational endnotes, even a dust-jacket photo of the author and his two daughters in traditional dress, work together to create a generous cross-cultural gift.