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African Tales: A Barefoot Collection
Written by internationally acclaimed Xhosa storyteller, Gcina Mhlophe, and illustrated with hand-sewn artwork, each of these eight tales comes with an introduction to the country's customs and culture. The stories are from Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan and Swaziland.
95 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2009
8 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Gcina Mhlophe
43 books38 followersBorn in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal in 1960, Gcina Mhlope now lives in Johannesburg. Gcina Mhlope has been writing and performing on stage and screen for over 20 years. She has written many children's books as well as adult audience poetry, short stories and plays. She produced and performed on a CD for children with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. She has written music for the SABCTV series Gcina & Friends where she performed her own stories for television audiences.
In 2000 she released an award-winning storytelling CD called Fudukazi's Magic for German audiences. She has also written both story and music in collaboration with guitarist, Bheki Khoza, for the Animated Tales of the World TV series. In 2001 her CD and book of Nozincwadi Mother of Books was produced as part of her nationwide reading road show to South African rural schools. Her work has received awards from BBC Africa Service for Radio Drama, The Fringe First Award in the Edinburgh Festival, the Josef Jefferson Award in Chicago, and OBBIE in New York.
Gcina Mhlophe has received Honorary Doctorates from the London Open University as well as the University of Natal. This year sees the publication of her book and CD, African Mother Christmas by Maskew Miller Longman, as well as the re-publication of Love Child (now in English), and Have You Seen Zandile by University of Natal Press. Her work has contributed to preserving storytelling as a means of keeping history alive and has encouraged South African children to read.
In 2000 she released an award-winning storytelling CD called Fudukazi's Magic for German audiences. She has also written both story and music in collaboration with guitarist, Bheki Khoza, for the Animated Tales of the World TV series. In 2001 her CD and book of Nozincwadi Mother of Books was produced as part of her nationwide reading road show to South African rural schools. Her work has received awards from BBC Africa Service for Radio Drama, The Fringe First Award in the Edinburgh Festival, the Josef Jefferson Award in Chicago, and OBBIE in New York.
Gcina Mhlophe has received Honorary Doctorates from the London Open University as well as the University of Natal. This year sees the publication of her book and CD, African Mother Christmas by Maskew Miller Longman, as well as the re-publication of Love Child (now in English), and Have You Seen Zandile by University of Natal Press. Her work has contributed to preserving storytelling as a means of keeping history alive and has encouraged South African children to read.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 5, 2023
I spent parts of 5 days reading and rereading the stories and learning a bit about Gcina Mhlophe. Watching the writer present her work and talk about her work helps me understand the stories differently even better.
The fabric art that illustrates the pages of these stories seem to want to move, show the reader what they are about.
The stories are updated traditional stories that keep all the traditional elements but streamlined for contemporary audiences, particularly young children who might have shorter attention spans.
Being a coastal person, I have a keener appreciation of the coastal stories that speak of waterways, winds, boats, and cycles of waves and time. Yet all the stories speak to me as they speak of universal themes of many stories I have read and encountered, such as friendship, brotherhood, change, and alternate realities.
I wish I had kept all my mother's sewing remanats from the time she quit sewing as a way to clothe her family. Bits of fabric, notions, and color delight the eye and call in the imagination to interact.
I am charmed down to my toes. I seem to be in large and varied company.
The fabric art that illustrates the pages of these stories seem to want to move, show the reader what they are about.
The stories are updated traditional stories that keep all the traditional elements but streamlined for contemporary audiences, particularly young children who might have shorter attention spans.
Being a coastal person, I have a keener appreciation of the coastal stories that speak of waterways, winds, boats, and cycles of waves and time. Yet all the stories speak to me as they speak of universal themes of many stories I have read and encountered, such as friendship, brotherhood, change, and alternate realities.
I wish I had kept all my mother's sewing remanats from the time she quit sewing as a way to clothe her family. Bits of fabric, notions, and color delight the eye and call in the imagination to interact.
I am charmed down to my toes. I seem to be in large and varied company.
September 4, 2011
I absolutely loved reading this book. It is a collection of eight stories from eight African countries such as Swaziland, Senegal and Ghana. I like the fact that prior to each story there is a short introduction to the country. The stories are full of adventure, emotion and they really are uplifting and enticing for the children to listen to and also for them to read themselves.
I have to comment on the illustrations as they are absolutely beautiful and compliment the book so well. The illustrations were handmade and embroided for each story. As you turn each page, you are immersed into Africa!
Again I would recommend this for Y2 onwards and there are many, many activities you could link to this book such as literacy - story writing, art - textile book covers/illustrations, pshe - discussing origins/cultures/traditions.
I have to comment on the illustrations as they are absolutely beautiful and compliment the book so well. The illustrations were handmade and embroided for each story. As you turn each page, you are immersed into Africa!
Again I would recommend this for Y2 onwards and there are many, many activities you could link to this book such as literacy - story writing, art - textile book covers/illustrations, pshe - discussing origins/cultures/traditions.
September 25, 2014
This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen, partly due to the really luscious textile illustrations that add so many layers of colour and culture to the traditional stories.
The book has a collection of tales from Africa. The format is a double page of introduction to the country, along with some facts and geographical information. This is a great way to give a simple context to readers, and would be a great conversation or research starter for a class. Then, there is one tale per country. They are often 4-6 pages long, and although could be read by KS2 children, I think they would be best spoken outloud to a class, adding voices to the animals, stopping to discuss what is happening, to ask questions, and to show the lovely pictures. It would also be interesting to talk about the morals embedded in the story, to talk about the similarities to tales in our culture in the UK, or cultures of students in my class.
I would find this easy to link into many classes, Geography, English, Art, History.. it makes me want to invent a lesson just to take it along!
The book has a collection of tales from Africa. The format is a double page of introduction to the country, along with some facts and geographical information. This is a great way to give a simple context to readers, and would be a great conversation or research starter for a class. Then, there is one tale per country. They are often 4-6 pages long, and although could be read by KS2 children, I think they would be best spoken outloud to a class, adding voices to the animals, stopping to discuss what is happening, to ask questions, and to show the lovely pictures. It would also be interesting to talk about the morals embedded in the story, to talk about the similarities to tales in our culture in the UK, or cultures of students in my class.
I would find this easy to link into many classes, Geography, English, Art, History.. it makes me want to invent a lesson just to take it along!
February 17, 2024
This book is a lovely compilation of stories from several different countries in Africa. Each starts with a description of the country and some interesting facts about its culture and geography. In the beginning, there's a map of Africa and a broader introduction to the continent as a whole.
As with most story collections, I didn't like all of them to the same degree, but also didn't feel like any were too scary or confusing for the intended audience. Each provides something to think about, and each ends with the same Zulu phrase common among storytellers (with its English translation). The one from Ghana was an Ananse story, which my kids really enjoyed, so it made us want to look for more at the library.
The illustrations are colorful sewn scenes, which are very distinctive and add some lovely texture to the pages.
My only complaint is that there was no pronunciation guide, because I know I probably butchered some of the characters' names.
As with most story collections, I didn't like all of them to the same degree, but also didn't feel like any were too scary or confusing for the intended audience. Each provides something to think about, and each ends with the same Zulu phrase common among storytellers (with its English translation). The one from Ghana was an Ananse story, which my kids really enjoyed, so it made us want to look for more at the library.
The illustrations are colorful sewn scenes, which are very distinctive and add some lovely texture to the pages.
My only complaint is that there was no pronunciation guide, because I know I probably butchered some of the characters' names.
September 6, 2020
This is a collection of eight traditional tales from different countries in Africa:
🇲🇼 Malawi
🇳🇦 Namibia
🇱🇸 Lesotho
🇸🇿 Swaziland
🇸🇳 Senegal
🇬🇭 Ghana
🇸🇩 Sudan
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
It has some really useful nonfiction sections too. There are facts about Africa and descriptions of the countries where each story is from. The book is educational and entertaining.
The illustrations are brightly coloured collages made up of fabrics and beads. There are tales about characters who are kind, brave, wise, funny and heroic.
My favourite story was Makosi and the Magic Horns. It is about a herd boy who is sent to get help for his sick parents when their village has a drought and all the villages become ill.
If you enjoy short stories, folk tales or just want to learn more about Africa and its stories, then this is definitely worth a try.
🇲🇼 Malawi
🇳🇦 Namibia
🇱🇸 Lesotho
🇸🇿 Swaziland
🇸🇳 Senegal
🇬🇭 Ghana
🇸🇩 Sudan
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
It has some really useful nonfiction sections too. There are facts about Africa and descriptions of the countries where each story is from. The book is educational and entertaining.
The illustrations are brightly coloured collages made up of fabrics and beads. There are tales about characters who are kind, brave, wise, funny and heroic.
My favourite story was Makosi and the Magic Horns. It is about a herd boy who is sent to get help for his sick parents when their village has a drought and all the villages become ill.
If you enjoy short stories, folk tales or just want to learn more about Africa and its stories, then this is definitely worth a try.
July 2, 2010
This is a great collection of traditional Africa tales that could be used as read-alouds or for storytelling. What's great about the book is its breakdown of the different countries in African accompanied by a short, not overwhelming introduction of history and facts about each. The stories are well-paced and a great addition to any folktale collection.
Currently Reading
September 18, 2024Am citit doar povestea din Etiopia, Everything changes, Everything passes, care a devenit imediat una din poveștile mele preferate.
Mi-a amintit de niște versuri din If care îmi plăceau în adolescență: if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.
Mi-a amintit de niște versuri din If care îmi plăceau în adolescență: if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.
January 20, 2011
A beautiful collection of tales from several African countries: Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland, Senegal, Ghana, Sudan, and Ethiopia. What makes this book so special is the brief country introduction provided before each respective tale, a detailed list of sources for each country at the end of the book and the magnificent art work, adorning each page. A real treasure! (Extra bonus: 10% of the proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to Books for Africa, an NGO bringing books to children in Africa.)
January 9, 2019
"African Tales: A Barefoot Collection" is a collection of folklore from the continent of Africa. The stories are of everyday life or life events, not outlandish creations. The country and cultural information in the background before each story was detailed. The book is packed with so much information that I had to read this children's picture book over a period of a few days. The artwork is very nice and visually appealing.
December 13, 2022
A very good collection of stories.
March 27, 2024
Nice collection of stories we read as part of our History Quest - Middle Times curriculum.
March 2, 2025
The stories I liked:
-Nolwandle, Girl of the Waves (Namibia)
-Makhosi and the Magic Horns (Malawi)
-Ananse and the Impossible Quest (Ghana)
The illustrations show top female nudity, complete with n*pples. I understand the cultural background, but for a kid’s book it’s an odd choice.
-Nolwandle, Girl of the Waves (Namibia)
-Makhosi and the Magic Horns (Malawi)
-Ananse and the Impossible Quest (Ghana)
The illustrations show top female nudity, complete with n*pples. I understand the cultural background, but for a kid’s book it’s an odd choice.
May 5, 2010
Background information on the country of each story was interesting, but I would have liked more cultural explanation for the stories. Some of the stories seemed unfinished, or maybe they just don't really make sense out of context. The illustrations are fabulous.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews