Half-A-Ball-Of-Kenki: An Ashanti Tale

by Verna Aardema, Diane Stanley (Illustrator)

Half-a-Ball-of-Kenki rescues Fly from Leopard and, in the ensuing fray, Leopard receives a spotted coat forever.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

31 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

A prolific American children's author and teacher, Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen - more commonly known as Verna Aardema - was born in 1911 in New Era, Michigan. She was educated at Michigan State University, and taught grade school from 1934-1973. She also worked as a journalist for the Muskegon Chronicle from 1951-1972. In 1960 she published her first book, the collection of stories, Tales from the Story Hat. She went on to write over thirty more books, most of them folkloric retellings. Her picture-book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, won co-illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon a Caldecott Medal. Aardema was married twice, and died in 2000 in Fort Myers, Florida. (source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leopard and Fly set out to find wives in this retelling of an Ashanti folktale, only to come into conflict when Fly is welcomed at every village, and Leopard is driven away. Angry and humiliated, Leopard responds by tying his friend to a tree, and lying in wait for anyone who would dare rescue him. Nkatee the Peanut and Kwadu the Banana both happen by, but refuse to help. Finally, Half-A-Ball-Of-Kenki comes along, frees Fly, and fights Leopard...

Inspired by an off-hand comment during an online discussion, I am currently reading everything I can find by Verna Aardema, a children's author well known for her many excellent adaptations of African folklore. Unfortunately, Half-A-Ball-Of-Kenki is not one of her better titles. I found myself pretty unexcited at the prospect of a leopard wrestling with a (half) ball of cornmeal mush, and would probably only recommend this title (long out-of-print) to die-hard Aardema fans.

As a side note, I was interested to learn that illustrator Diane Stanley once published as "Diane Stanley Zuromskis."