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Why the Sky Is Far Away : A Nigerian Folktale
For use in schools and libraries only. The sky was once so close to the Earth that people cut parts of it to eat, but their waste and greed caused the sky to move far away.
32 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
April 21, 2017
“Why The Sky is Far Away” is an exceptional Nigerian folktale retold by Mary-Joan Gerson and illustrated by Carla Golembe. Awarded “Best Illustrated Childrens’s Book” by The New York Times Book Review, the story tells a story of consumption and waste, and why these two things are so detrimental. The folktale begins with the sky being extremely close to the ground—people don’t farm or hunt, they simply reach out into the sky and grab what they want to eat. The story proceeds and people begin to grab more than they can eat, and disposing of the rest into garbage heaps. They sky does not appreciate this, and warns the king, ‘Oba’ to be careful about his people’s waste. Oba sends out a message to villages far and near to be cautious about how much they are taking the sky. After the festival of Oba, a celebration in which people dance and eat and praise their king, a woman named Adese grabs a piece of meat stew and begins to eat. Since she had already eaten at the festival, she cannot finish her meat stew and begs her husband, children, and other villagers to help her finish the piece of food. Everyone is stuffed, so she decides, “What does it matter? One more piece of sky on a rubbish heap?” At this moment, the sky erupts in lighting and moves far, far away. At the end, the sky booms, “You must learn how to plow the land and gather crops and hunt in the forests.” This story is incredibly illustrated—full of colors and drawings of the people of Nigeria.
I would list “Why The Sky is Far Away” at a second-fourth grade level for read aloud. The themes, sentence and word complexity, and subject/cultural background complexity make it a good choice for advanced 2-4 grade level students. You could use this book in a cross-curriculum lesson involving science (the environment.) This book is the epitome of consumption/waste and what could happen (on a large scale) if we continue to use more than we need. After reading this story, you can discuss the culture of Nigeria AND have students research ways in which they as individuals and as a community can prevent excess waste. You could use this story as the lesson-hook for a field trip to a recycling plant! It is an incredible story that teaches an incredible lesson.
I would list “Why The Sky is Far Away” at a second-fourth grade level for read aloud. The themes, sentence and word complexity, and subject/cultural background complexity make it a good choice for advanced 2-4 grade level students. You could use this book in a cross-curriculum lesson involving science (the environment.) This book is the epitome of consumption/waste and what could happen (on a large scale) if we continue to use more than we need. After reading this story, you can discuss the culture of Nigeria AND have students research ways in which they as individuals and as a community can prevent excess waste. You could use this story as the lesson-hook for a field trip to a recycling plant! It is an incredible story that teaches an incredible lesson.
April 29, 2025
Why The Sky is Far Away is a powerful Nigerian folktale that reveals a universal truth: when people stop caring about what is easily within reach, like nature, they risk losing it forever. In this book, it talks about a period of time when the sky was very close to the ground. People did not have to plant crops or cook food because the sky was their source of provisions. They could take pieces out of the sky and eat them, and the pieces could taste like all different types of food. The sky was a source of blessings for them. People spent their time making art and having festivals since there was not a lot of work to do. However, the sky was becoming angry because people were very wasteful with it, taking much more than they could eat and piling leftovers into the garbage. The sky warned the people to not waste its gifts anymore, or they would no longer receive its gifts. After this, people started being very careful with the sky and stopped wasting pieces. During the greatest festival of the year, the king made sure that no one took more of the sky than was needed. However, there was a woman named Adese who was never satisfied no matter how much she had. On the last day of the festival, Adese and her husband were invited to the king’s palace, where they danced and ate all evening. Later, after the party, Adese took a huge piece of the sky to eat. She got too full to finish it, and she offered it to her husband, children, and even her neighbors, but they were all too full from the parties. Finally, she gave up and decided to throw the piece of sky in the garbage, thinking one more piece wouldn’t hurt. Then, the ground shook and lightning struck. The sky had moved up, far away from the people’s reach. Ever since that day, people had to start growing their own food, and the sky never came back down. The major themes in the book were environmental responsibility and human greed. The theme of environmental responsibility was demonstrated through the sky and its many resources, and the way the sky demands to be taken care of, or else it can no longer provide resources. In addition, the sky giving food shows that the environment is essential to our living. The theme of human greed is demonstrated through the character Adese, who has so much but still wants more and never feels satisfied. The character shows how greed can lead to carelessness, because when people have too much of something, they tend to take it for granted until it is no longer there. The main genre of this book is folklore. Children reading this book could learn that all actions have consequences. It is important to not act carelessly, because all of your actions have lasting consequences. Children reading this book could also learn about the importance of resources. They could learn how important it is to not be wasteful, and to appreciate the gifts of nature. Another concept children reading this book could learn about is the importance of taking care of the environment. The book shows that when you take care of your environment, it takes care of you. It shows the value of respecting your environment. This book was a WOW book for me because it reminded me of my religion. Islam emphasizes the importance of not wasting things, especially things like food and water. It also emphasizes respect and care for the environment. I love the unique way this folktale teaches children not to waste things. I also enjoyed how the story showed that everything used to be easy once, but people made a lot of garbage, which made things significantly harder. This book has so many references to environmental issues that are still relevant today.
One of the literary devices the author used in writing this book was personification. The sky was given human traits, including the ability to speak and feel emotions. This added to the quality of the writing in this book because it made the sky seem more like a relatable character, rather than some unknown entity. It also helped reinforce the theme of respect for nature. Another literary device the author used in writing this book was allegory. The whole book is an allegory because it uses the simple story of a sky that gives food to express the complex ideas of environmental responsibility and human greed. This literary device added to the quality of the writing in this book because it gave it a deeper message that can be understood by children. The author portrayed anti-bias perspectives in this book by introducing children to a traditional Nigerian folktale and including non-stereotypical characters. It was a well-researched, informed perspective on a Nigerian folktale and included positive portrayals of Nigerian people.
One of the literary devices the author used in writing this book was personification. The sky was given human traits, including the ability to speak and feel emotions. This added to the quality of the writing in this book because it made the sky seem more like a relatable character, rather than some unknown entity. It also helped reinforce the theme of respect for nature. Another literary device the author used in writing this book was allegory. The whole book is an allegory because it uses the simple story of a sky that gives food to express the complex ideas of environmental responsibility and human greed. This literary device added to the quality of the writing in this book because it gave it a deeper message that can be understood by children. The author portrayed anti-bias perspectives in this book by introducing children to a traditional Nigerian folktale and including non-stereotypical characters. It was a well-researched, informed perspective on a Nigerian folktale and included positive portrayals of Nigerian people.
October 13, 2017
This was a beautiful and rather insightful folktale from the Nigerian culture. I loved reading this story and I absolutely loved the message/moral it carried. The book taught children the importance of caring for the earth and that the earth offers many gifts that we should not destroy. By teaching children the importance of taking care of the environment early teachers will generate a generation of children who want to preserve the earth. I liked how the tale diverged from the traditional folktale and did not wait until the end of the book to acknowledge the lesson taught, instead it incorporated it throughout the entirety of the story. This book won the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award and it is easy to see why, the use of collages and oil pastels in the illustrations are breathtaking. I liked the bright colors and the way the illustrations looked like they were hand drawn, not digitally printed. The colors would keep children interested in the story, which is important!
The story had traditional genre characteristics, in that it had good and bad characters that children could recognize: the good leader, Oba, who wanted to protect the earth, and the bad, selfish, earth ruiner, Adese. It explained how people in Nigeria began to farm, by saying the sky would no longer provide for the people, so they had to begin raising their own crops to eat. I liked that it diverged away from using animals because I feel like a lot of folktales utilize them as characters. I also liked that the book wasn't "white washed" it would add diversity to the classroom library. There wasn't anything that I disliked about this story.
I read this book aloud to my roommates because I liked the message and the illustrations, so I can guess that it would be a fun one to read aloud to elementary students. According to this book the story is over 500 years old, so I wondered if Nigerian people still have the same amount of respect and value for the earth? I also wanted to know if this would be an appropriate book for an introduction to the environment and science units for elementary classrooms? I will be adding this to my own collection!
The story had traditional genre characteristics, in that it had good and bad characters that children could recognize: the good leader, Oba, who wanted to protect the earth, and the bad, selfish, earth ruiner, Adese. It explained how people in Nigeria began to farm, by saying the sky would no longer provide for the people, so they had to begin raising their own crops to eat. I liked that it diverged away from using animals because I feel like a lot of folktales utilize them as characters. I also liked that the book wasn't "white washed" it would add diversity to the classroom library. There wasn't anything that I disliked about this story.
I read this book aloud to my roommates because I liked the message and the illustrations, so I can guess that it would be a fun one to read aloud to elementary students. According to this book the story is over 500 years old, so I wondered if Nigerian people still have the same amount of respect and value for the earth? I also wanted to know if this would be an appropriate book for an introduction to the environment and science units for elementary classrooms? I will be adding this to my own collection!
May 30, 2024
I enjoy reading folktales, as they tell a lot about one's culture, values, heroes and people, as well as contain magical elements and are entertaining. This one from Nigeria met my expectations. The illustrations were rich, as well.
May 1, 2014
Why the Sky is Far Away is a Nigerian Folktale for children aged 3 to 6. It tells the story of what things used to be like: the sky was close, and you could eat it, it provided all the food people needed. It got angry however, because people would take more than they could it, and throw the rest on the ground. So the sky threatened that if people did not cherish the gift of the sky, it would go away. I remember seeing this story acted out in a play when I was in elementary school. I really enjoyed reading it as an adult, and rate it with 3 stars. I had never read the story, and it is very good. The words are easy to understand, the plot is simple and straightforward. It presents a valuable lesson about being wasteful, and about being thankful for the gifts we are given by our Earth. Though we cannot actually eat the sky, we are blessed with many other gifts in nature, and being sustainable and not wasteful is important. There is also a very strong message of overindulgence and greed in this story. Once the sky gives its warning, everyone obeys for quite a while. It is one person who is known for being insatiable, who takes a piece of sky and cannot eat it. Though she tries to find others to eat it, she cannot, and so buries it in her own garbage. It is at that moment that the sky retreats away from the earth, and the people are “punished” with the task of plowing, planting and growing their own food. The pictures in this story are beautiful and full of color, and reflect the origin of the story. I think they would be very captivating to a young audience.
November 22, 2019
This book stood out to me based on the cover but also the title being a question made me want to figure out the answer. This folklore discusses something that start out as what we would think to be impossible. Eating and drinking anything straight from the sky sounds crazy, which seems to be what a lot of folklores have a certain aspect of almost wonder. But then incorporates real life themes that you can pick up throughout. And with this book some that even pertain to our lives today.
One of those themes being that we need to take care of the earth. This is a Nigerian folklore that was probably a story passed down from generation to generation and finally written down in this book. If the ideas weren’t important, they wouldn’t be passed down, but most likely forgotten.
I would want to use, maybe not this book specifically, but one or multiple books like this one. For multiple reasons, the aspect of teaching students about different traditions and customs in other cultures. But to also have the students be able to read a book like this one and try to pick up the inner working themes that the author is trying to show.
One of those themes being that we need to take care of the earth. This is a Nigerian folklore that was probably a story passed down from generation to generation and finally written down in this book. If the ideas weren’t important, they wouldn’t be passed down, but most likely forgotten.
I would want to use, maybe not this book specifically, but one or multiple books like this one. For multiple reasons, the aspect of teaching students about different traditions and customs in other cultures. But to also have the students be able to read a book like this one and try to pick up the inner working themes that the author is trying to show.
September 3, 2012
I enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. One reason was that the pictures in this book were absolutely beautiful! Carla Golembe picked the brightest and most beautiful colors, which I am sure all the little kids would love. Also, another reason I like this book is because it teaches the children a very valuable lesson. The earth is a gift and we need to not take advantage of it and all of its gifts. The people of this story were very wasteful of the sky, and because of their lack of gratitude for the sky, the sky took itself away from them because they did not deserve the wonderful gifts it had to offer. This is a great book to read to children, especially today when saving the environment is forefront in a lot of news stories. Teaching kids to love and take care of the earth at a young age will help their generation to think more about saving this beautiful world.
Want to Read
December 3, 2024Synthesis: Reading Why the Sky Far Away was a beautiful book. It was a traditional Nigerian folktale, but a classic timeless piece of culture as well. This book tells a strong message about gratitude consequences of human behavior and responsibility. This book tells a story about when the sky was close enough for humans to reach and eat, providing a substance but people grew to be wasteful and I'm grateful and that's when the sky moved away. The two main themes of this book were sustainability and respect for resources. We often sometimes take little things for granted and I think this book teaches a strong lesson of not to do that the book genre was folklore because it teaches me Nigerian culture. This was a while back to me because it gave such creative and imaginative storytelling, but also taught many life lessons as well. I think this was a wild book for me because the overall lesson was truly deep and I think this could be great for children to understand moral lessons as they will experience through life.
Analysis: from a literary standpoint, the author uses symbolism throughout the book. The sky was used as tangible goods for people but was distant once humans started to neglect the food. Repetition was also used in the book to show that people growing wasteful, which ultimately told them the moral of the story. This made it more memorable for the overall impact of the story. I appreciate how this book stayed away from Biases because of the traditional Nigerian culture I think this portrayed how to balance telling a story with a respectable approach.
Analysis: from a literary standpoint, the author uses symbolism throughout the book. The sky was used as tangible goods for people but was distant once humans started to neglect the food. Repetition was also used in the book to show that people growing wasteful, which ultimately told them the moral of the story. This made it more memorable for the overall impact of the story. I appreciate how this book stayed away from Biases because of the traditional Nigerian culture I think this portrayed how to balance telling a story with a respectable approach.
May 11, 2021
Beautiful Nigerian Folktale. I fell in love with this story. Illustrations are bright and vivid that captured my eyes immediately. I love how the high words are highlighted throughout the book and on the pages, it has the highlighted word with its definition. Works fabulously when teaching students to expand their vocabulary. The story begins with the narrator saying that at the beginning the earth and the sky were so close to each other that people could reach it and get pieces of it. People would cut out pieces of the sky included King Oba. People did not need to work to get their food, all they had to do was cut out pieces of the sky and shape them into whatever they wanted. They became so wasteful that the Sky gets mad and threatens them with a problem if they continue to be wasteful with their food. They obeyed for a couple of days but when King Oba did a feast, they all got wasteful once again. The sky got mad and there was thunder, lightning, and the people had to work for their food after that day. Lesson learned from the people. We have many times done things that for instance someone close to us tells us not to do because they won't be good for us. Nor bring anything positive to us. But we still do those things and we face consequences. We really need to obey and listen for our own good.
March 8, 2021
“Why the Sky is Far Away” is a Nigerian folklore, children range in ages 4-8 would be able to read this book. This book talks of the Nigerian Culture and how they enjoyed, spending their time weaving beautiful cloth, carving handsome statues, and retelling tales of adventure and till one day everything changed due to waste, and lack warnings from the Sky. I rated the book as so due in part to the plot the plot tells the story of a how we go from enjoying the fruits of the earth, our mere needs being provided for us to taking advantage of these privileges and becoming wasteful to the point that we must begin to work for everything we need to survive. The characters and the theme in the book tie the story all together the characters in the book are warned by the Oba that they have become very wasteful and the sky is growing weary of their bad habits. The use of language illustrations and color is excellent as it stands to truly capture the essence of the Nigerian culture. The use of color truly embraces the native customs of Nigerian. I believe this book would appeal to young readers as it is a part of history with a twist. This book can be used to expand the children’s perceptions and ideas regarding each other cultures.
May 11, 2021
"Why The Sky is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale" is a short story that conveys a powerful message and encourages the reader to consider important issues. This is a story about a village that has the ability to crack and eat bits of the sky. The sky in this picture book has the ability to communicate and convey emotions. The villagers were greedy and took advantage of their good fortune, but the sky warned them that if another piece of food was thrown away, it would go away forever. However, the sky was once again squandered because one woman was too full to eat what she had pulled from the sky. As a result, the sky left after instructing the villages, "You must learn how to plow the land, gather crops, and hunt in the forests." Readers will be able to examine this storyline from a variety of angles. One of them is that working hard for one's possessions teaches one to value them more. “The future of nature and its gifts lie in our own hands,” says a quote from this book. The text and the unique illustrations work together to tell this beautiful folk tale that has been passed down over the generations, but whose message is still relevant for our children today: that is to say, people are responsible for wisely using the Earth's resources.
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September 11, 2019Why the Sky is Far Away is in the Traditional Literature genre because it is a fantastic story on the importance of caring for nature that was passed through word of mouth for at least 500 years before being “retold” by author, Mary-Joan Gerson. This is a Nigerian tale of why people started to cultivate land and use nature for resources. In the beginning, readers learn the sky used to be so close that anyone, even children, could reach up and take a chunk to eat. People began abusing that power, and much of the sky went to waste in piles on the ground, so the sky gave a warning that if people continued to take more than necessary, it wouldn’t always be there. All people were warned, but one night, the greed of one woman caused the sky to leave the people. The people then had to grow their own food, knowing the responsibility of taking care of “the gifts of nature” was now in their hands, as it is today. I would recommend this book because I believe the story and message held within is very important. It also is a tale from a culture different than my own, which I see as very interesting and awesome to learn about.
March 11, 2018
I personally think this would a great addition to any classroom. It's always a good time to talk about different cultures with our young students. It's also a book that I think would have no problem capturing the attention of a room full of kids of any age. The illustrations are bright and lovely and overall it's just a good story with a good message. Definitely a book that could lead to a lot of great classroom discussion about how we can take care of the earth and why it's important to do so. Could maybe even talk a little bit about how we are privileged to live in a country where if we get hungry all we have to do is go to the grocery store instead of doing hard labor in a field. There are so many possibilities with this folktale.
December 16, 2018
Reading level: 4.5
Summary: This is a Nigerian folktale about a tribe of people who learn to be respectful of the Earth, and not be wasteful.
Characteristics that support the genre: Classic Nigerian folktale approximately 500 years old.
Writing traits:
Presentation: This book is told with a lesson, that the people should learn to take only what they need from the Earth, and to not waste its resources.
Organization: This book is organized with large colorful drawings, some of them both full pages with no text. The characters wear very colorful clothing.
Classroom Integration: This book could be presented along with a lesson to go along with Earth Day, or a lesson about others cultures.
Summary: This is a Nigerian folktale about a tribe of people who learn to be respectful of the Earth, and not be wasteful.
Characteristics that support the genre: Classic Nigerian folktale approximately 500 years old.
Writing traits:
Presentation: This book is told with a lesson, that the people should learn to take only what they need from the Earth, and to not waste its resources.
Organization: This book is organized with large colorful drawings, some of them both full pages with no text. The characters wear very colorful clothing.
Classroom Integration: This book could be presented along with a lesson to go along with Earth Day, or a lesson about others cultures.
March 17, 2021
"Why the Sky is Far Away" by Mary-Joan Gerson is a Nigerian folk-tale meant for children between ages 4-6. it is about a land where no one had to work for their food, they just had to reach up to the sky and eat a piece of it. However, people were wasting the sky and throwing it away, so the privilege of eating from the sky was taken away and the people had to learn how to work for their food. this tale is valuable. it teaches children not to waste what they are given and to not take advantage of it either. I think this lesson is important and engrains an awareness in its readers. I downloaded this book as an audiobook and I'm glad I did. hearing the words through different voices and having cultural background music really helped me envision the story, creating a wonderful experience.
February 23, 2018
The wonderful author's note at the end of this story mentions how wise the Bini (a tribe in Nigeria) were 500 years ago when teaching the lesson of this story to their children, which is at least how old this story is! The future of our earth's resources is in our hands and we must conserve it. Really? They didn't even need a panel of scientists to weigh in on that? Amazing. A perfect example why the tradition of storytelling and passing it down through the ages is so important. This is short, easy to remember and would make a great contender for a storytelling assignment. Beautiful illustrations are done in Nigerian folk art style to accompany this lovely story.
May 5, 2022
In this Nigerian folklore, this book tells the story of how the locals would eat from the sky. The sky was used for food, but a lot of food was thrown away. The sky was angered how people on Earth wasted the food from it. Apparently the sky has great powers and tore itself from Earth so no one could waste food again. Because the birds were trying to help, the sky gave birds their wings that holds true to this day. The picture of the cover is very vibrant and easy to catch the eye. Mary-Joan Gerson tells the story very well as her tone is delightful, but has a sternly side at times. Cute book for young kids.
November 28, 2017
Admittedly, I judged a book by its cover but was pleasantly surprised. I didn't have high expectations based on the simple cover but my son and I really enjoyed looking at the illustrations and reading this tale. There are pages where there are no words and the pictures illustrate something we just read so we were able to sit and look and discuss what we'd just scene and read. At the end, my son had questions about the story which to me is a great sign. I was able to use the tale to teach about respecting the earth!
October 9, 2023
This is such a great Nigerian Folktale that is intended for ages 3-7. I think the ages and grade could go up higher just because the of the value and the point of this story. I would chose and share this with my class because it tells of how people have gotten careless with preserving the earth resourses and how if we don't take care of things better it all will just fade away. This would be a good discussion for science in the classroom too. The illustrations were just fabulous throughout this entire book. This is a good read for all and a good lesson to learn from.
November 28, 2018
Genre: Traditional Fiction
Grade Level: K-2
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting folk tale and gave some good insight to a different culture. There are some connections or similarities that can be drawn from what the Nigerian people believe and what we have been told. It is a great book to introduce different cultures to younger elementary students.
Grade Level: K-2
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting folk tale and gave some good insight to a different culture. There are some connections or similarities that can be drawn from what the Nigerian people believe and what we have been told. It is a great book to introduce different cultures to younger elementary students.
September 23, 2022
This is a beautiful folk tale that I never knew growing up. It has a little of everything and the style of Aesop's fables - easy morality tales, except this one is especially relevant today in the context of our global challenges such as wealth disparities and climate change. Gorgeous illustrations and great before bedtime.
October 16, 2018
this was a great book, it was very interesting and gave me a good view on these types of stories. I thought that the pictures were amazing it really illustrates what the book is trying to say. This book was the best illustrated children book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2017
Beautiful illustrations and a compelling folktale story
January 23, 2020
this website is so fu**ing dog
September 26, 2022
This was based on a Nigerian folktale. I loved the beautiful illustrations. This is a great story for teaching children to respect nature and care for our planet.
December 5, 2022
This was actually pretty interesting
August 4, 2024
Cute story, can be use to teach so many morals: don't waste, don't pollute the earth, don't be greedy....or can justbe enjoyed as a nice story. 😃
February 26, 2016
Title: Why The Sky Is Far Away
Author: Mary-Joan Gerson
Illustrator: Carla Golembe
Genre: Non-European Folktale
Theme(s): Humans, Greed, Earth/Sky
Opening line/sentence: In the beginning, the sky was very close to the earth.
Brief Book Summary: The people in the kingdom of Oba used the sky as a source of food, so much so that they became wasteful; the sky warned that it would move far away if the people did not stop throwing it away in the garbage piles. One night after a party, a woman took too much of the sky to eat. Knowing the consequences of wasting the sky, she had others help her eat her piece, but she ended up burying it in the garbage bin. The sky moved far away from the people in the kingdom forcing them to learn to farm and produce their own sources of food.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Betsy Hearne (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, October 1992 (Vol. 46, No. 2))
This Nigerian folktale is oral in every sense, for its primary image is an edible sky so close to the earth that people need only reach up and break a piece off for their food: "Sometimes the sky tasted like meat stew, sometimes like roasted corn, and sometimes like ripe pineapple." Free of arduous labor, the men and women can concentrate on art, weaving, and storytelling; but of course, where there is an Eden, there is an Eve-in this case a greedy woman who disobeys the sky's injunction against wasting its gifts. The sky recedes in anger, and the people must till the land and plant crops. An intriguing story to pair both with the Biblical episode of manna from heaven and with the Zuni myth of the Corn Maidens' punishment for First People's wasting food (Jerrie Oughton's How the Stars Fell into the Sky, BCCB 6/92), this is dramatically illustrated, its brilliant hues textured with finger-painting effects. Rich patterns play on a flat perspective, while the stark black figures lined with white and posed against a blue sky render the book effective for group display as well as close-up absorption. R--Recommended. (c) Copyright 1992, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1992, Joy Street/Little, 32p, $15.95. Ages 4-8 yrs.
(PUBLISHER: Little Brown (Boston:), PUBLISHED: c1994.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Gerson, Mary-Joan and Golembe, Carla Why the Sky Is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale 32 pp. ISBN 0-316-30852-8 (2) K-3 series. 1974, Harcourt. Exciting, brightly colored illustrations, created by a complex combination of techniques, bring new life to this 'pourquoi' tale. People used to be able to take a piece of the nearby sky to eat, but when they became wasteful, the angry sky moved upward, out of reach. Forevermore, people would need to grow their own food. A splendid contribution to the body of African folk tales.
Folktales/Myths/and Legends
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews provide a brief summary and the overall lesson learned from this book. I like the comparisons made in the first review to other texts, it provides readers with additional resources if they enjoyed this story. Finally, both reviews touch on the illustrations, but I feel that they fail to give them the attention that they deserve.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: Greed is a major theme in this story. It is used to teach children not to take more than they need and to not be wasteful with what they do have. The style of the text and the illustrations allows readers to sense the characters feelings toward the sky.
Consideration of Instructional Application: An instructional activity for this text would be to rewrite the text as a class. The class as a whole would decide on an item that they waste and then each student would write a page of the story. After the story was written, the students would add a border to their text and create a picture to go along with what they wrote using the illustrations from the text as a model.
Author: Mary-Joan Gerson
Illustrator: Carla Golembe
Genre: Non-European Folktale
Theme(s): Humans, Greed, Earth/Sky
Opening line/sentence: In the beginning, the sky was very close to the earth.
Brief Book Summary: The people in the kingdom of Oba used the sky as a source of food, so much so that they became wasteful; the sky warned that it would move far away if the people did not stop throwing it away in the garbage piles. One night after a party, a woman took too much of the sky to eat. Knowing the consequences of wasting the sky, she had others help her eat her piece, but she ended up burying it in the garbage bin. The sky moved far away from the people in the kingdom forcing them to learn to farm and produce their own sources of food.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Betsy Hearne (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, October 1992 (Vol. 46, No. 2))
This Nigerian folktale is oral in every sense, for its primary image is an edible sky so close to the earth that people need only reach up and break a piece off for their food: "Sometimes the sky tasted like meat stew, sometimes like roasted corn, and sometimes like ripe pineapple." Free of arduous labor, the men and women can concentrate on art, weaving, and storytelling; but of course, where there is an Eden, there is an Eve-in this case a greedy woman who disobeys the sky's injunction against wasting its gifts. The sky recedes in anger, and the people must till the land and plant crops. An intriguing story to pair both with the Biblical episode of manna from heaven and with the Zuni myth of the Corn Maidens' punishment for First People's wasting food (Jerrie Oughton's How the Stars Fell into the Sky, BCCB 6/92), this is dramatically illustrated, its brilliant hues textured with finger-painting effects. Rich patterns play on a flat perspective, while the stark black figures lined with white and posed against a blue sky render the book effective for group display as well as close-up absorption. R--Recommended. (c) Copyright 1992, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1992, Joy Street/Little, 32p, $15.95. Ages 4-8 yrs.
(PUBLISHER: Little Brown (Boston:), PUBLISHED: c1994.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Gerson, Mary-Joan and Golembe, Carla Why the Sky Is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale 32 pp. ISBN 0-316-30852-8 (2) K-3 series. 1974, Harcourt. Exciting, brightly colored illustrations, created by a complex combination of techniques, bring new life to this 'pourquoi' tale. People used to be able to take a piece of the nearby sky to eat, but when they became wasteful, the angry sky moved upward, out of reach. Forevermore, people would need to grow their own food. A splendid contribution to the body of African folk tales.
Folktales/Myths/and Legends
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews provide a brief summary and the overall lesson learned from this book. I like the comparisons made in the first review to other texts, it provides readers with additional resources if they enjoyed this story. Finally, both reviews touch on the illustrations, but I feel that they fail to give them the attention that they deserve.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: Greed is a major theme in this story. It is used to teach children not to take more than they need and to not be wasteful with what they do have. The style of the text and the illustrations allows readers to sense the characters feelings toward the sky.
Consideration of Instructional Application: An instructional activity for this text would be to rewrite the text as a class. The class as a whole would decide on an item that they waste and then each student would write a page of the story. After the story was written, the students would add a border to their text and create a picture to go along with what they wrote using the illustrations from the text as a model.
October 16, 2017
This beautifully illustrated book has been one of my favorite stories. The illustrations are bright and colorful and really pair well with the story. This folktale is quite old, I would love to know the origins of this story and the time period in which it first appeared. This book demonstrates a very good lesson, not only for children but for everyone. It teaches us how we shouldn’t be wasteful or take advantage of the good things in our lives because before we know it they can be gone.
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March 1, 2017This book tells an important story, which is that we have to take care of our planet and we cannot be wasteful. It also shows how storytelling is important to people and that its passed down generations. This book captures a story told by the Bini tribe of Nigeria, which has existed for more than eight hundred years. It really reminds me of all the stories I use to listen to about Somali folktales and that these types of stories are things children remember. I remember coming together with my siblings and cousins listening to our relatives tell us stories and how it use to make me feel. How I would pay such close attention to what they were saying. Also that these types of stories can be passed down and how I will pass down stories to my children is what makes them special. These types of stories have meaning behind it and also teaches great lessons.
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