How Zebras Got Their Stripes

Usborne First Reading Level 2

by Lesley Sims (Retold by), Laure Fournier (Illustrator)

When the greedy baboon refuses to allow the other animals to drink at the pond, brave Zebra stands up to him, in a Namibian folktale describing how the zebra got his stripes.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Africa

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Lesley dreamed of being a writer, but studied law as her mother insisted she had "something to fall back on". Since joining Usborne Publishing, she has written and edited hundreds of books, from funny rhyming stories to an award-winning history book. Nowadays, she is often found recording books, too, in Usborne's very own recording studio.

Reviews

[Tracey]

This is an origin story from Africa on how the Zebra got it's stripes. Excellent illustrations by Lare Fournier and Lesley Sims was super at retelling the story about the Zebra's stripes. Greedy Baboon did not want to share the water in the pond with the other animals. Try as they might, the greedy baboon chased them off. The first zebra, which is the one without the stripes, was not scared of the baboon and would take him on. The baboon collected a whole lot of sticks and made a fire to scare off the other animals. This however, did not deter the zebra, who then went after the baboon, sending him high up into the air and landing on the fire. The baboon now has a coloured bottom from landing in the fire, and the zebra has stripes from where the sooty sticks landed on his body. A humorous and enjoyable read, that had my class laughing and asking me to retell it over and over again.

[Kelly]

This story tells you that it is important to be patient

[Shelly Koressel]

About once upon a time Zebras didn't have stripes. Then along came a greedy baboon. This fun tale from Africa also has puzzles at the end to answer. Neat book.

[Brittany Lockard]

This is a good book that talks about greed and showing respect for one another. I was read this book by Shelly K. in read aloud.

[JaNeal]

Great and well-told traditional story. The fact that it also serves as an early-reader is wonderful! This story has great appeal for kids of all ages.