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The
Iroko-man
A Yoruba Folktale
illustrated by Holly Kim
Orchard, 1994
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*Bank
Street's
Children's Books, 1994
*American
Bookseller's
"Pick of the Lists"
*Adventuring
with
Books, National Council of
English Teachers, 1997
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| From
the book jacket: |
The Iroko-man, a tree spirit, is
used to hearing prayers. When the
women of the village kneel to him,
begging that children once again be
born to them, the Iroko-man asks a
high price in exchange for his
magic.
One
woman, Oluronbi, can offer only her
firstborn; she has no corn, fruit,
yams, goat, or sheep, like the
others. The Iroko-man accepts.
But when
her baby is born, Oluronbi and her
husband, a woodcarver, cannot bear
to part with him.
Furious,
the Iroko-man casts a wicked spell
upon Oluronbi--but the story, in all
its cleverness, mystery, and exotic
beauty, is far from done.
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| A
little about the book: |
I always disliked the ending of the
Grimm Brothers'
"Rumpelstiltskin"--it was so unjust,
so unfair and cruel! When I read
about the Iroko-man, I thought, There
are similarities in these two
tales. If I give it a twist, I'll
make a point: there CAN be a happy
ending, a THIRD way to resolve a
conflict.
One
of my dearest friends is a mediator,
and with this story, in a very small
way, I felt that I,
too, was contributing to his (our)
vision of a better world.
My
father, Morton
Dimondstein, an artist and collector
of African art, opened my eyes
to the power and beauty of African
art, and gave me the statue which
served as Holly Kim's model for the
Iroko-man's baby.
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| From
the reviews: |
"In her first children's book, Kim
creates sumptuous compositions of
painted cut papers. Radiant
backgrounds and such details as
regional textile patterns suffuse her
visual spreads with light and motion.
A visual feast." Publishers
Weekly
"A handsomely set out African
'Rumpelstiltskin.'" Kirkus
"The story has a more clever and
satisfying climax than most: a wooden
child for a wooden man! Rarely
anthologized, this unusual tale, with
its chants that invite audience
participation, should have success in
story times. It is just the sort of
mildly frightening tale young
listeners relish. An author's source
note is appended." School
Library Journal
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