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ONLY ONE
COWRY
A DAHOMEAN TALE
illustrated
by David Soman
Orchard,
2000
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*Junior
Library
Guild Selection
*Bank
Street's
Best Children's Books, 2001
*Boxed
review,
Booklist
*Children's
Literature Choice List, 2001
*Notable
Social Studies Trade Book,
2001
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| From
the book jacket: |
Dada Segbo, the first king of
Dahomey, wants a bride. He can
afford the finest gifts to bestow
upon her family, but he prefers not
to part with any of his wealth. So
he offers a single cowry shell. How
could anyone find a bride for such a
pittance?
"I will
find the king a wife for only one
cowry," promises a smart young
fellow named Yo. And, trade by
trade, he does. But Yo isn't the
only clever bargainer in the
kingdom.
Freely
based on African folkore and
strikingly illustrated with
multi-textured collage art, this
witty tale features an appealing
pair of perfectly matched deal
makers.
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A
little about the book:
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My father, who studied and collected
African art, suggested I retell an
African cumulative tale for
children. My experience as a
children's librarian and storyteller
taught me there is nothing more fun
than joining in to help tell the
story. So I found an African tale
that had not yet become a picture
book, perhaps because the trickster
hero was just too mean. I
transformed him into a nicer fellow,
though he is still very much a
trickster, still clever and wily.
But I didn't stray far from the
character Yo was to become. As it
happened, according to the original
Dahomean storyteller, the king, who
was completely happy with the lovely
and clever wife Yo found for him,
forbid anyone to complain about Yo's
trickery. And that is why Yo, the nasty
trickster, became a more
likable trickster in future
funny tales.
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From
the reviews:
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“Soman’s handsome collage art is as
strong and distinctive as Gershator’s
text, deftly capturing the humor of
the story in postures and facial
expressions. The effective combination
of rhythm, rhyme, and wordplay in the
tale’s refrain (‘Well, well, I’m doing
well, thanks to Dada Segbo’s shell’),
preceded each time by the cumulative
list of items traded, is just one
example of Gershator’s thoughtful
attention to the story’s oral roots.” Horn
Book
“...good-humored cumulative picture
book.... [Soman] brilliantly captures
the story’s light tone with scenes of
smiling figures posed gracefully
against simplified, evocative
backgrounds. Young readers and
listeners will laugh along with Yo and
his beautiful co-conspiritor as the
two slyly prize a lavish bride price
from the smug sovereign.”
Booklist, boxed review
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