Achebe uses traditional African folktale characters to create a literary fable that is Achebe's commentary on the Nigerian-Biafran War of the late 1960s, and part of the story is a poem, "The Lament of the Deer," written by Achebe's close friend and colleague Christopher Okigbo who died in that war fighting for Biafran independence. You can learn more about the composition of the book and its original publication in 1972 here in a blog post from Ariel Winter (part of a fascinating blog about children's literature).
The edition at the Internet Archive is one that was published in Kenya in 1996 as part of the East African Educational Publishers Sparrow Readers series. This edition of the book is illustrated, but the name of the illustrator is not given:
There is one other book in that Sparrow Readers series at the Internet Archive: Why Dog Left the Forest by Barrack Muluka.
And if you want to find out more about Chinua Achebe, the Internet Archive has many of his books, including Things Fall Apart, as well as books about him: Chinua Achebe at the Internet Archive, and you can find out more about his life and career at Wikipedia. Here's a screenshot showing just a few of the many books by and about Achebe at the Archive:
I am glad that two of these Sparrow Readers have made their way to the Internet Archive, especially the one written by Achebe: both books are just a click away for you to read and enjoy!
by Chinua Achebe and John Iroaganachi
by Barrack Muluka
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