Monday, January 24, 2022

Africa at the Internet Archive: Why Leopard Has Spots

New books are being added to the Internet Archive all the time, and I'm always excited when a new book of African folklore shows up, especially if it's one that I've been on the lookout for, like this one: Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories From Liberia by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret Lippert.


The reason I was looking for this one is that the illustrations are by Ashley Bryan, one of my favorite illustrators. You can find out more about his work in these previous posts. His style is instantly recognizable!



Won-Ldy Paye is a Dan storyteller from northeastern Liberia; his grandmother initiated him into the storytelling tradition, and he is also a drummer and dancer. You can find out more at his website, and you can also enjoy his work in the form of videos too! For example, here is The Bird that Ate the Bull.


Paye cowrote this book with Margaret Lippert, a folklorist and author who has collaborated with Paye on some other books also; they began working together in Seattle in the 1990s (Paye is now based in Connecticut). Here are three other books available at Internet Archive: The Talking VegetablesMrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile (stories which both appear in the Leopard book) and Head, Body, Legs. These three books are all illustrated by Julie Paschkis; you can find out more at her website.




So, enjoy all the illustrations and the stories too... plus the videos! There's a great world of stories awaiting you online. :-)




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