African Diaspora at Internet Archive: The Magic Orange Tree

This week is turning out to be a week of stories from the Caribbean, so here is today's contribution to the week's collection: The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales by Diane Wolkstein.

This is a collection of 27 stories, which the author collected during her travels in Haiti in the 1970s.

The illustrations are by Elsa Henriquez (you can find out more about this fascinating artist here), and they are full of delightful details:

Plus there are songs in Creole and English in the back of the book if you want to sing/play the songs that are in the stories:

So, this book is really ideal for a first-time reader of Haitian folktales; be sure to read the introduction to get some context for the storytelling performances that provided the stories you will read here. And enjoy! Cric! Crac!

The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales

by Diane Wolkstein