African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Angela Shelf Medearis

I wrote about Angela Shelf Medearis in yesterday's post, so I wanted to follow up with some more of her books today! The first is a a storybook based on a 19th-century cowboy song: The Zebra-Riding Cowboy: A Folk Song From the Old West.

The illustrations are by María Cristina Brusca, and as Medearis explains in her author's note: "Many books, movies, and television programs fail to include Mexican and African-American cowboys when they portray life in the Old West. María Cristina Brusca and I have attempted to correct this oversight in this book. 

The second book I want to feature is a ghost story: The Ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam.

The illustrations are by Jacqueline Rogers:

And finally, I wanted to share this book which is not based on African American storytelling traditions, but which is instead a retelling of a traditional African folktale from Ghana: Too Much Talk.

The illustrations are by Stefano Vitale:

So, three wonderful books to enjoy, and each one is just a click away at the Internet Archive!

 The Zebra-Riding Cowboy:

A Folk Song From the Old West

by Angela Shelf Medearis

The Ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam

by Angela Shelf Medearis

Too Much Talk

by Angela Shelf Medearis

African Diaspora at Internet Archive: The Freedom Riddle

I've written about the importance of riddles in both African and African Diaspora traditions, so I wanted to be sure to include this book by Angela Shelf Medearis: The Freedom Riddle.

You might remember Medearis from an earlier post; she wrote a version of Taily-Po! You can read that blog post here: Dark-Thirty and Tailypo.

The illustrations are by John Ward:

As Medearis explains in the introduction her source is a story that Simon Brown told to William Faulkner; you can find out more about Simon Brown and William Faulkner in this post: The Days When the Animals Talked (which is one of my all-time favorite books of African American tales).

So, you can read Medearis's book... and then maybe you will want to hear more stories from Simon Brown too, which you can find in Faulkner's book!

The Freedom Riddle

by Angela Shelf Medearis

African Diaspora at Internet Archive: August House / American Storytelling

I wrote about the great Jackie Torrence yesterday, and I have another of her books today: The Importance of Pot Liquor.

The book is a blend of autobiography and storytelling, built around stories from her grandpa (A Ghost Story ~ Br'er Rabbit Builds a Home ~ Br'er Rabbit Gets Caught ~ Br'er Rabbit and the Little Brown Jug), her grandma (Br'er Rabbit Goes Hunting ~ Mammy Bammy Big Money ~ Br'er Rabbit Pays His Respects ~ The Legend of Annie Christmas), and then her own stories (The Wonderful Tar Baby ~ Elvira and Henry ~ Br'er Possum's Dilemma ~ Br'er Rabbit Outsmarts the Frogs).

This book is part of the American Storytelling series from August House (one of my favorite publishers of storytelling books), and I want to share another great book in that series: African-American Folktales for Young Readers by Richard Young and Judy Dockrey Young.

You'll find over 30 stories in this book from 9 different storytellers, including Jackie Torrence (!), and also Len Cabral, who I've blogged about before too: Storyteller Len Cabral.

So, lots of Jackie stories and more stories too; enjoy! It's all just a click away at the Internet Archive, thanks to the power of Controlled Digital Lending.

 The Importance of Pot Liquor
by Jackie Torrence

African-American Folktales for Young Readers

by Richard Young and Judy Dockrey Young

African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Jackie Tales

To get the new week started (with a government holiday in honor of Juneteenth this Monday too!), I've got a fabulous book to share by the great storyteller Jackie Torrence: Jackie Tales: The Magic of Creating Stories and the Art of Telling Them.

You'll find sixteen stories here, including some Brer Rabbit! The Big Hairy Toe / The Yellow Ribbon / The Ring / Soldier Jack / Jack and Hardy Hardhead / Jack's Trip to Hell / Br'er Rabbit Builds a House / Br'er Possum's Dilemma / Br'er Rabbit Outsmarts the Frogs / The Baby Sale / Aunt Sally and Uncle Fifth / Dexter the Dog / Elvira and Henry / The Hairy Man / Honeyboy's Gift / The Monkey's Paw.

And one of the best features of this book are the MANY photographs of Jackie Torrence performing, giving you a sense of how she uses her body to help her tell the story:

Sadly, Jackie Torrence died in 2004 at age 60; you can read her obituary here in the LA Times: "Steeped in the lore of her Appalachian, Cherokee and African American heritage, Torrence told ghost stories, “Jack” stories about various adventures of the Jack of beanstalk fame, Uncle Remus tales and “jump” stories, which end with such a startling one-word twist they make the listener jump."

You can also find some Jackie Torrence videos at YouTube, like this one of the famous "Golden Arm" story:

So, read, listen, watch, and enjoy! I'll be back with some more from Jackie Torrence tomorrow. :-)

Jackie Tales: The Magic of Creating Stories

and the Art of Telling Them

by Jackie Torrence