A Stork in a Baobab Tree: An African 12 Days of Christmas

By Author / Illustrator

Catherine House, Polly Alakija

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd

ISBN

9781847806055

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

01-10-2015

Synopsis

New in paperback. Set in Africa during the Christmas season, this is the story of a village preparing for a celebration - the birth of a child. The story is told in verse inspired by the traditional carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, but in this version by the author Catherine House the gifts are: 1 stork in a baobab tree, 2 thatched huts, 3 woven baskets, 4 market traders, 5 bright khangas, 6 women pounding, 7 children playing, 8 wooden carvings, 9 grazing goats, 10 drummers drumming, 11 dancers dancing and 12 storytellers. This is a Christmas steeped in the atmosphere of African village life, including descriptions of the objects and activities mentioned in the text.

Reviews

This is quite a charming Christmas book that shares 12 different African village Christmas Traditions. Using the classic Christmas carol 'Twelve Days Of Christmas', the reader learns about houses, food, clothing and culture in a variety of different places - at the market, in the huts, with the grazing goats etc. The book is easy to understand and the big, glossy pictures are interesting to look at. I've said this book for 5+, obviously they'd need an adult to share it with them, but it's a great book for introducing different cultures to younger children. The book includes a page which tells you where each tradition comes from, enabling children to further research what interests them. Picture book / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Lizi Coombs, teacher.