According to Mama, a native speaker of Fon, this is the first time many of these tales have been translated and retold in English. The brief stories are well suited for sharing or reading aloud. While the selections evoke the cultural values of the Fon people, the structure of some of them will be familiar to many readers. For example, 'The Prince and the Orphan,' with its beautiful protagonist, her cruel stepsisters, and handsome prince, is a variant of the Cinderella tale-type. Mama provides an excellent overview of Benin culture and folklore in his introduction, and includes brief notes for each story that explain background information, known variants, and mention of any alterations he has made to the oral tale.
Stylized woodcuts appear at the beginning of each grouping of tales.
Although the stories stand well on their own, the pictures help place them within the context of their culture. Overall, this is an important contribution to folklore scholarship. The anthology includes stories of orphans, children, spirits, animals, and tricksters as well as cautionary and pourquoi tales. They all share a sense of dignity in the telling, whether the narrative involves a Cinderella figure who attends the ball dressed in rags, a man who honors a leper at his wedding, or a glutton who outfoxes a self-satisfied goat. Mama's notes appear at the end of each tale.