Children's Stories From Africa
This nice change-of-pace collection focuses on the storyteller instead of snappy animation or effects. Nandi Nyembe tells 12 stories on a stage of an African hut. The stories are built around the age-old tales of African wildlife: wart hogs, monkeys, crocodiles, and the like. These tales teach simple morals: the dangers of greed, the importance of picking your friends, following your heart. Only a few still pictures accompany each story--the heart of this program is our vivacious storyteller. Preschool dancers in native dress enter the hut after each story and playfully dance. Ms. Nyembe's rapid speech will throw some youngsters, but repeated viewings will solve this problem. (Ages 3 to 9)--Doug Thomas