Once Upon The Earth: An African Folktale
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by michael c. mbabuike
Price: $6.00
Book Website: http://afrstime@aol.com
88 Pages, Paperback, 6 x 9
ISBN-10: 0-9678460-4-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-9678460-4-0
This is the second edition of the story for all ages, "Once Upon The Earth:An African Folktale". This short mythology of living and dying is now embellished with more pictures and drawings depicting Africa's progress in time and in space. It is a mythological attempt to explain the mysteries of our existence and of death,tuus confirming the inevitability of being born some day and of dying some day, some time.The fictitious events happened when the entire universe was devoid of any type of racism or discrimination. All beings lived in perfect harmony.The setting is decidedly theocentric and children are given the vital lessons of life and of the divie presence in our midst.The sory is didactic, entertaining and spells out vividly the enduring qualities of democracy, of truth and honesty and of respect for the law. Both adults and children learn from the storyline and from the charaaaaaacters of the story. It is once upon a time which has become once upon the earth.
About The Author
The author michael c. mbabuike is an educator in the new york area where he is professor of the Humanities and Africana Studies at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York. A former chair of the dept of humanites and the College-Wide Senate, Mbabuike is still the coordinator of the Afriacana Studies Unit. He has served as two term president of the New York African Studies Association (NYASA).His works have been published by numerous scholarly journals in fields such as anthropology, the African family,literature, poetry, the African Diasporic issues,and social problems in minority communities.A family man who prides himself deeply in the blessings God has bestowed on him especially his two daughters and two sons.For Mbabuike poetry is also entertainment, history, philosophy but most importantly prayer and recognition of man's litlleness vis-a-vis the infinitie greatness of the divine. Mbabuike invites (possible readers) to come with him "through this...rigmarole of life, through rituals and ceremonies, rememberances of the past, of my childhood, of my village, of bushes, the forest, the yam fields, cassava plantations, and the market days...". His book on Senghor's poetry was published in 1989.
Reviews
The tale "Once Upon the Earth:An African Folktale" is intergrally of the oral literature genre now narrated in written form by the author Michae Mbabuike. This story follows the tradition of the ancients where animals and humans intermingle in a peaceful existence. This is a simple but fascinating account of how and why death is in the world to stay. Even though it is fiction , nevertheless the reader is not only entertained but also learns invaluable lessons of social civility, religiuos fervor and the democratic spirit of tolerance. As children we listened to such stories told us in the evenings at home or around camp fires. All ages enjoy and learn from such stories as Once Uopn the Earth. It was the bards and the griots in traditional Africa who were and are still the specialists of story telling and of superb oratorical skills. Mbabuike has deserved and carved for himself a coveted place in the oral and now written literature of his people. Once Upon the Earth is a story every child will find intriguing, suspenseful and also most entertaining and full of lessons on morality, hardwork , respect for authorities and for the divine will. This is a book for people of all ages who will definitely benefit from the story's themes and attempts to explain life and death.
Reviewed by:
Denize LAUTURE
Poet, Author and Professor
St Thomas Aquina's College
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