Isacc Olaleye, author
Ed Young, illustrator
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, (September 1, 1994)
ISBN: 978-1563970399
Deep in the African rain forest, Yusuf harvests sweet palm sap for himself and his family. What they don’t drink, he takes to market. When he discovers a band of baboons pilfering his harvest, he plots–vainly at first–to rout them. Olaleye, a native of Nigeria, makes a notable storytelling debut; his work bears the stamp of orally transmitted folktales. The tale is not so much illustrated by Young as it is electrically charged–lush, tropical colors glow against a largely black backdrop, transforming the straightforward events into the stuff of mystery. Young, working with cut paper, demonstrates a remarkably fluid technique; his exotic images suggest both depth and motion. Jungle grasses appear to wave in the wind,crimson blossoms spill down a corner of a page. An inspired–and inspiring–collaboration.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.