Raouf Mama

A quite interesting collection of about 20 traditional stories from the Fon people in the author's native Benin. Each one is only about four pages long, and each one has a note at the end where Dr. Mama explains the moral of the story and what it says about Fon culture. What I found very interesting is how similar many of the tales are to Western fairy tales such as Cinderella, etc. This book was in the children's section of the library and certainly children would love it, but it would be of interest to adults too, particularly those wanting to learn more about African culture. I hadn't known anything about the Fon before I read this -- hadn't even heard of them -- but Dr. Mama's notes were revealing and made me want to learn more.… (meer)