Status
Available
Collection
Publication
William Morrow & Co (2000), Edition: y First printing, 32 pages
Description
A boastful strong man learns a lesson harder than his muscles when he encounters one of Nigeria's superheroes in this Hausa tale which explains the origin of thunder.
Local notes
School Library Journal, 01/31/2001
K-Gr 4-Big meets bigger in this humorous pourquoi tale. Muscle-bound Shadusa, as boastful as he is strong, insists on being called Master Man. Then, his wife, Shettu, encounters a baby of prodigious strength and learns that the child's father also calls himself Master Man. Shadusa runs off to teach this upstart a lesson. Instead, he finds himself cowering in fear when he sees the fearsome elephant-eating giant. Fleeing in terror, he passes by and warns some farmers in a field and then a group of porters. After rounding a bend, Shadusa discovers yet another fierce giant who calls himself Master Man. He hides in a tree while a battle ensues between the two larger-than-life figures. Their fury sweeps the pair from the earth into the clouds where they can still be heard to this day every time it thunders. Shadusa is a foolish but appealing protagonist whose inflated ego is perfectly captured in the photographed cut-paper illustrations that use shadow to great 3-D effect. People, backgrounds, even words spill over the borders of this comic-strip styled layout in reckless abandon. The story is told in alternating dialogue balloons and text boxes; the pacing is excellent and the narrative is vigorous and humorous. An author's note provides information about the Hausa people as well as a detailed derivation of this tale.
K-Gr 4-Big meets bigger in this humorous pourquoi tale. Muscle-bound Shadusa, as boastful as he is strong, insists on being called Master Man. Then, his wife, Shettu, encounters a baby of prodigious strength and learns that the child's father also calls himself Master Man. Shadusa runs off to teach this upstart a lesson. Instead, he finds himself cowering in fear when he sees the fearsome elephant-eating giant. Fleeing in terror, he passes by and warns some farmers in a field and then a group of porters. After rounding a bend, Shadusa discovers yet another fierce giant who calls himself Master Man. He hides in a tree while a battle ensues between the two larger-than-life figures. Their fury sweeps the pair from the earth into the clouds where they can still be heard to this day every time it thunders. Shadusa is a foolish but appealing protagonist whose inflated ego is perfectly captured in the photographed cut-paper illustrations that use shadow to great 3-D effect. People, backgrounds, even words spill over the borders of this comic-strip styled layout in reckless abandon. The story is told in alternating dialogue balloons and text boxes; the pacing is excellent and the narrative is vigorous and humorous. An author's note provides information about the Hausa people as well as a detailed derivation of this tale.