The great Kapiti Plain, once flourishing with a "sea of grass" enough for giraffes to browse on and herdsmen to pasture their cows on, is devastated by the lack of African rains. The sea of green grass soon becomes brown and dead, "needing the rain from the cloud overhead" as the larger animals begin to migrate. The big, black cloud, all heavy with rain, that shadowed the ground on Kapiti Plain. But Ki-Pat, a herdsman, ingeniously brings the rain down to the plain with a bow and arrow that pierces into the dark rain cloud above. In the end, the grass grew green again, and Ki-Pat got a wife, and a little Ki-Pat who tends the cows now, shoots down the rain, when black clouds shadow Kapiti Plain.
In the note at the back of the book, I discovered that author Verna Aardema is a highly acclaimed storyteller and the author of many books of African folktales. "This tale was discovered in Kenya, Africa more than seventy years ago by Sir Claud Hollis, a famous anthropologist. He camped near the Nandi village and learned the native language from two boys. He learned riddles and proverbs from the Nandi children, and most of the folktales form the Chief Medicine Man. This tale reminded Sir Claud of a cumulative nursery rhyme that he loved as a boy in England, "The House That Jack Built." So he decided to call the story "The Nandi House That Jack Built" and included it in his book "The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore, published in 1909. Verna Aardema has brought the originial story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of "The House That Jack Built."
Aardema's repetitive phrase "that needed the rain from the cloud overhead--the big, black cloud all heavy with rain, that shadowed the ground on Kapiti plain" is found throughout each of the story's rhythmic plot. Each event occurs, the text builds upon one another, similarly in The House That Jack Built. The rhyming scheme and predictability allow for readers to closely follow the adventure and challenge that awaits Ki-Pat throughout the duration of the drought. The illustrations by Beatriz Vidal demonstrate the types of diverse animals that live in Africa, such as cows, giraffes, lions, rhinos, zebras, antelope, buffalo, cheetahs, leopards, etc. The culture, appearance, and tradition of the Nandi people are also touched on in this story, and can provide the opportunity for further research into this part of Kenya.
Reading Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain allowed for me to further evaluate lack of exposure to multicultural literature, especially folktales. Having read The House That Jack Built, this African folktale gave an interesting and unique twist to the English nursery rhyme, while also keeping true the Nandi traditions. Despite differences in folktales within the world, these oral traditions continue to be passed down from one generation to the next, while readers remain entertained and take away a valuable lesson or morale from the story. And just as little Ki-Pat did, too, tends the cows on Kapiti Plain, after being guided by his father by his own experiences and stories.
In the note at the back of the book, I discovered that author Verna Aardema is a highly acclaimed storyteller and the author of many books of African folktales. "This tale was discovered in Kenya, Africa more than seventy years ago by Sir Claud Hollis, a famous anthropologist. He camped near the Nandi village and learned the native language from two boys. He learned riddles and proverbs from the Nandi children, and most of the folktales form the Chief Medicine Man. This tale reminded Sir Claud of a cumulative nursery rhyme that he loved as a boy in England, "The House That Jack Built." So he decided to call the story "The Nandi House That Jack Built" and included it in his book "The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore, published in 1909. Verna Aardema has brought the originial story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of "The House That Jack Built."
Aardema's repetitive phrase "that needed the rain from the cloud overhead--the big, black cloud all heavy with rain, that shadowed the ground on Kapiti plain" is found throughout each of the story's rhythmic plot. Each event occurs, the text builds upon one another, similarly in The House That Jack Built. The rhyming scheme and predictability allow for readers to closely follow the adventure and challenge that awaits Ki-Pat throughout the duration of the drought. The illustrations by Beatriz Vidal demonstrate the types of diverse animals that live in Africa, such as cows, giraffes, lions, rhinos, zebras, antelope, buffalo, cheetahs, leopards, etc. The culture, appearance, and tradition of the Nandi people are also touched on in this story, and can provide the opportunity for further research into this part of Kenya.
Reading Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain allowed for me to further evaluate lack of exposure to multicultural literature, especially folktales. Having read The House That Jack Built, this African folktale gave an interesting and unique twist to the English nursery rhyme, while also keeping true the Nandi traditions. Despite differences in folktales within the world, these oral traditions continue to be passed down from one generation to the next, while readers remain entertained and take away a valuable lesson or morale from the story. And just as little Ki-Pat did, too, tends the cows on Kapiti Plain, after being guided by his father by his own experiences and stories.
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