The Night Has Ears: African Proverbs

Ashley Bryan says, My mother had a proverb for any situation, attitude, or event. Many of us have had the same experience. But have you ever heard, As a crab walks, so walk its children or A log may lie in the water for ten years, but it will never become a crocodile? These are two of the twenty-six African proverbs Ashley Bryan has chosen to illustrate in this book.
Having grown up with proverbs, it was no surprise to Mr. Bryan when he began reading African literature to find African proverbs along with African stories. The proverbs grew out of the lives and experiences of the varied African peoples.
Each proverb here is credited to a specific tribe, yet, as Ashley Bryan explains, most were known in other tribes as well. And in fact, all are true for people everywhere. We may not see crabs often, but we understand about crab children, and even people who do not have crocodiles nearby know that they do not begin as logs. This is a book to treasure for its rich universal wisdom and its gloriously evocative illustrations.

Author: Ashley Bryan
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 10/01/1999
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 10.34h x 8.35w x 0.43d
ISBN: 9780689824272
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.2
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 2126 / Night Has Ears


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 09/15/1999 pg. 262
Kirkus Review - Children 10/15/1999 pg. 1641
Publishers Weekly 11/08/1999 pg. 66
School Library Journal 01/01/2000 pg. 117
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/1999 pg. 110 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw
Ingram Advance 10/01/1999 pg. 91
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2000 pg. 110 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw

About the Author
Bryan, Ashley: - Ashley Bryan grew up to the sound of his mother singing from morning to night, and he has shared the joy of song with children ever since. A beloved illustrator, he was recently named a Newbery Honoree for his picture book, Freedom Over Me. He has also been the recipient of the Coretta Scott King--Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award; the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award; has been a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer; a Coretta Scott King Award winner; and the recipient of countless other awards and recognitions. His books include Freedom Over Me; Sail Away; Beautiful Blackbird; Beat the Story-Drum, Pum Pum; Let It Shine; Ashley Bryan's Book of Puppets; and What a Wonderful World. He lives in Islesford, one of the Cranberry Isles off the coast of Maine.