Roots and Legends: Folktales from African Culture

Pass down the powerful teachings of African oral tradition by adding this luxe illustrated volume of over 50 cultural folktales to your home library.

In this captivating collection of folklore from African culture, discover the stories that have been passed down through generations and continue to teach valuable lessons today through their vibrant, illustrative language. With over 50 folktales, Roots and Legends celebrates the richness of African customs and life, and champions the importance of oral tradition, a practice that rose up through the dark times of slavery and oppression.

Thoughtfully curated and richly illustrated, Roots and Legends features the wonder and educational lessons of cultural stories and figures such as:

• Why Spiders Are Always Found in the Corners of Ceilings
• How the Tortoise Got Its Shell
• Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
• How Mr. Lion Lost His Wool
• Brother Bear's Big House
• Brer Rabbit and the Gold Mine
• Morning Sunrise
• Diddy-Wah-Diddy
• Uncle Monday
• A Ghost Story About an Aunt
• Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies
• And more!

Divided into four sections (Why Things Are the Way They Are; Morals Taught through Animals Tales; Bearing Witness; and People with Unusual Powers) covering the spiritual nature of animals, people, the land and its sometimes spooky inhabitants, and more, each page is filled with timeless tales of heroes, tricksters, and everyday wisdom, and invites you to immerse yourself in the depth and beauty of African folklore.

Featuring historic stories with a modern editorial review, this deluxe collectible edition includes original illustrations and an embellished, giftable package. A perfect choice for families interested in passing down African heritage through storytelling traditions, Roots and Legends will enchant readers of all ages through its beautifully illustrated and accessible collection of folklore.

Author: Editors of Wellfleet Press
Publisher: Wellfleet Press
Published: 01/21/2025
Pages: 200
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781577155164

About the Author

New York-based Wellfleet Press publishes illustrated reference books for the price-conscious consumer. Wellfleet focuses primarily on well-crafted and researched home reference; entertainment; faith; and mind, body, and spirit titles. We offer our customers a unique combination of both completely original content as well as illustrated editions of classics texts.

Kristin G. Congdon is Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Humanities at the University of Central Florida. She has published extensively on art, folklore, and multicultural education. Her authored or co-authored books include The Making of an Artist: Desire, Courage, and Commitment; Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon; American Folk Art: A Regional Reference; Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Art; and Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales. She has been senior editor of The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education and Studies in Art Education. Dr. Congdon has been president of the Florida Folklore Society, chair of the Florida Folklife Council, and has served in numerous other leadership roles including the Director of the University of Central Florida's Cultural Heritage Alliance. She has curated several exhibitions at the Orlando Museum of Art, Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida, and more recently, Rooted Visions, a traveling exhibition with the Mid-America Arts Alliance. In 2015, Dr. Congdon founded the Alliance for Truth and Justice, an all-volunteer group whose goal is to facilitate a new era of race relations from the ground up--through research, educational forums, exhibitions, historical markers, and commemorative soil collections--in Orange County, Florida, which was noted to be the worst county in the South, per capita, for lynchings between 1877 and 1950 (Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror, 2015).