Trees are so much a part of our daily lives, whether we take them for granted or find ourselves fighting for their survival: so it is perhaps unsurprising that there are many stories from all over the world that feature trees, woods or forests as a central theme or ‘character’… … Continue reading ... →
The Amazing Tree
by John Kilaka
(North-South Books, 2009)
In this retelling of an African folktale the animals are hungry and there’s only one tree that has fruit on … Continue reading ... →
My first bit of advice – Never share the stage with a python or an unwieldy elephant when your audience is under five, as you’ll have a hard job keeping them off the stage and trying to get in on the act. Three to five year olds love nothing better than to play with a 12 foot long snake and however many times you arrange the coiled snake around the tree, turn your back and one (or more) of the audience will be unwinding it for you, before you can even begin.
And on the subject of an audience, resist having your grandchildren at the event. They will take the story into their own hands and try on the masks and be very helpful at inappropriate times. Although older grandchildren
can be helpful because they prompt you loudly at the parts you’ve forgotten. You'll follow what I mean, in this sequence below – grandson helps himself to 'zebra' while I'm doing 'lion' act ...
then dons 'zebra' while I'm doing 'monkey' act...
Finally with perseverance 'zebra' finds his place at the right moment in the story worn by a non-related member of the audience while a non-related little girl is about to play the coconut clappers for zebra hoof sounds.
If you are making a stuffed snake do NOT make it 12 foot long because you will be returning time and time again to get more stuffing for it from Peter Jones/John Lewis or wherever. Learn from nature. Pythons can swallow entire antelopes in a few gulps. This one swallowed 6 bags of stuffing and 3 metres of wadding and still it looked lean and hungry.
And do not make your elephant unwieldy never mind how large you want him to appear … because wire has a way of doing its own thing. So practice, practice, practice. (preferably behind a closed bathroom door although with space so minimal, the trunk keeps getting caught up on the towels.) Do NOT on any account make tusks for the elephant as you will contravene some Health and Safety law when you spear a child.
Also make sure your grown-up son is not in the audience because he is bound to take a video of you acting silly and then put it on Facebook so all his friends can see what a crazy mother he has!
And expect the unexpected. When you are in mid-sentence at the most dramatic moment of the story and drawing in a breath to make the most terrifying roar (that you have practised nightly behind closed doors in the bathroom) be prepared to accept an empty crisp packet from a little boy who has obviously been brought up well and hands it over to you with great seriousness and says: 'Here’s some litter!'
And while we are talking roars, if you are prone to throat tickles, I can recommend a black lozenge called Vocal Zone that opera singers use before performances… except don’t breath on anyone especially the adults as it has a slightly alcoholic odour and parents will look at you suspiciously especially if there is dancing involved in your event.
And speaking of dancing – this is very important – go to gym for a few sessions to get your knees and joints in working condition. Limber up every day for a few weeks because if you tell stories you need to crouch down and jump and clamber and crawl and be a little crazy never mind that you are 60 years older than anyone else in the room! And then there is the dancing, so get into the groove and get some music on and practice, practice… get your hips swinging. African Marimba music is all about dancing! But be prepared to be no taller than the tallest child. Someone might need to stand 'in' or 'up' for you so your instructions can be followed.
And finally … thank you to everyone at the OMNIBUS Theatre in Clapham, especially Felicity Paterson and Marie McCarthy, for their amazing organisation for this event of THE MAGIC BOJABI TREE and for the huge turn-out they generated, with some people even been turned away at the door. What a wonderful child-friendly venue Omnibus is – with a lovely coffee bar and great atmosphere and even a chance to make snakes with glue and glitter and paint and afterwards an acting workshop with Hester Welch. THANK YOU! I had a great time! And thank you to Clapham Books too, for providing the books.
Most important tip – have fun! If you're having fun, the children will too.
THE MAGIC BOJABI TREE, published by Frances Lincoln and illustrated by Piet Grobler, was on the nomination list for the 2014 KATE GREENAWAY.
ZERAFFA GIRAFFA, also published by Frances Lincoln and illustrated by Jane Ray, received a 5 Star review in Books for Keeps.
Where in the world will you be for World Book Day?
Maybe lucky enough to be celebrating books in some exotic corner while the rest of us languish in rain-soaked England? But wherever, World Book Day is an opportunity to celebrate not just books but special people who do so much to promote the love of books.
Did you read the recent post by Maeve Friel –
The Magic of the Hay Cartagena Festival –
where she tells of a man who wheels his library cart through the streets of Cartagena lending books to all in need of a story?
As Barry Lopez says in his book ‘
Crow and Weasel’:
‘The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to keep them alive.’
Mercy Jonathan works in a tiny shop called Make Africa owned by Janet Holding, in a village next to the sea on the southern tip of Africa in a place called Plettenberg Bay. The shop sells baskets and beads and fabrics from every part of Africa. It smells of the hot countries the objects come from… smoky wood and dried grass. But its also sells books.
Mercy is my special book person for World Book Day.
Her memories of story come from her childhood growing up on a farm in Malawi where her grandmother told her the story of Hare and Baboon and a jar of peanut butter. Of course old trickster Hare was faster than Baboon and finished the peanut butter in a matter of moments and was off and away, leaving nothing for Baboon. Sharing was the theme. And it’s no co-incidence that this is what Mercy does at Make Africa… she shares the creativity of all the artisans whose work she displays and shares the stories of the books she sells.
Loved by all her customers… the steady stream of foreign tourists who browse through the shop, as well as the locals popping in for a scrap of African cloth, she speaks four languages and is known for her flamboyant style of dress, her plaited hairstyles and her elaborate headscarves. I’m sorry to admit I visited her the first time without a camera and then returned again without warning on one of her less flamboyant days… but her smiling face says it all.
Piles of my picture book The Name of the Tree is Bojabi (The Magic Bojabi Tree in South Africa) have literally vanished because of her charm. She’s the best bookseller I know who just happens to live on the southern tip of Africa.
But with World Book Day coming up, there must be masses of other great booksellers in the UK, as well as in other corners of the earth, who authors need to recognise. What about doing a series of blogs on the best of them… and I don’t mean shops… I mean the person who holds the book and touches the pages and places it in the hands of the reader with a secret smile? Let's salute them! Thank you Mercy!
www.diannehofmeyr.comTHE NAME OF THE TREE IS BOJABI - Dianne Hofmeyr, illustrated by Piet Grobler, published by Frances Lincoln
With the snow still piled up in drifts and Artic winds blowing, I thought I'd introduce a bit of warmth with a hot African story... THE MAGIC BOJABI TREE
'Long ago a dry wind blew across the plains of Africa.
No rain fell. The grass shrivelled. Trees died.
The earth was as dry as a piece of old leather.
Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Monkey and Tortoise trudged
across the cracked earth looking for a smidgen to eat.'
I won't give a page by page account of the story. Suffice to say... when the animals discover a splendid tree covered in exotic fruit, guarded by a HUGE python, they need someone clever, brave and without hubris to save them.
I don't know about being clever... but you certainly have to be brave and without hubris if you take your books into schools.
But what I have discovered is how readily young children warm to storytelling... much more so, than when having the story read to them. They seem to respond more when they're able to use their imaginations to conjure up the sounds and atmosphere in a story, than when they are confined to seeing printed words and pictures on a page.
When telling a story you can't be too fixated about using the exact words. A few might get left out and each time you tell the story, it might be a little different, but something vital happens when you get off your chair and become the lion or the elephant or do the 'chitter chatter' silly monkey bit. A few musical affects to stretch the pause and the tension... a single bang on a xylophone, the sharp clap of a coconut clapper or the twang of a thumb piano... all help. You don't have to be musically gifted. Children are very forgiving.
Here are my very simple musical accompaniments for THE MAGIC BOJABI TREE.
And with a pair of pliers, some twists of wire and and a bit of imagination I now have an elephant 'in the making' (the wire contraption... not my son!)
And with an enlargement of Piet's tortoise, to use as a rod puppet, I'm all set.
So stand aside War Horse... THE MAGIC BOJABI TREE is ready to take you on!!!
And since my animals now speak fluent Brazilian Portuguese, German, Japanese and Afrikaans, if anyone needs them to go on tour beyond the hot plains of Africa, they'll be happy to do so. Their puppet-master unfortunately is not too fluent in these languages but hopefully the action will be enough to free the imagination.
P.S. They speak English too.
THE MAGIC BOJABI TREE, illustrated with gusto by the amazing Piet Grobler and published by Frances Lincoln, is out on 4th April.
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Oh. this is one of my absolute favourite stories for telling to younger children - although the tree's name in "my" version is different.
So lovely to see the illustrations and colours in this version!
Sounds entrancing!
Sounds wonderful, and I love the illustrations!
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Just beautiful, Dianne. Lovely to see such a super story getting the illustrations it deserves. And I hope it's as successful as War Horse!
Does anyone know how to get rid of comments that aren't applicable?
Penny there seem to be so many names for this tree. Was yours called Ungali by any chance? A Canadian Storyteller Celia Barker Lottridge uses this name. I think the story has West African origins but is told throughout Africa.My War Horse comment is of course tongue in cheek Adele but thanks for all your good wishes.
I love this story, Diane, and you did a great job of reading it to us at the last SAS retreat. You should do a youtube video' it really brings the story to life and enhances the experience of reading the book
Thanks Saviour... will have to improve my technique first...
But how odd that you should review another lion book... The Lion who Ate my Arm on the ABBA Review today. Talk about synchronicity! And what a pity my book was too for the lion event you mentioned there.
'too late" is what I was trying to say there.
Di, your reading of this story last year at Folly Farm was absolutely magical. Storytelling is as much about the teller as the story - and you are an absolute expert and joy to watch! xx
Go Di! Wishing your multi-lingual animals great success on their journey!
Very warming on a frigid day. But I expect this story will work all the same on a hot day too! It is very imaginative. Congrats Di!
Lovely! I too want to hear (and see) you read it, Dianne.
Thanks everyone. It's great to have a new picture book out there. Good news! Apparently picture books were strong at Bologna.
All the best for your new book Di.
Love James