Publisher Description
Long ago, when the world was new, the ostrich's neck was so short that he couldn't reach the succulent berries in the trees, and he had to sit on the ground to eat bugs. All that changed on the fateful day when the crocodile awoke with a terrible toothache that no one dared to help her with-no one, that is, but a naive and compassionate young ostrich. Compromising his own safety to help a needy stranger, he was rewarded with a most amazing surprise. This delightful African folk tale comes from the Akamba people of Kenya, a word that means "the place where there are ostriches." Verna Aardema's masterful word play lends itself perfectly to being read aloud. Made-up words for the sounds of tears falling, ostriches strutting, and kudus galloping create an atmosphere of sheer delight.
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About Verna Aardema
Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen (1911–2000), best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American writer of children’s books. Verna Norberg was born in New Era, Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State University with a BA of Journalism in 1934. In 1960 she published her first set of stories, Tales from the Story Hat which were very successful, and so she continued to adapt traditional tales and folklore from distant cultures, (usually from Africa and Mexico) to expose young children to the vast variety of human expression. Her book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (1975), illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, received the Caldecott Medal in 1976 and the Brooklyn Art Books for Children Award in 1977. Who’s in Rabbit’s House? was the 1977 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner in 1978. Aardema received the Children’s Reading Round Table Award in 1981, and several of her works have been selected as Notable Books by the American Library Association.
About John McDonough
John McDonough, one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices, has narrated dozens of audiobooks, and won eleven Earphones Awards. He is known for his narrations of children’s books, including Robert McCloskey’s Centerburg Tales and Albert Marrin’s Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Outside of his audiobook work, he has starred in a revival of Captain Kangaroo on the Fox Network.