| Title | : | The Hunterman and the Crocodile |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0590898280 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780590898287 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 32 |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 1997 |
| Awards | : | Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor (1998) |
The Hunterman and the Crocodile Reviews
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The Hunterman and the Crocodile is the humorous telling of Bamba the crocodile, and Donso, the humterman. One day, Bamba and his family travel far from the comfort of the river and are discovered tired and weak by Donso. Bamba asks Donso to return him and his family to the river and promises not to bite him upon doing so. However, as Donso agrees and goes to release Bamba into the river, the crocodile complains he is very hungry and decides he should eat Donso. As the two argue over a broken promise, many other animals begin to emerge on the riverbank to offer their advice on who is right and what should be done. The animals are clearly in favor of eating the hunterman as humans have been taking advantage of the animals for many years. In a twist of fate, the hunterman returns to his village prepared to eat Bamba and his family. However, upon arriving, Donso realizes that he and the crocodile family must work together in order for each of them to escape their current predicaments. The lesson taught in the telling of this book is invaluable.
The hunterman and the crocodile fits the genre of traditional literature by representing the generational telling of the importance of living in harmony with nature. The message the story portrays is that humans must value themselves as equal to those around them-not above-so they can work together to reap the benefits of peace and harmony. This story is told with references to West African culture and the values of the people occupying its land.
The obvious lesson the Hunterman and the Crocodile offers to elementary age students is that of living harmoniously and peacefully with nature. However, I believe the teaching of this story could be expanded to incorporate the harmony that must exist between humans and other humans as well, regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, or gender. The value of these lessons is easily taught through the descriptive text and illustrations of this book and can be applied to all learners willing to listen with an open mind. -
"The Hunterman and the Crocodile" is a folktale written and illustrated by West African author, Baba Wagué Diakité. This folktale tells the story of a crocodile and a hunter who take turns being the captive and captor. As the story unfolds, readers learn the importance of living in harmony with nature and animals. This book was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators and has been reviewed by Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal, Children's Literature and Kirkus Review.
This would be a great book to use to introduce students to the folktale genre. I think that this story would be appropriate for students in second through first grade because there are some vocabulary words in the story that will be difficult for younger students to understand. Additionally, this would also be a great book to read as a read aloud because I think that students will enjoy hearing the onomatopoeias as well as the dialogue between the animal characters and the hunter. This book is also beautifully illustrated using hand painted ceramics created by the author. When reading this book to my students, I would draw their attention to the illustrations and ask them what information they give us about setting. -
The West African Folktale tells the story of how man learned to live in harmony with nature after an incident with a crocodile. This is one of those folktales that are fun to hear and would capture the attention of older students who still enjoy picture books.
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Category/Genre: ICDL/Traditional Literature/Fable/Picture Book
Copyright Date: 1997
Estimate of age level of interest: K-3rd Grade
Estimate of reading level: Grade 3
Brief description: A traditional West African fable is retold in which Donso, the hunterman, learns that he is part of the cycle of life from the plants and animals in his environment.
Two characteristics of picture traditional literature/fables that appear in this book:
1. Fables stories in which components of the natural world (plants/animals/sometimes the elements) taking on human voices to deliver a lesson. True to form, animals and a tree in The Hunterman and the Crocodile refuse to help a man in trouble, each explaining their refusal by remembering how humans have wronged their kind in the past.
2. A second characteristic of fables is that they are brief, simple stories that deliver a relatively complex moral message. In 14 short pages of text, this tale delivers the message that humans are part of the cycle of life and must beware not to treat the animals and plants as though they are lesser than them.
In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience?:
The colorful ceramic tile prints that make up the illustrations of this picture book bring the story alive and give the story a sense of place in the West African world. As a folktale, the message is clear and direct with entertaining dialog that will speak to young children's drive for justice in terms that are black and white. The line between good and bad is clearly drawn which makes for a clear delivery of the moral lesson to the intended audience.
Awards:
None found.
Published reviews from professional sources:
None found. -
Genre - Traditional literature - picture book on the International Children's Digital Library
Copyright - 1998
Age level of interest - 4-8
Reading level - 2nd grade -on
Brief Description:
A West African folk tale with gorgeous illustrations is about Donso, the hunterman, and three tricky crocodiles. Several animals and a mango tree refuse to help. This short picture book teaches lessons on trust, harmony and humans place in the world.
Two Characteristics of Traditional Literature:
Language - This story presents itself in the oral tradition with "sound effects" from the critters and a mango tree which is typical of African folktales. It is simple and straightforward with repetition yet lively enough to engage any age.
Illustrations - Beautiful illustrations and borders have an African folk art style. The colors are dark and rich settling the reader in for a good griot tale.
Serving it's Audience:
This story is clearly meant to be told and the art to be shared. It would make for a great read aloud for younger grades. Finding the author on Skype or another West African to read this book aloud would be fantastic. It would also be great to re-enact this story into a play with "sound effects" and African cloth as a backdrop.
Awards and Reviews:
No awards found.
Kirkus Review - December 5, 1996. -
I came across this book while searching the International Children's Digital Library. This treasure of a book was written and illustrated by Baba Wague Diakite and won the Coretta Scott King award in 1998. Donso, the "huntsman" is our main character in this retelling of a famous story many readers will recognize. Donso finds himself in danger of being eaten by Bamba the crocodile - actually four crocodiles are after him! When Donso asks the natural world around him to come to his aide, they refuse. Man has not been good to the animals or nature. In the end, Donso learns an important lesson and commits to living in harmony with all living things. I think what I loved the best about this book was the engaging illustrations. Diakite uses ceramic tile paintings to bring this story alive. Children will not be accustomed to seeing this type of illustration. There is nothing "western" about this artwork and I found myself staring at every page. Another delightful feature of this book is the sing-song language used. For example the cow's movements make a "dingi, donga" sound and the horse goes "ke-te-ba." I would choral read this book with my students, and they would really enjoy repeating the language. I felt this international book that felt really authentic to African culture. I would use this book with all ages.
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I am so charmed by crocodiles going on pilgrimage to Mecca.
This story is in the same vein as Tololwa M. Mollel's
Shadow Dance, but as I was reading the litany of condemnations of Man in this one, I was thinking, "They're not wrong," so I was pleasantly surprised that the human protagonist in this one actually takes those criticism to heart at the end. -
This is a version of an Aesop's fable or Uncle Remus tale given an African spin. I enjoyed this version even better since the moral of man living in harmony with all of earth's creatures equally, shines through. Wague's rich African illustrations and wording illuminate the lesson and I can see this being a good candidate for live storytelling.
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A sweet West African folktale that teaches children to live in harmony with all living beings. The illustrations were gorgeous, and made me wish I had a print copy of this rather than the free e-book I read online.
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I like the message of reevaluating our connection with nature
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I loved this story about man’s reminder of where he fits in the circle of life.
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3.5
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I like the message at the end
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Humane ideas are introduced in a fun way with this wonderful storybook. Hunterman and the Crocodile uses traditional artwork to illustrate this African fable.
Donso the Hunterman encounters Bamba the crocodile and his family while out walking. The crocodiles are weak from their journey, and ask Donso to carry them back to the river. Once back in the water, the reptiles are revitalized, and hungry! They challenge Donso to come up with a reason why they shouldn’t gobble him up. Dondo calls for help to a succession of animals standing along the riverbank.
The Cow relies:
“Mook! I will not interfere. Man does not respect others. Look at me. I spent my life providing milk and giving up my children to Man. Now that I am old, Man gives me no consideration. I don’t care if Bamba eats you.”
Horse says:
“Man is weak. I used to help him plow his fields and haul big loads. But I was only beaten for my helpfulness. Mook! I would be foolish to intervene. I should let Bamba have you.”
And Chicken :
“Mook, mook, mook!” she said. “You do not deserve my help. Man takes my eggs – my children. And when he is very happy, he and his friends feast over my body. Bamba, eat him if you like.”
Finally, Donso turns to the Mango tree. Yet man has treated her no better. She tells Donso that man only repays her for her fruit and shade by cutting her down and burning her.
Finally, clever Rabbit advises Donso on how to escape, and, expecting to take revenge, he ties up the crocodiles and plans to take them home and cook them. However, when he gets home with his quarry, he discovers his wife is ill and can only be cured by the tears shed by a living crocodile. Realizing that revenge is not the most important thing in the world, he strikes a bargain with the reptiles:
“Let these be the last tears any of us shed today, Bamba. I will release you and your family in exchange for a few of your tears.” With this, the crocodile family shed tears of joy, which the hunterman gathered quickly in his drinking gourd before rushing home to save his wife.
The book ends on a fantastic note:
Donso never forgot the lessons he learned from the cow, the horse, the chicken, the mango tree, and the rabbit. From that time forward he has reminded people of the importance of living in harmony with nature and the necessity of placing Man among—not above—all living things. -
This West African folk tale tells about a man who helps out a crocodile and then is nearly eaten by the crocodile. It is a trickster tale with no clear over-all trickster, as by turns the man, the crocodile, and the rabbit are all tricksters.
When my classmates were giving presentations, one of the groups I listened to reported on West Africa, and mentioned that there is a lot of onomatopoeia in West African tales. This can certainly be seen in this story, as the animals walk away. The cow walks away "dingi-donga, dingi-donga" and the chicken walks away "ko, ko, ko." This is a very interesting aspect of West African tales, and one that I think that children should be aware of.
This would be a great story to study as part of West African culture. It would also be a great story to illustrate the importance of treating animals and nature with respect, as the animals repeatedly show Donso the Hunterman that humans have not treated animals or nature respectfully, and have misused them. This nearly is the end of Donso, as none of the animals want to help him because man has been so terrible to them in the past. At the end of the book, the author, Baba Wague Diakite, points out other stories that tell a very similar story, including an Aesop's fable and Uncle Remus tales. It would be interesting for the children to do a study of a few of these tales and to look for similarities and differences. -
a summary:
hunter: omg a crocodile like whats up friend why are you so far away from the river?
crocodile: tired. carry me.
hunter: no!!! youre dangerous. youll eat me!!!
croc: i wont tho.
hunter: k.
hunter: here we are in the water
croc: thanks you look TASTY LOL JUST KIDDING BEFORE IMA EAT YOU.
hunter: nooo
hunter: .....
croc: .....
hunter: hey someone
horse: wut
hunter: halp pls
horse: no. "et ta ka!" humans are WEAK
hunter: hey
cow: no i hate humans
hunter:hey
croc: this is fine ill just wait
chicken: what do you want human nvm you lost your chance. you devour my flesh on the regular bye i hope you die bye.
animals in general: all humans do is eat us
hunter: -shrugs-
rabbit: LOL okay so why dont you just stack the crocodiles on your head?
hunter: k
crocs: dangit
hunter: im gonna eat these crocs
animals (o.s): ...right. like we said
villager: your wife gun' die
hunter: nooo why i was gonna eat crocs with you and now i cry
hunter: wait. crocs you cry too ill release you. we have a trust bond just do it.
crocs: k
animals: lets all just live in harmony and not eat each other
crocs tears save the day the end.
lolol okay well anyway it was a good lesson! also i really liked the drawings they were slightly terrifying. -
This West African folktale is a wonderful interplay between humans and nature. A huntsman helps a family of crocodiles get back to the water and makes them promise not to eat him. Being trapped by the crocodiles in the water, he asked many animals to help him out but to no avail. The other animals and nature are upset with mankind for only taking from them. The ceramic-tile paintings (used as pictures) are rich in the colors of nature and the characters are drawn very simply. The colorful paintings portray the rich culture of Africa. Target audience:5-8
