Word: aardema
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...Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks By Verna Aardema (Knopf; $17) This Masai tale is wonderful fun to read aloud. That's because of the unusual sound effects. The lioness jumps out of a tree--"gurum!"--and the ostrich chicks run away--"pamdal"--but the lioness, yearning for children even if they have feathers, corrals the chicks and purrs, "Irtil-irtil-irtil." A hyena tries to help the mother ostrich, then slinks away, "Pasa, pasa, pasa." "Nnnn," groans the rightful mother, when suddenly...Quirky illustrations by Yumi Heo are full of gurum, pamdal and lots...
Misoso, by Verna Aardema; illustrated by Reynold Ruffins (Knopf; $18), is a fascinating collection of traditional African tales, which are bound to be new to New World kids: "One morning a toad said to a rat, 'I can do something that you can't do.' 'What?' cried the rat. 'You don't even know how to run. You just throw yourself, lop -- and then you stop and look around."' Yes, and then? Listen for fun, but learn too: leelee goro means "little girl" in the Temne language, and jambo is Swahili for "hello." And a "sloogey dog" is a Saluki...
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