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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 966.2301092
EAN num: 9780395764817
ISBN number: 0395764815
Label: Sandpiper
Manufacturer: Sandpiper
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 32
Printing Date: January 22, 1999
Publishing house: Sandpiper
Age index: Ages 4-8
Sale Popularity Level: 59296
Studio: Sandpiper
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
In the thirteenth century, Sundiata overcame physical handicaps, social disgrace, and strong opposition to rule the West African trading empire of Mali.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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My history teacher read us this book and thought it was great. I hope to own it some day. also the pictures are beautiful.
Rated by buyers 
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With an intended audience range of 4 year olds to 8 years old, this book treads on dangerous territory. In a culture of violence, do we really want to introduce sorcery, curses, witches, and violence in a positive light to our pre-schoolers? I give 1 star as a token vote for the admirable illustrations.
Rated by buyers 
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For anyone concerned by the previous Nov. 2003 review - Wisniewski's book does not contain this episode. The reviewer must be thinking of another version (although I can't argue with the sentiment!)
Rated by buyers -
This book was basically like a prophecy to be filledand I didn'y like how Sologon nad to be drugged to become pregnant by her husband. Marriage doesn't mean controlling someone's body or mind. Marriage is vows and commitment.
Rated by buyers -
Anyone who wants to introduce a child (or even someone who is not so young) to the REAL glories of ancient Africa could do a lot worse than start with this book.
Beautifully illustrated, and simply written it retells the life of the great culture hero Sunjata (variously spelled Sundiata, Son-Jara or other ways depending on the language and inclination of the translator).
According to the story, Sunjata defeated the sorcerer-king Suma'oro Kante and liberated the Manding people (of modern day Guinea, Mali, plus parts of Senegal, Gambia, Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso) wielding them together into a great empire in the mid 13th century. To modern Manding poeple, Sunjata is roughly equivalent in stature to Abraham Lincoln, Moses or the very first Qin Emperor.
This version is very close to the original tale as told by the griots of west Africa (check out D.T. Niane's "Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali" for a traditional telling of the story or, for the really adventurous, D.W. Johnson and Fa-Digi Cissoko's scholarly rendition "Son-Jara: An African Epic"). A sung version of part of the Sunjata fassa (epic praise poem) can be found on the CD "An Be Kelen (We are One): Griot Music from Mali" also available on Amazon.
Sunjata's story includes sorcery, prodigious battles, and the triumph of nobility over gossip and envy. For modern readers, an especially powerful feature is the famous story of Sunjata overcoming childhood disability (he is crippled and -in some versions, unable to talk) to become the leader of the Malian people.
One final critical point: While Wisniewski's version is fairly faithful to the original, it should be pointed out that key secondary figures (such as Sunjata's mother Sogolon Keju, his sister Nana Triban, Fran Camara (the king of the Blacksmith clan), and above all, Sunjata's griot Bala Fasseke Kouyate) are given little mention. Thus it replicates a western emphasis on key individuals rather than stressing the importance of each of the various segments of Manding society (men, women, siblings, parents, warriors, traders, sorcerers, griots, blacksmiths, farmers)which was an essential point in the original story.
This is a beautiful, skillfully-rendered book on an exciting topic. Sunjata belongs with the Viking Sagas and the Knights of the Round Table as a key example of world literature. Do yourself a favor and buy this book.
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