(2) 4-6 Malian artist Diakité's ceramic tiles illustrate this autobiography. The medium admirably suits the subject: rural Mali comes to life in the tiles' earth tones, saturated colors, and bold drafting, supplemented with Diakité's handsome portraits and traditional designs. His story's significance shines through the simplicity of its telling: Malian village life is revealed in authentic detail, and the cultural attitudes are mind-opening.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2010

(3) K-3 Two sisters--one vain, one magical--are tricked by a serpent into believing he's the perfect husband for the vain sister. When the sisters realize the truth, they must enlist the help of heron Balakononifin to escape the serpent. Diakité's exquisite paint-on-tile illustrations beautifully reflect the story while unobtrusively depicting life in a Malian village.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) K-3 This story, heard by Diakité as a child in Mali, is more familiar to us in the form of Slobodkina's Caps for Sale, but here offers a different lesson. Hungry BaMusa is only able to figure out how to retrieve his hats from a troop of monkeys after he eats the mangoes they throw at him, thus learning that "it is with a full stomach that one thinks best." A border of humorous monkey antics frame the ceramic tile paintings. An author's note and list of other versions of the tale are included.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 1999