Wiil Waal: A Somali Folktale by Kathleen Moriarty, Amin Abd al-Fattah Mahmud Amir (Illustrator), Jamal Adam (Translator)

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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3- Long ago in Somalia there lived a sultan who took pleasure in thinking up riddles to test the men he ruled in order to find someone who would be his intellectual match. One day, Wiil Waal asked his subjects to bring him the one part of a sheep that would symbolize "what can divide people or unite them as one." One man shared the riddle with his oldest daughter, who thought for a moment and then swiftly cut out the sheep's gullet. At first her father was horrified, but then he decided to trust her instincts, and he was surprised when the sultan announced, "You are a wise man!" But he knew that the man had not made the selection on his own and asked to meet the one who chose the gullet. Upon seeing the beautiful and proud young woman, Wiil Waal predicted that she would someday rule the land. The English text flows well and is simple, economical, and straightforward. The Somali text does not replicate the English precisely and sometimes important words are substituted. For example, in the English version, the words "man" and "men" are used many times but they are changed to "people" in the Somali text. The art is lovely. The sweeping East African landscape is richly illustrated in lush browns and greens on full spreads. The clothing is particularly elegant: the loosely gathered cloth is heavily textured and painted in deep reds, blues, and yellows. While the book will be particularly appealing to Somali families, it can be enjoyed by anyone who likes tales with clever female characters.-Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN