Animal Village

Animal Village, a children's picture book ,  received a starred Kirkus review.  It was named to both Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018 and the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group's Best Books of 2018, and received a gold medal from Literary Classics International Book Awards.Animal Village is an authentic folk tale from the Zarma culture of West Africa about a tortoise who saves her village from the ravages of drought with wisdom passed down from an "old story." Nelda LaTeef's colorful and strikingly brilliant montage of illustrations, in acrylic and collage, captures the richness and vibrancy of the sub-Saharan culture from which the story springs.The story is especially relevant to sub-Saharan Africa as it focuses on the devastation of drought and the importance of received knowledge. With its dual themes of wisdom and grit, the book happily entertains while it teaches the importance of hard work, humility and persistence as keys to success.