By Prisca Sam-Duru
Children’s literature on folktales usually takes a common form that transports the reader back to life during the primordial era, but Sayo Juba’s “Tort And The Townies” offers far beyond that.
The book is colorfully presented in such a unique style, spiced with all the ingredients that make children’s literature engaging, educating as well as entertaining. Most fascinatingly, it is crafted with a touch of modernity.
The potency of folktales as a tool for shaping the moral of children who transform into individuals with great values, cannot be overemphasized. If there’s one great aspect of Africa’s ‘primitive’ lifestyle or community lifestyle that should be revived in its totality, it is telling tales under the moonlight. Surely, modernity may oppose gathering under the trees at the village square, but the storytelling can be done in homes or elsewhere safe.
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The content of the tales is of more relevance as the world, not only Africa is being overrun by men and women with high moral bankruptcy. Little wonder Juba has dedicated “Tort and the Townies”, to all grandparents who still value inculcating good morals into their grandchildren through folktales narrated under the moonlight.
Sayo Juba, a graduate of the BBC World Service Trust Workshop (now BBC Media House) whose works have been published on different platforms such as Mbari Magazine, Words and Work, etc., is also author of “You Are One Of Them”.
Her latest literary offering “Tort And The Townies”, published this year by SCLK UK is beautifully illustrated by Roy Resabal, to aid the young readers’ comprehension of life lessons embedded in the story. In each of the 101 pages spread across five chapters, the relevance of the book as a major campaign tool to reintroduce folktales in homes as well as building a vibrant reading culture among children, resonates.
The animals have just experienced their first rain after a drought that lasted for six months. The celebration takes the key characters in Ajuba’s riveting narrative, to their usual Boony barwhich serves as a gathering point for relaxation.
The celebration goes wild and Gawt is caught in some sort of liquor competition. The show takes a very bad turn as he swallows more than his system can accommodate. As the tale progresses, the chief planner and blackmailer, Tort who is also the major character in the book, is revealed.
Tort, a large male tortoise with Yanny his wife and seven kids, lives up to his proverbial disposition of a lazy, cunning, greedy and mischievous animal as he begins manipulating his peers to sustain himself and family.
With the announcement of an economic meltdown in their country, by Mr president- Lyon, Tort becomes more desperate about how to put food on the table for his family.
He resorts to direct blackmailing of his friends and foes alike. This strategy works well until his kleptomaniac instinct pushes him into entangling with Dawg and he pays dearly for their unholy act.
It is very hard not to identify the similarity in the pathetic state of Nigeria with the animal country painted in the story; a country with corruption as its bane of development.
There is more than enough dose of lessons to be learned from ‘Tort and the Townies’. It’s good that the author made sure that justice is served to any offenders. Dawg got a fair share of his punishment for stealing from the stack of palliatives meant to cushion the effect of the economic meltdown.
At this juncture, young readers are encouraged to watch the kinds of friends they keep. Dawg has always known that Tort has a questionable character, yet keeps him as a friend. It’s also important for parents to guide their children against peer pressures, to reduce the alarming level of moral decadence in society.
The title, ‘Tort And The Townies’ sounds lyrical and is apt for the narrative. In addition, lucid language and the simple plot developed with Tort’s scheming, make the tale compelling and a pleasant read for parents and children.
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