Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum

by Ashley Bryan

Here are five Nigerian folktales, retold in language as rhythmic as the beat of the story-drum, and illustrated with vibrant, evocative woodcuts.

Genres: Africa, Picture Books, School, Childrens, History, Geography, Short Stories

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Ashley Bryan was an illustrator, children's author, and poet.

Ashley Bryan (1923–2022) grew up to the sound of his mother singing from morning to night, and he shared the joy of song with children. A beloved illustrator, he was named a Newbery Honoree for his picture book, Freedom Over Me. He also received the Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, was a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer, a Coretta Scott King Award winner, and the recipient of countless other awards and recognitions. His books include Freedom Over Me; Sail Away; Beautiful Blackbird; Beat the Story-Drum, Pum Pum; Let It Shine; Ashley Bryan’s Book of Puppets; and What a Wonderful World. He lived in Islesford, one of the Cranberry Isles off the coast of Maine.

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled on this one in a book store and thought it may be useful for my World Lit. class. I fell in love with the illustrations instantly, and after doing some research on the author, not only am I planning to share the book with the class, but I may see about donating copies to some local public and school libraries. What an amazing resource!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acclaimed African-American children's author and artist Ashley Bryan - whose other folklore collections include The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales and The Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Tales - presents five traditional tales from Nigeria in Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum, together with his beautiful woodcut illustrations. Here the reader will find:

Hen and Frog, a variation on the Aesopic Grasshopper and the Ants, in which the industrious Hen prepares for an impending storm, with no help from her friend Frog. As you might expect, when the storm floods Frog out, he seeks shelter at Hen's, where a series of confrontations end in an unexpected way...

Why Bush Cow and Elephant Are Bad Friends, a tale in which the two largest and strongest animals are constantly at odds, fighting and wreaking havoc wherever they go. When the Head Chief arranges an official contest, only to see that the two contestants can't wait, he knows he must take action...

The Husband Who Counted the Spoonfuls - the only tale in the collection featuring human beings, rather than animals - follows the story of gentle Tagwayi, whose only flaw is his habit of counting everything, including the spoonfuls of food ladled out by his wives. This habit, considered unforgivably rude, leads to the loss of one wife after another...

Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together, in which two young creatures meet, befriend one another, and pass the happiest day of their lives, only to be informed upon returning home, that frogs and snakes are enemies...

How Animals Got Their Tails, a pourquoi tale which explains why Rabbit has the short little tail, and why animals got tails in general.

[Tippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed a couple of the stories, but I was mostly impressed with the art work. I could honestly see getting some of these images tattooed on myself-LOL. Beautiful work. The last story was my favorite, but all had interesting morals. The last story was about why and how the animals got their tails.

I read this book as part of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards 50th anniversary challenge promoted through the LA Public Libraries.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun for kids, maybe between 1st and 4th grades? Think a less problematic Aesop's Fables.

[Sara Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

the illustrations are dope

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wood carvings are beautiful and the stories were fun to discuss.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice collection of Nigerian tales. This is a quick read, but was really enjoyed by lots of kids who read it with me. The illustrations are really fantastic, too!

[Willow Redd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we have a collection of African folklore tales, all but one involving animals.

Of the five tales, three I enjoyed, two I really did not. Hen and Frog, Why Bush Cow and Elephant are Bad Friends, and How Animals Got Their Tails are, in many ways, similar to the Aesop tales many of us grew up with, and the last delving into the mythology of the region. However, The Husband Who Counted the Spoonfuls, a tale about a man who loved to count and was punished by society for it, and Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together, which shows how parental prejudice affects the younger generation, to me were both horrible as far as lessons taught. Like, why would you pass those stories down? Then again, there are plenty of classic tales that are severely problematic when you really look at them.

Overall, however, a collection worth reading. And the artwork is fantastic.

Anyway, this was another library sale find that I will be adding to my Little Free Library. I think it's important to pass on tales of all cultures, showing both the similarities and the differences in the way stories are told, especially in the messages we pass down from one generation to the next.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so glad to have found this! Ashley Bryan illustrates 5 Nigerian folktales in this book, and she does it with woodcut illustrations–which are incredible, by the way. Unfortunately, I can’t remember if she cites where she collected these tales. Either way, my favorite story is “Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together,” because that story discusses exactly how and why socialization happens and how we can be socialized negatively. Of course, that story may not have been intended for that type of reaction, but…hey. It’s true.

Anyways. This is definitely a great book for teaching your children about different cultures!

Review cross-listed here!

[Shofam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Such a different, rhythmic read and quite silly at points! Of course we don’t agree with some of the things said, but knowing that it’s a retelling of ancient African folktales, it’s less of an issue.

"The book was Awesome with a capital A. The stories were very funny." - Neph, 8 years old

[Celina Carriere · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would usually never rate a book a 1 star unless it was truly awful but this book was was very painful to read. The one star is for the one chapter that was decent. This is great to read to your 3 year old children, not a 13-16 year old in high school. Would not recommend (unless you have kids). Had to need for school.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little read. If you like folk tales, these are something new (they were for me) and interesting to share with the kids. They are very obviously meant to be shared orally. I hope someday to hear these stories read aloud by someone able to do justice to their rhythmic nature.

[Yulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of 5 African folk tales that are quite different from the tales I am used to. Written in a rhythmic language (sometimes silly) and beautifuly illustrated, this book is great for children.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A set of African folk tales. I think it would be more fun to hear these set to a beat, but interesting.

[Ashley Coberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for school. The kids lived the different African tales.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively and lyrical, my kids loved this read-aloud from their curriculum.

[Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool book great storytelling

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love great artwork funny and smart stories 😄

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange stories. Not my favorite SL book. Level F.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny tales that beg to be told aloud.

[Vilma Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very quick read. It’s consisted of five stories. The stories were about animals and life lessons. It was an enjoyable read, from a mythology I don’t usually explore.

[Tanya Kitchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I thought it would be, but it was still good. I thought it was a story, but instead, each chapter is a different story and all the stories remind me of Aesop's fables.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well put together book, with clear chapters, some transitional phrasing, and a mix of color and black and white illustrations approximately once per page throughout the book. These are five traditional Nigerian tales retold and illustrated by Ashley Bryan, and there is a rhythmic sing-song manner and humor to all the tales.

The book and translations could probably be rated 5 stars, but I just couldn't give 5 stars to the stories. "Hen and Frog" is a familiar tale with a good moral, and "How Animals Got Their Tales" is humorous, but the other three had minor complaints: "Why Bush Cow and Elephant Are Bad Friends" was really only about how they liked to fight, and that was the reason they weren't friends. That's not really a reason, and they were just fighting for the whole story. "The Husband That Counted Spoonfuls" seemed judgmental - so what if he likes to count the servings at dinner? Should you be ostracized if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder? It seemed a bit much, especially with all the wives. And "Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together" was tragically heartbreaking. I mean, my daughter and I cried for probably 5 minutes trying to recover. From the title it is clear what is going to happen, but the budding friendship at the beginning is told so lovingly you totally forget what it is about and you can't believe it when it happens. We even tried to come up with an alternate ending that involved a gradual understanding over generations. Sigh.

I'm still giving it 4 stars, because these are, after all, stories, and so a lot of it was just entertainment, and in that regard they really earned their supper. But I will likely skip some of them if we read this book again.

[Brittnee Pettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comments: “Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum” is a unique book but doesn't quite meet the mark for reader engagement. I think it’s the kind of book whose meaning got lost in translation. There are a lot of culturally-rich characteristics throughout the book that may “throw” the modern-day reader. It is a chapter book which features various stories that are unrelated in the sense of content. Nonetheless, each story is meant to provoke some moral lesson-learned or highlight the unique perspectives depicted through the tradition of storytelling in Africa.

Age Suitability: 5+ (?)

Summary: Satisfies the criteria for a cultural text, may even be considered an historical text due to the age-old tradition of African storytelling which is obvious throughout the text. The illustrations definitely work in favor of the lack of clarity within the storylines. The images are authentic to what one would expect from quality African art.

Quote: “Click clack cluck Click claa clee. I ate pumpkin, Pumpkin didn't eat me.” (Hen and Frog)

VideoClip: http://youtu.be/7REBumHUzPM

Description: Author, Ashley Bryan sheds light on his life, growing up in The Bronx, NY, and how this shaped his artistry.

[Leah Gerber · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are five Nigerian folktales; “Hen and Frog,” “Why Bush Cow and Elephant are Bad Friends,” “The Husband Who Counted the Spoonfuls,” “Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together,” and “How Animals Got Their Tails” retold in rhythmic language, and illustrated with vibrant colors and in black-and-white. Each story is meant to teach a moral lesson or lesson learned. I especially liked this book because I feel like the students would laugh and relate, yet see it from a different perspective from an African American style story telling technique. I think this would be useful in the classroom, but not all at once. I would pick one story at a time and discuss what action-consequence we learned from the story. This probably would not be the best book for children to read on their own because it may require some real life examples to expand on the lesson. I would like this for my own children as a bedtime story.

Bryan, A. (1980). Beat the story-drum, pum-pum. New York: Atheneum.

[Kayla Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comment:
Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum is a wonderful five traditional Nigerian tale that includes "Hen and Frog," "Why Bush Cow and Elephant are Bad Friends," "The Husband Who Counted the Spoonfuls," "Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together," and "How Animals Got Their Tails." Not only are these tales wonderful but they also include wonderful woodcut illustrations that amuse children.

Age:
3rd grade& up

Summary:
This traditional literature book is a collection of Nigerian stories told in a rhythmic poetry mixture. The wonderful alliteration made these tales interesting and memorable.

Quote:
"A hut? Not me!" said Frog. "Here's a neat hole.I'm going to get into that.Uh-uh, I won't help you make a hut."

Video:
http://youtu.be/Wctfb6uwXNM

[Madison · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book with Nigerian Folktales that is written through words that rhyme.


The pictures in this book are very plain. They are black and white and are often just of a few animals. They take up about half of the page and do not really go into any detail. On some pages, the animals are placed around the text. Without the text, there would be no story at all.

I did not like this story, or the illustrations of the story, and do not recommend this book. Although it could tell the story of history, culture, or multiculturalism, I do not think that it does a good job of explaining anything.

[Ashleigh Pollard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understood the significance of this book, but personally I was not a fan of it. This book includes a few chapters about African Folktale stories. Mainly, the stories consisted of animals who metaphorically attempt to explain life lessons. Due to my disliking of the book, I do not think I would read all of the stories to a class. It is a difficult book to understand if it is not read aloud to children, and then broken down to build understanding.

[Jesse McMorris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beat the Story- Drum, Pum-Pum was written by Ashley Bryan and also illustrated by her. The book was various stories that were African folktale and they were retold by Ashley Byran. For this book it was extremely heavy on text and not the pictures even though these were probably the most interesting pictures for me to look at. The pictures were heavy one geometric shapes and were all pretty simple but I liked them a lot.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five short Nigerian folktales in the style of Aesop's Fables. We read this book as part of my child's reading curriculum. My kids liked the rhythm and rhyme and that the characters were mostly animals but were disappointed that none of the stories had nice endings - pretty much like Aesop.