The Flying Tortoise: An Igbo Tale

by Tololwa M. Mollel, Barbara Spurll (Illustrator)

Mbeku the tortoise is proud of his magnificent, shiny shell - maybe too proud. Because he is so handsome, the greedy tortoise feels he can demand the biggest share of everything. When the birds are invited to a feast in Skyland, Mbeku is determined to go with them. The tortoise even convinces the birds to help him and soon he had magnificent wings of his own. When Mbeku repays the birds with treachery, he learns he is not the only one who can play tricks. With his spirited retelling of a traditional take from the Igbo people of Nigeria, Tololwa M. Mollel brings the crafty tortoise's schemes to a satisfying and lighthearted comeuppance.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Africa

15 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1993

About the author

Education: University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, BA, literature and theater, 1972; University of Alberta, Canada, MA, drama, 1979, PhD, drama, 2001-.
Memberships: Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers; Society of Children's Book Writers; Writers Guild of Alberta; Alberta Legion of Encouraging Storytelling.

Career

University lecturer, director of children's theater and actor in Tanzania, 1979-86; writer, storyteller and lecturer in Canada, 1986-; Edmonton Public Library, writer-in-residence, 2000-.

Life's Work

In many modern cultures, the practice of handing down history through the oral and pictorial traditions of storytelling is giving way to the flashy special effects of Hollywood movies, the lessons learned in television sitcoms, or the unsubstantiated truths that can be downloaded from the Internet. Numerous old folk and native stories have been lost as popular culture has failed to integrate them into modern entertainment. However, several artists and authors have taken it upon themselves to preserve these stories and rejuvenate them for contemporary young audiences, including children's storybook author Tololwa Mollel. Since 1992 Mollel has been reinventing African tribal tales and creating original stories that he hopes will teach children about varying cultural backgrounds as well as focusing thematically on traditional morals and values. As Mollel said in an on-line Kids Care Club interview, "I think folklore plays a role in providing children as they grow a basic literary vocabulary and means with which to perceive the world and human behavior. It also provides them entertainment and a means of socializing them into the mores and values of the community."

Even though Mollel now makes his home in Canada, he was born in the Arusha region of Tanzania on June 25, 1952, to Loilangisho and Saraa (Eleiser) Mollel. Early in his life, Mollel was sent to live with his grandparents who tended a coffee farm in northern Tanzania. It was here that he was introduced to two very important influences, storytelling and religion. His grandparents made sure that Mollel and the other children living with them had access and constant exposure to biblical stories in order to foster a love of literature and Christian values. They also very heavily valued education and reading. In an article on Mollel on the University of Alberta website, it stated that Mollel would run home from school, "to share the thing he had read at school. Mollel's grandfather would listen intently, probing for details." Mollel says that it was these first conversations with his grandfather that sparked within him a "love of storytelling that has never left."

First Book Retold Maasai Venus Story

Mollel attended the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania to pursue a bachelor's degree in literature in theater. He accomplished this goal in 1972 and proceeded to further his education by attending the University of Alberta in Canada. Mollel decided to focus on his talents in the fields of theater and performance, and received his masters degree in drama in 1979. Afterward he returned to Tanzania and was employed as a university lecturer in the field of drama. He was also a director and actor at a children's theater. As Mollel continued to work and produce plays, he lived meagerly and saved his earnings in the hopes of returning to Canada. It would take him seven years, but finally in 1986, Mollel returned to Canada, this time not as a student but as an emigrant. He continued to lecture in Edmonton, Canada to make ends meet, but fostered his love of storytelling that he had been able to express while working in the Tanzanian children's theater. In the late 1980s, he turned to writing as an outlet, and wrote a few short stories for children that were published by various magazines.

Then, in 1991, Mollel published his first major children's book, The Orphan Boy. The Orphan Boy embodies an old folktale about the planet

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic Igbo fable (a people indigenous to Nigeria). Written down by a Tanzanian author, Tololwa M. Mollel, but it's really Barbara Spurll's illustrations that make this fairytale magical; the animals are draw realistically, but their facial expressions are brilliant

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tortoise has a smooth, shiny, glow-in-the-dark, magnificent shell. This fantastic tortoise tricks the birds into letting him have a huge feast prepared for them by the Skylanders. The birds get him back by taking away the wings that were made to fly him up to Skyland. Then the tortoise cries and looks pathetic enough to ask the birds to have his lizard friend create a huge pile of soft things that he could fall on to get down. They trust him and fly down to talk to the lizard--except for the sparrow who was busy hunting down a flea in her feathers. As soon as the others are gone, the tortoise stops crying and starts laughing. Not only did the birds allow him to trick them out of their feast, but they are helping him get home, too! The sparrow takes this news down to the other birds. When they go to the lizard, the birds tell her to create a huge pile of hard things for the tortoise. In Skyland, all the tortoise can see is his friend making a big pile of things. He aims at the pile and jumps. When he crashes, his magnificent shell breaks into a million pieces. His friend puts it back together for him, but his vanity is hurt when others come near him. That is why he pulls his head, legs, and tail into his shell.

A little long for storytime, but could work with preschoolers or older kids.

[Sam Wernert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book! It tells the story of Mbeku the tortoise flying with the birds to a festival but once he doesn't allow everyone to eat the food with him, the birds take away his feathers and he is not able to return home by flying with the birds. He ends up breaking his shell on the way home and is very sad about his shell looking cracked and old when it gets put back together. I would use this book to talk about many important classroom norms at the beginning of the year to my students. This book shows that sharing is important, if Mbeku had shared the food with the birds they wouldn't have taken his feathers. I would explain why we should share materials and supplies in the classroom. An overall theme of the importance of kindness is also in the book which is important for students to hear about.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fable about a trickster tortoise. Funny and sly with a lessons to learn. Beautiful illustrations.

[Coffee Beans Of Mystery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a colorful story with much entertainment. It is fun to read out loud to kids, especially in the dramatic parts. Will not spoil ending.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at the library book sale this weekend and picked it up because I love folktales and my son loves turtles. The story reminded me of the West African stories about Anansi the spider, as he is also a trickster, although Mbeku the tortoise seems much more greedy and unredeemable compared to Anansi.

The story comes from the Igbo people of Nigeria. Mbeku the tortoise had a beautiful shiny shell. He tricked the birds into giving him their feathers and becoming their spokesman after they were all invited to the Skyland for a feast. Mbeku got his friend the lizard to create some wings for him, which he uses to fly up with the birds and eat all their food. In punishment, they destroy his wings and leave him stranded in the sky. He plans on jumping down, but after the birds learn that he has fooled them for a third time, they sabotage his soft landing. Mbeku falls and breaks his shell, and his friend the lizard tries to repair it but it is now rugged and ugly. Recommended for ages 5-10, 4 stars.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story of how a turtle's shell came to look the way that it did was nicely illustrated, though I have to say that I'm not that big a fan of the turtle. He kind of played the villain that never got his comeuppance. Meanwhile, his friend, the lizard, never got any kind of appreciation and yet he stayed the nasty turtle's friend through it all. I would have preferred the lizard to turn his back on the turtle after all the grief that the turtle put him through, but I guess sometimes you have to roll with the punches. Still, it illustrates another cultures folk tales and that is always an enriching experience.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tale from the Igbo region in Nigeria (which covers an area the size of Switzerland) is about a cunning tortoise that has managed to trick birds into serving him. I find the trickster tortoise Mbeku to be someone I admire (instead of despise or pity). The resourcefulness that Mbeku has used upon the foolish birds is amazing.

This tale helps to explain why tortoises today have rugged, checkered, and dull shells. The Igbo people believed that tortoises used to have shiny and smooth shells until Mbeku's shell was shattered due to the trickery of the birds.

[Sonia Jarmula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Mollel in person at a Young Writer's Conference and getting his autograph, and before that, thanking him for coming to my school, it was a real joy, he is a very gentle, kind, and wise person. I read this to a girl I was babysitting last night, we both enjoyed Tololwa M. Mollel's use of imagery and the fantastic pictures and humourous writing. This is definitely one of my favourite picture books!

[Sydney Jennings · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Flying Tortoise: An Igbo Tale retold by Tololwa M. Mollel and illustrated by Barbara Spurll is a story that originated in West Africa. I don't know that I would use this book in my classroom just because I could find a different book teaching about payback that I like reading more. This book could be used for fourth and fifth graders.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tortoise tricks the birds to give him some of their feathers so that he can fly up to the place where the birds have been invited to a feast. The tortoise eats all the food intended for the birds, but they pay him back in the end.

[Elizabeth]

A fun story with excellent illustrations.