Kitoto the Mighty

by Tololwa M. Mollel, Kristi Frost (Illustrator)

High in the sky, a hawk circled and searched. Then quick as an arrow, he dropped to the ground. To little Kitoto, each day brings constant danger. Even his search for food can end in disaster, especially when the sharp-eyed hawk is looking for his breakfast, too. Then Kitoto has an idea. If he could find and make friends with the most powerful being on the Savannah, he would never have to be afraid again. His journey leads him to amazing places and a very remarkable discovery. With his usual wit and humor, Tololwa M. Mollel sends a mighty message to those who might seem weak or small.

Genres: Picture Books

28 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1998

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

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitoto the Mighty is a take on a traditional folktale. Kitoto is a Savannah mouse wanting to survive the trails of the desert, specifically the hungry hawk that wants to eat Kitoto. Kitoto sets out to find the most powerful being. He visits the water, the sun, the wind, and the mountain. In the end, the most powerful being is the smallest, the mountain mouse. The way the story is structured allows for repetition in wording and the story preaches a powerful message.

[Fredo Voltaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was awesome

[Sasche · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like it

[Maximus · Rating 1 out of 5]

i hate this bookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk its a big pile of poop

[Samuel]

that there is a mouse and the bird is chasing the mouse because the mouse did something wrong and the bird is hungry so kitoto is the mouse and squawkermcsquawkerson is the bird

[Jasmine Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my class. Cute story. I liked the message.
My students loved the illustrations.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitoto feels small and afraid. He is a hungry little mouse that goes on a quest to find the most powerful element of the savanna and make friends with it and never again be hungry or afraid. This book is a story for anybody that has ever felt weak, small and afraid.

Tololwa Mollel tells amazing tales from Tanzania and Africa, writing folk tales told over the centuries in the oral tradition. Mr. Mollel now lives here in Edmonton and is very active in the community. The story of Kitoto is one all children can relate to, the idea that you might be too small to make a difference to your own life. Kitoto starts large and believes that the river and the sun and the wind are the most powerful elements but by the end discovers that the smallest of creatures holds immense power. The illustrations are done by Kristi Frost and bright and engaging.

[Elizabeth]

I really like the illustrations in this -- especially the wind, who is such an African woman.

Retelling of a folkloric story about a mouse who seeks the most powerful being to protect him from the hawk, and I like how the ending plays out.