The Night Has Ears: African Proverbs

by Ashley Bryan

Ashley Bryan says, "My mother had a proverb for any situation, attitude, or event." Many of us have had the same experience. But have you ever heard, "As a crab walks, so walk its children" or "A log may lie in the water for ten years, but it will never become a crocodile"? These are two of the twenty-six African proverbs Ashley Bryan has chosen to illustrate in this book. Having grown up with proverbs, it was no surprise to Mr. Bryan when he began reading African literature to find African proverbs along with African stories. The proverbs grew out of the lives and experiences of the varied African peoples. Each proverb here is credited to a specific tribe, yet, as Ashley Bryan explains, most were known in other tribes as well. And in fact, all are true for people everywhere. We may not see crabs often, but we understand about crab children, and even people who do not have crocodiles nearby know that they do not begin as logs. This is a book to treasure for its rich universal wisdom and its gloriously evocative illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books, Africa, Childrens, Folk Tales, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

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

[Brandon Swader]

Beautiful illustrations which perfectly fit the proverbs featured in this story. Proverbs are a unique way of expressing, and these are a great group of them for children to learn from.

[Kelly]

In the hands of the right reader, this can be a lovely text to share with children.

[K]

Every child should be taught to become an aficionado of the art form called the proverb. Many people are introduced to this art form via the 31 chapters of Proverbs in the Bible.

Solomon, in his wisdom, collected humanity's wisdom from lands, near and far, so that he could take advantage of everyone's hard-won learning. Crowdsourcing before crowdsourcing was cool, Solomon aggregated human learning into his own collection of pithy sayings passed down to us this day. The wisdom contained therein shows the power of the proverb: common sense so profound, it seems like it wouldn't need to be said, yet many enjoy reading and reviewing the proverbs to reinforce personal common sense.

So who else out these has distilled common sense into pithy wisdom? American artist Ashley Bryan collected various proverbs from African tribes and illustrated each one with his signature joyful, colorful style.

'As a crab walks, so walk its children,' proclaimed the Kpelle tribe. 'Take the drowning child from the water before scolding it' is parenting wisdom from the Grebo tribe. 'If the people of the town and village are all happy, look for the chief' -governance wisdom from Krahn tribe.

It's fun and joyful to experience Ashley Bryan's collection of 26 different proverbs.

[Ashley Will]

Several African Proverbs with colorful illustrations

[Sean Stevens]

Loved the idea of using proverbs as a way to organize a picture book!

[Kate Beger]

Beautiful illustrations, but not written for children

[Alice]

4 stars
I love the bright colors as Ashley illustrates various African proverbs that may be unfamiliar to Europeans but still resonate.

[Brianna]

A Jean Karl book illustrated by Ashley Bryan, "The Night Has Ears: African Proverbs" compiles 26 African proverbs--each one credited to a specific tribe. Each individual beautifully illustrated pages add emphasis to the proverb to which it belongs. For example, a picture of people in dancing near a drum is a depiction of the following Ashanti proverb: "If you cannot dance, you will say, the drumming is poor". A wonderful book for discussion in curriculum for young adults, or to be read aloud with children.

More examples of a proverbs include:

Zulu Proverb: "The house of the loud talker leaks" (ill. people standing in a home covered with holes that leak water)

Swahili Proverb: "Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself" (ill. a lion adorned in a dress is standing in front of a larger, more realistic lion without clothing).

[Kell*]

This is an interesting book on African proverbs. It provides quotes from all different resources and I love the book because of it's illustrations and it is very applicable to teaching internationally which is what I desire to do. It could alos lead into a poetry unit.

[LeAnne]

A collection of twenty-six proverbs, some serious and some humorous, from a variety of African tribes.

[Edward Sullivan]

A beautiful collection of humor and wisdom.

[WhizKid]

Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself

[Melanie Gaum]

Fun and colorful African proverbs. Some pages were blank. I don't know if that is how it's supposed to be, or if it was a problem with my copy.

[Kathleen Heroux]

Amusng, thought provoking African proverbs with illustrations like stained glass windows.