The Rainstick: A Fable

by Sandra Chisholm Robinson

A boy embarks on a quest to bring back the sound of rain to his West African village. Includes a discussion of how rainsticks are used today and instructions for making a rainstick.

40 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

Reviews

[Justine Liddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy from a village that no longer gets the rain that it used to, sets out on a journey to find the rain. He travels to the jungle and finds that bird he is looking for. The bird leads him to a village in the jungle. The boy hears the sound of laughter and rain, although, it is not raining. The boy does not go into the village until the next morning and all the villager were gone. He finds a rain stick and takes it back with him.

[Kiersten Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fable about the rainstick, an instrument used by African tribes to bring rain to their village. The boy in the story lives in a village that has been without rain for a long time, and is told by the storyteller he must find a bird with a blue feather to find where the rain is. The boy sets out on his journey and finally ends near a village where he finds the blue bird, and within the village is a rainstick, thought to bring about rain to where it is used. This book is a good example for students of a ritualistic piece of culture in ancient African tribes.