The Sleeping Baobab Tree (19 page)
Read The Sleeping Baobab Tree Online
Authors: Paula Leyden
In the book, Fred, Bul-Boo and Madillo play a game called
nsolo
while they’re trying to pass the time at Ng’ombe Ilede. Unfortunately for the twins Fred always wins – perhaps because he was trained by his great-grandmother, who as we well know is something of a witch.
Nsolo
is a game that can be played anywhere by making holes in the ground and using small stones or seeds, which is how the twins and Fred play it. It is played all over Africa and goes by different names in different countries: you can now buy a version of it called
mancala
, which uses a wooden board and marbles. It’s great for improving your maths skills while having fun – perhaps persuade your teachers to get a board for your classroom!
The version of the game played in Zambia is very complicated. If you would like to learn it you could look up the rules in Professor Mwizenge Tembo’s book
Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture
, which is invaluable for anyone wishing to learn more about this wonderful country. If you go to
www.infobarrel.com
and type into the search box the word
“nsolo”
you will find his article on it.
If you manage to get hold of a
mancala
board the rules are different, and the game (which looks like the picture below) will have a set of rules with it.
Mancala
can be played from about five years and upwards and is great fun.
Amnesty International
The story of
The Sleeping Baobab Tree
is partly about our human rights, including the right to medical help, to enjoy our own culture, and to freedom of belief and freedom of expression.
We all have human rights, no matter who we are or where we live. Human rights are part of what makes us human. They help us to live lives that are fair and truthful, free from abuse, fear and want and respectful of other people’s rights. But they are often abused and we need to stand up for them.
Amnesty International is a movement of ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights. Our purpose is to protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.
To find out more about human rights and how to start one of our very active Amnesty youth groups, go to
www.amnesty.org.uk/youth
To find out about how you can use fiction to teach human rights in the classroom, go to
www.amnesty.org.uk/education
Amnesty International UK, The Human Rights Action Centre
17–25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA 020 7033 1500
www.amnesty.org.uk
“Amnesty’s greetings cards really helped me in prison. In total, I received more than 4,000 – amazing! I read each one: the best, I think, were those from children and other student activists… It amazed me to see that those children know about human rights. What a good omen for the future!”
Ignatius Mahendra Kusuma Wardhana
,
an Indonesian student who was arrested at a peaceful demonstration in 2003 and spent two years, seven months and ten days behind bars, where he was beaten and threatened.
To download full teacher’s notes on
The Sleeping Baobab Tree
and
The Butterfly Heart,
go to:
and scroll down to the
Age 9+
section.
Or, if you have a smart phone, scan the codes below:
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| The Sleeping Baobab Tree | Teacher’s notes |
“Ifwafwa. Yes, that’s what they call me. The Puff Adder. Slow and heavy, but fast to strike.”
Bul-Boo and Madillo are powerless to save their friend Winifred from a terrifying fate, and time is slipping away. In desperation they call upon Ifwafwa, the snake man. But although the man is wise, he is slow and the girls become impatient. Will he strike before it’s too late?
A lyrical story from the butterfly heart of Africa.
One universal declaration proclaims 30 rights and freedoms for everybody
.
But 60 years on, millions of people around the world are still denied full human rights.
14 acclaimed storytellers take inspiration from their struggle.
All royalties from the sale of this book go to Amnesty International, which works to protect human rights all over the world.
A tale of dreams and midsummer magic.
Masha lives in Icarus, the abandoned trolleybus, until one stormy night when he takes off, transporting her to an enchanted place where Cossacks dance and tigers roar. It’s nearly midsummer’s eve, when she can make a wish for her heart’s desire. But will Masha make the right wish, enabling herself and her mother to escape Uncle Igor’s clutches and live happily ever after?
Paula Leyden
was born in Kenya and spent her childhood in Zambia. As a teenager she moved with her family to South Africa, where she soon became involved in the struggle to end Apartheid. Since 2003 she has lived on a farm in Kilkenny, Ireland, with her partner and five children, where she breeds horses and writes.
The Sleeping Baobab Tree
is Paula’s second novel, sequel to the Éilís Dillon Award-winning
The Butterfly Heart
.