Elphinstone Dayrell (1869–1917)

The reason for the sun and moon living in the sky is set out in this picture book retelling of a traditional pourquoi story from Nigeria. Despite being good friends, Sun is unable to host his friend Water, because he does not possess a structure large enough to do so. Deciding to rectify this, Sun and his wife Moon build a large house, and invite their friend over, insisting that more and more of his people enter their house. As the house fills with water, Sun and Moon must climb higher and show more higher, eventually ending up on the roof, and then in the sky...

Published in 1968, Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky pairs a story from Elphinstone Dayrell's 1910 collection, Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, with artwork from American children's book illustrator Blair Lent. A British civil servant who was the District Commissioner of southern Nigeria in the early 20th century, Dayrell apparently gathered traditional tales in the region, and had two collections published in his lifetime. The story presented here was taken from the Efik-Ibibio people. The text in this picture book presentation is almost exactly that of the 1910 collection, and is brief and to the point. Although I also enjoy more textually complex tales, I appreciated the brevity and matter-of-factness of this story, as I suspect it reflects the way in which it was originally related to Dayrell. True folktales, particularly those taken from oral tradition, are not always as polished as literary fairy-tales, and may reflect the storytelling traditions and methods from which they spring.

While enjoyable, this title would not have been such a stand-out for me, without the artwork from Lent, who was awarded a Caldecott Honor for the book, in 1969. Lent would go on to win a Caldecott Medal in 1973, for Arlene Mosel's The Funny Little Woman. In any case, I thought the artwork here was striking, and appreciated the way in which the figures of the Sun, Moon and Water were anthropomorphized, depicted as humans wearing traditional masks. I also appreciated the brief note at the end, indicating that the visual motifs used were inspired by various African traditions, rather than reflecting a specific Nigerian or Efik-Ibibio aesthetic. While the latter would have been interesting, I appreciate the transparency of the artist, in noting that his work was not taken from that tradition specifically.

All in all, this was an engaging read, and is a book I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts. For my part, I hope to track down and reader Elphinstone Dayrell's larger collection of tales. show less

This is an interesting story regarding the creation of the world. I feel that the illustrations make this book more than the sum of its words. The illustrations are closely tied to the native cultures of Africa where this tale originated. The characters are portrayed in tribal masks and dress like they may have when first performing this story.

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky is a spunky, multicultural book that informs the reader about African culture and tradition. I like this book because it provides yet another different culture for kids to learn about. This would be suitable for kids in grades 1-4 for a unit on culture.

I was fortunate to have stumbled upon this delightful African folktale when I was browsing the folk story section at the library.

Here is a wonderful little story about why the sun and the moon live in the sky and not on Earth with the water. Sun and his wife Moon invited Water and his tribe to come visit them in their home. Water and his tribe came and were welcomed, and then they kept coming and coming and coming until the home of Sun and Moon filled up entirely with water and they were show more displaced up, up, up into the sky.

The drawings are richly detailed and colorful. It's a wonderful tale.

My only complaint is that the story ended too soon. I would have liked some kind of resolution between Sun, Moon and Water. The end of the story kind of leaves the reader hanging. That said, it's a fun, bedtime read. show less