Noor pats her drum—“TAP! TAP! TAP!”—as “she sits and waits for a familiar sound to ring in the night.” Soon, “GONG! GONG! GONG!” It’s the Storyteller, calling Noor and her neighbors to gather. “Night after night,” Noor perches at his feet as the Storyteller entrances crowds with his “colorful characters” and tales weaving “proverbs and funny riddles.” One night, Noor “pats out a tune. TAP! TAP! TAP!” She unspools a folktale of her own, her whispering voice a beacon to her growing crowd. Like the practiced Storyteller, young Noor animates lively tales of “majestic animals and characters in sparkling clothes” as she joyfully conveys a captivating tale rivaling the griot’s. Giles’ marvelously detailed and expressive illustrations of both animals and humans, who all have dark brown skin, curve and sprawl across spreads of elaborately layered digital collages of printed paper and textiles, reminiscent of Ekua Holmes’ textured work. Cool jewel tones pop against the nighttime setting, while stylized and symbolic art elements capture the excitement, place, and magical possibilities of this tale. Share alongside Evan Turk’s The Storyteller (2016), with drum taps to draw a storytime crowd of your own.
