“Our Story Magic” Book Review

Our Story Magic is a children’s novel written by Gcina Mhlophe and published by University of KawZulu-Natal Press in 2006. It is a fictional novel of South African folklore tales. South African folklore is traditionally told in “oral tradition,” and it is a way in which we learn about the rich history and traditions of the African bushmen (“Oral tradition”, 2017). This book is a collection of isolated tribal stories which all come together for common theme: magic. Each story speaks of some sort of magic in order to inspire the readers to look for real life magic and miracles in their own lives. The book encourages its readers to dream big just like the characters in the stories. There are 10 interesting and different stories throughout the novel.

The first story, “Sun and Moon” teaches the reader how the sun during the day and the moon and stars at night came to be. We learned that a fight between the married couple (Sun and Moon) split them to occupy the sky at opposite times. However, they occasionally meet up for a “tight and hot embrace” which we know as an eclipse (Gcina, 2006). “Sun and Moon” is an instructional story that gives readers a traditional explanation for day and night. The next story, “Brave Ox Bhatom” is a story about a young boy, Dumile, and his special Ox, Bhatom who are captured by ogres. The ogres kill and eat the ox hoping to gain his magical qualities. However, Dumile sings the magic song even after the Ox is dead, and the song brings the Ox back to life and kills the ogres who ate him. This story teaches us that good is always greater than evil—especially with the help of a little magic that brings a miracle. “Queen of the Tortoises” is about a tortoise who is not content with being a tortoise and would rather be anything else. She names herself queen and decides to attend an important meeting, but needs the help of the ducks to fly there. She gets too cocky and gets injured on the way. Her shell shatters but grows back with patterns which she chooses to embrace and be proud of. The story, “Tie Me Up” is about an elephant and giraffe searching for water during a drought who come across a mean Rhamucwa who mocks and teases them. However, their friend Nogwaja, the hare, comes to the rescue by playing a trick on Rhamucwa to “show him that not sharing, and being a bully, is a sign of weakness” (Gcina, 2006). In the end, they trick the bad guy and get water, fruit, and seeds from his garden to help their friends back home. This story teaches readers to share and be kind to one another. “Moonlight Magic” is a story about a woman whose husband dies, and all she wants is to be a mother. She sings songs at midnight asking to be blessed with a baby. The next morning, she awakens to a baby’s cries. Her dream has come true thanks to an unexplainable magical miracle. “Dad is eating ashes” is another story about a drought which means there is no food. The father offers to go without dinner so that his children and wife can be fed, and he claims that he will just eat ashes instead. However, this is not much of a sacrifice as he is really eating honey. The chief finds out and banishes him until he comes back having learnt his lesson and “is more caring that he had ever been in his life before” (Gcina, 2005, p. 55). In “Mamba kaMaqhuba,” a lazy sister, Busi, wants to abandon her family to become a queen. Because she is rude to others and not a hard worker, she cannot break the prince’s spel. Her humble, kind, and hardworking sister goes to meet the prince and breaks the spell, so they live happily ever after. “The Singing Dog” is a story about a Hare and a dog who are best friends. The hare falls in love with a Pig who loves the dog’s singing voice. The Hare gets jealous, and ruins the dog’s voice. The story teaches us the evils of jealousy while also teaching us why dogs howl and bark. “Jojela’s Wooden Spoon” teaches us the rich tradition of wooden spoons throughout Africa Jojela traveled the world and brought back a spoon for his wife, but it got stuck and made her lose her voice. She began a spoon business and transformed her misfortune into a success. Lastly, “Sunset Colors” is about a boy who is too small to be a good hunter. Rather, he is blessed with the talent of painting which he learns to appreciate and embrace. He learns to accept who truly is.

I like the author’s use of multiple different stories within the book to teach a variety of lessons. It keeps the story from becoming stagnant since it is ever changing. It also allows the author to hit many different morals and lessons in one book. I agree with the many lessons that the author teaches the reader about: day and night, good defeating evil, loving yourself, sharing, finding the positive in every situation, being humble and kind, caring, why dogs bark, and embracing your talents. Each story offers a unique lesson while incorporating magic along the way.

In the end, I enjoyed and would recommend Our Story Magic for its inspiration of hope and dreams for every day miracles. I also like how the novel preserves African folklore in written stories for children. It keeps the rich tradition of stories alive in a different, more concrete medium. This book is suitable for African children who wish to learn more about their culture and children who wish to expand their horizons by learning from African folklore.

References:

Mhlophe, Gcina. (2006). Our story magic. Durban, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press

Oral tradition and indigenous knowledge (2017, Feburary 8). In South african history online. Retrieved from https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/oral-tradition-and-indigenous-knowledge