Until the day the fearsome giant Abiyoyo suddenly appears in town, and all the townspeople run for their lives and the lives of their children! Nothing can stop the terrible giant Abiyoyo, nothing, that is, except the enchanting sound of the ukelele and the mysterious power of the magic wand.

Abiyoyo: Based on a South African Lullaby and Folk Story

ANNOTATION

American folk singer Pete Seeger retells a South African folktale about a boy and his father who, after being banished from town for making mischief, are welcomed back when they find a way to make the dreaded giant, Abiyoyo, disappear. Accompanying CD includes two versions of Pete Seeger performing the "storysong."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"A boy and his father are banished because the father, a magician, has a habit of making things vanish. But when the monster Abiyoyo appears . . . the father makes Abiyoyo disappear, and all is forgiven."--Kirkus Reviews. Full color.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Folk singer Pete Seeger's adaptation of the South African folktale Abiyoyo, first recorded in 1956, now comes with a sing-along CD (see Children's Audio, Sept. 10) in honor of the book's 15th anniversary. Michael Hays's artwork depicts the global villagers who drive a magician and his ukulele-strumming son to the edge of town only to invite them back when they make Abiyoyo the giant disappear. Seeger partners with Paul DuBois Jacobs to profile the same town 30 years later in Abiyoyo Returns, also illus. by Hays. Here, the father-son team is drafted to bring back Abiyoyo; they believe the giant alone can help them in their efforts to build a dam and save their town. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Abiyoyo is a terrible giant who threatens to eat livestock and people in one gulp. A boy with his ukulele sings to him. He gets the giant dancing and spinning so fast he falls down. Then the boy's magician father uses his magic wand to dispatch the monster. The illustrations depict a town populated with a multicultural melange of people and Abiyoyo is cast as an abstraction of everyone's fears. Reissue of 1986 book. 1994, (orig.