Wiil Waal--A Somali Folktale

Wiil Waal--A Somali Folktale

Specifics

APA Citation: Moriarty, K. M., & Amir, A. (2007). Wiil Waal: a Somali folktale. Saint Paul, MN: Minnesota Humanities Center/Somali Bilingual Book Project.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Picture Book, Bilingual, Diverse Protagonist

Lexile Level: Not available. 

Audience: I think students of all ages could read and enjoy this book due to it's interesting storyline and the meaning behind the text. Although, I beleive the best age for students to read and truly grasp the meaning behind it, would be about 4th grade and up. 

Summary

This book is a retelling of a Somali Folktale about a man named Wiil Waal who tells the men in a village to bring him the part of a sheep that can symbolize something that can divide people, or unite them. The villagers are puzzled over this riddle, so they head back to their homes and butcher their finest sheep in hopes of discovering the answer. The daughter of a poor man says to bring the gullet, the part of the sheep that they usually throw away. This is the part that connects the throat to the stomach of the sheep. The father listened to his daughter, but was not confident in it. The next day, when he presented the gullet to Wiil Waal, the leader was ecstatic, this was what he was looking for! The poor man then brough Wiil Waal to meet his daughter, and the daughter ended up ruling the land in the end. 

Evaluation

This book is first written in English, and then is translated into Somali on the next page. The author of the book has worked with many language and literacy programs around the world, the illustrator was born in Somalia, and the translator was also born in Somalia and now lives in Minnesota as an academic and cultural consultant. 

The illustrations go great with the text and help bring the folktale to life. The characters are portrayed accurately, and dress as they would when this story takes place. This story started off great, but got even better when it was a woman's idea to bring the thing that the leader was seeking, and in the end she ended up ruling the land with him. It was a female who was the wisest of them all. 

Mini Lesson

This story is supposed to teach the people a sort of lesson, that greed or generosity either divide or unite people. For a mini lesson, I would find an American folktale and read that to the students as well. Then I would have them compare and contrast the two stories.