In Kung’ombe, the “land of countless cattle,” the herds have mysteriously disappeared. As evening nears, Mariamu, a little girl who is picking berries, encounters a magical song bird. The two collaborate on a heroic successful mission to rescue the missing cattle from Makucha, a fierce and gluttonous monster.

Song Bird is an adaptation of a traditional folk tale, this one from southern Africa. The narrative seems lengthy for the intended readership and there is some Swahili in the book (usefully translated and explained in the author’s note), which makes the story a challenge to read aloud. But this performing challenge is also the narrative’s greatest strength.

Award-winning author Mollel, an Arusha Maasai from Tanzania now living in Edmonton, has written at least 10 other picture books based on African folk tales. In all his work, his storytelling prowess and academic specialty in African drama come together to create a vivid and dynamic narrative.

Litzinger’s watercolour and coloured pencil illustrations offer a soothing complement to a tale that, consolations and resolution notwithstanding, deals with fear and deprivation. The most interesting element of these paintings is their childlike perspective. In the first scene, the disproportionate smallness of Mariamu next to the adults and cattle is highly suggestive. First, since the cows are there in memory only, perhaps their exaggerated stature in this scene reflects the enormity of the loss. Second, Mariamu’s size represents her place in the pecking order at the beginning of the story and nicely anticipates the scene in which she shrinks to the size of a worm to enter the realm of the monster.