Abiyoyo

by Pete Seeger, Michael Hays (Illustrator)

Overview

A young boy and his father save the town that ostracized them from a hungry giant in this picture book adaptation of a South African lullaby and folk story.

In a small town, one young boy loves walking around playing the ukulele, but the people get tired of the clink, clunk, clonk and beg him to stop while covering their ears! The boy’s father has a magic wand he uses to make things disappear, like a playing card or a glass of water—or a chair just as someone’s about to sit.

The townspeople have had quite enough of the boy’s noise and the father’s tricks and drive them from the town. But then the giant called Abiyoyo comes to town and starts gobbling up everything in sight. If they work together, can the magician and his son make this very big problem disappear?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689846939
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	10/01/2001
Edition description:	BOOK & CD
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	378,452
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Pete Seeger is a national treasure, arguably the most influential figure in American folk music as well as an important advocate of social causes. He lives in Beacon, New York.

Michael Hays has illustrated several picture books, including the sequel to Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo Returns. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Date of Birth:

May 3, 1919

Date of Death:

January 27, 2014

Place of Birth:

Patterson, NY

Place of Death:

New York City, NY

Editorial Reviews

New York Times Book Review Told in the familiar Seeger style, with brief musical phrases of the one-word song incorporated in the text and printed complete at the end, and with illustrations full of light and color, this rendering of a South African tale is a pleasure.

Publishers Weekly The book is a triumph of storytelling and art.

From the Publisher

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.

Publishers Weekly