Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales
Written by Nelson Mandela
Narrated by Various Narrators, Samuel L. Jackson, Matt Damon and
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales is an audio-book benefiting children orphaned and impacted by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
Featured narrators include: Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt, LeVar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize Theron, Blair Underwood, Forest Whitaker, and Alfre Woodard, with a special message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and original music by South African legends by Johnny Clegg and Vusi Mahlasela, directed by Alfre Woodard.
The audio-book was a truly international affair, recorded in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, and Johannesburg. The stories were chosen by the Nobel Laureate himself, from every region of Africa.Net proceeds will benefit the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and Artists for New South Africa, which works in the U.S. and South Africa to combat HIV/AIDS, provide comprehensive assistance to children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, advance human rights, educate and empower at-risk youth, and build bonds between both nations. Both organizations are working to address the impact of the AIDS pandemic on children in South Africa.
All the individuals and companies involved in the effort have donated their services to allow a maximum amount of proceeds to benefit the charities. In addition to waiving sales and distribution fees, Hachette Audio will donate 100% of proceeds to ANSA and NMCF, and NB Publishers has waived fees, so additional royalties can benefit NMCF. The audio-book was manufactured by Ivy Hill/Cinram, which is donating a significant portion of their services. The actors, creative director, engineers, graphic designers, attorneys, and recording studios fully donated their services, as did three-time Grammy winner Gavin Lurssen, who mastered the audio-book.
A Hachette Audio production.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on 18 July 1918. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies for many years before being arrested in August 1962. Mandela was incarcerated for over twenty-seven years, during which his reputation as a potent symbol of resistance to the antiapartheid movement grew steadily. Released from prison in 1990, Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. He is the author of the international bestseller Long Walk to Freedom. He passed away on 5 December 2013, aged ninety-five.
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Reviews for Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales
55 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This audio anthology of folktales is one of the best things I've listened to all year. I really loved all the different narrators, and the plentiful music. I also liked that the stories didn't last too long, so if you zone out for a minute to pay attention to driving you don't have to wait very long to catch the beginning of a new story.
I found it really interesting how different the stories were from what I imagined "African folk tales" to be. There are slightly more modern ones and ones that are heavily Muslim - influenced, and ones that I could have sworn I'd heard before in a European context. Fascinating. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It is a wonderful collection because each story has separate illustrations, which were strikingly diverse. The illustrations really suited the story, some warm and soft, other bright, vivid and complex. It captures the diversity of cultures on the continent.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I can't recommend this one highly enough - I enjoyed almost every single bit of it. Everyone did a great job with narration, and the stories were all good, and some of them excellent. My hands down favourite was King Lion's Gifts narrated by Ricardo Chavira. Honourable mention goes to The Mother that Turned to Dust narrated by Helen Mirren; it is a timely, sad and excellent story, but it ran a bit long and thus lost a bit of its impact. The Guardian of the Pool wasn't special story-wise, but Gillian Anderson's voice was mesmerising. The music was a great complement and when stories required a native tongue, a native speaker lent their voice, and it was perfect. My copy of the audiobook had rather abrupt transitions between stories, but that's not news with a lot of audio editions. If you like folktales, this one is definitely worth a listen.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is pretty much what the title says: a collection of African folktales. I listened to the audio. I don't always do well with short stories, as I often find them too short to get really interested. Combine that with an audio, where it's easy to get distracted, and I really missed a lot. I did enjoy the stories that I managed to pay attention to the majority of. Two that stood out for me were about animals and the environment (which shouldn't be a surprise!). What I particularly enjoyed about the audio was the music and songs that were added in. The songs were mostly part of the stories, but all the songs were replayed at the end, as well. The stories were all written (or rewritten) by different people and they were all read by someone different. I recognized the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Alan Rickman, but the rest of the narrations were done by other actors, such as Matt Damon, Forest Whittaker, Gillian Anderson, Scarlet Johansson...).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Narrated by celebrities. How appropriate to be listening to this while the World Cup is going on in South Africa. I don't seem to do well listening to short stories because sometimes my mind would drift and I would have to listen to it again. But in general, the celebrity readers (Alan Rickman, Charlize Theron, Samuel Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg among many) seem to enjoy their presentations and make the stories come alive. The audio ends with full versions of the songs that appear in some of the stories.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I love this anthology of African folktales. These various folktales all give explanations for the world around us. This book can also be used to introduce studies of Africa. I can also use this book to introduce Nelson Mandela into the classroom. The visuals of the story are esthetically pleasing. It was very interesting to see the various styles of art throughout this book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A teaser I suppose. Lovely recording of two African tales I had not heard before. Whoopie Goldburg and Alan Rickman reading, what could go wrong? These remind me of Rabbit Ears Radio, a program where celebrities read stories for children aloud. Charming.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/522 Märchen werden auf diesen drei CDs vorgelesen, jedes von jemand Anderem. Fernseh- und TheaterschauspielerInnen wechseln sich mit eher unbekannten SprecherInnen (zumindest für mich) ab und durch die Verschiedenheit der ErzählerInnen erhält jede Geschichte einen ganz eigenen Charakter.
So unterschiedlich wie die Vortragenden sind auch die Märchen selbst. Manche spielen in kleinen afrikanischen Dörfern, eines auf hoher See und wieder andere im Orient - denn auch der gehört zu Afrika. Es geht um Rätsel die gelöst werden müssen um eine Belohnung zu bekommen oder schlicht sein Leben zu retten, wieso manche Dinge so sind wie sie sind, um die Weitergabe einer bestimmten Moral und vieles mehr.
Überraschend fand ich die Ähnlichkeiten zu europäischen Märchen. Auch in Afrika sind die Zahlen drei und sieben mit einer besonderen Magie behaftet ('Die Schlange mit den sieben Köpfen', 'Der schlaue Schlangenbeschwörer'). Schöne junge Mädchen werden von tapferen Häuptlingssöhnen oder mächtigen Sultanen erlöst und geheiratet oder andersherum ('Die Wolfskönigin', 'Der Hüter des Teichs'). Und der Schlusssatz 'Die Moral von der Geschicht' kommt hier zwar so nicht vor, doch transportieren die entsprechenden Erzählungen ('Mmadipetsane', 'Der Mantis und der Mond') die gewünschten Wertvorstellungen ebenso gut wie die europäischen. Insbesondere bei 'Die Tochter des Sultans' glaube ich, dass es dieses Märchen genau in dieser Form auch bei uns gibt.
Alles in allem eine richtig schöne Auswahl von Geschichten, vorgetragen von überwiegend wirklich guten SprecherInnnen.