Koi and the Kola Nuts
Type: Folktale
Country of Origin: Africa
Main Character Hero or Heroine: Hero
Recommend?: Yes!
The story starts off with the chief of a village dying and the elders decided to divide the chief's possessions among his sons. Unfortunately, one of the chief's sons, Koi, was in the woods hunting when they started passing out the chief's possessions and no one came to get him when the distributions were being done. When Koi finally arrives at the village, the village elders were too lazy to redo the distributions of the chief's possessions and gave Koi a measly Kola tree to make up for it. Koi was angered by this injustice and he decided to leave the village to search for another village that would actually treat the son of a chief with respect. While Koi went on his journey, he meets up with several animals along the way which included a snake, an army of ants and an alligator and he manages to help them all by giving them some of his Kola Nuts. When Koi finally arrives at a village, the people of that village wanted to eat Koi due to them thinking that he is not a son of a chief, but the chief of that village decided to give Koi a few tasks to complete in order to prove that he is indeed the son of the chief.
I have always enjoyed this story since it teaches about being respectful towards other people and how helping out people in need always comes with their own rewards! I really liked the fact that Koi met up with so many animal characters who had problems of their own and how he manages to help them out since it made me really love Koi as a character and the kindness he shows to everyone he meets along the way. I was also a bit shocked and interested in the fact that the villagers were willing to eat Koi if he didn't prove himself as the son of the chief since it brought so much tension to the story that I was literally hoping that Koi would make it out of this situation alive!
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1. Is this a good story about teaching children to respect other people?
Yes, I think that this story is good for teaching children about the importance of respecting other people, especially since I thought that Koi was treated horribly when the elders distribute his father's possessions without consulting him first.
2. Who's your favorite animal character?
I was always interested in the alligator since his issues were more interesting than the other animals (eating a dog and incurring the wrath of a Thunder God? Interesting). I also liked the way that the alligator helped out Koi in his dilemma with his tasks.
3. Were you scared when the villagers tried to eat Koi?
I was a bit freaked out when the villagers tried to eat Koi since it's rare that I see cannibalism approached in a children's story.
4. What other African folktales have you read?
I've read Anansi a few times and I'm looking forward to reading more African folktales if there are other folktale enthusiasts who want to recommend me some titles!
Koi and the Kola Nuts by Verna Aardema
Koi and the Kola Nuts by Brian Gleeson
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