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Talking Vegetables: A Story from Liberia

 

Talking Vegetables. By Won-Ldy Paye, Henry Holt and Company, 2006

Won-Ldy Paye and Etienne Kakpo in The Talking Vegetables

An enchanting tale of Anise  who loves to sleep and avoids working in the village garden.  When harvest season comes, Spider is tired of eating plain rice.  But when he tries to pick the vegetables he refused to plant, the vegetables cry out, refusing to let Spider harvest them!  The audience participates in the great debate that ensues, as the talking vegetables teach Spider the merits of collaboration, hard work, and contribution to community life in this African village.
Master storyteller and award-winning author Won-Ldy Paye of Liberia and master dancer Etienne Cakpo from Benin weave an enchanting tale of Anansi the Spider. Anansi loves to sleep, and avoids helping the villagers with work in the village garden. Each season, the villagers come again and again to ask Spider if he will help them clear the fields, plant seeds, and weed the garden. But Spider won’t cooperate. Harvest season comes, and Spider is tired of eating plain rice.
 
  When he tries to pick the vegetables, the tomato, pumpkin and cucumber cry out, refusing to let Spider harvest them. The audience participates in the great debate that ensues, as the talking vegetables teach Spider the merits of collaboration, hard work, and contribution to community life in this African village.

 Performance Space: Great for libraries, schools, and community centers!

 Equipment Required: Performance space in the front of the room, 4 armless chairs, 2 cordless clip-on microphones for large rooms.

 Audience: All ages, Families and children, Any size audience. Children may attend with or without parents. No registration required.  

The Talking Vegetables, By Won-Ldy Paye, Henry Holt and Company, 2006

Won-Ldy Paye and Etienne Kakpo in The Talking Vegetables