I just completed my eighteenth children's book. Most of this work has taken place while some nasty little virus invaded the planet. Who knew I'd be this productive? Who knew I'd get eighteen of them completed? (And, yes, I've already started number nineteen.) Anyway, this latest tale is one of my most favorites. Over the years, I've gathered and rewritten over two hundred fifty folktales from around the world. But, it comes down to a tie when I try to tell you which one is my favorite. I love The Stone at the Door, a love story from Morocco. It reminds me so much of the wonderful friends and family I made when I lived in Casablanca. However, this Moroccan tale is a relatively new discovery for me. Book number eighteen tells a tale from Liberia that I have loved for decades. I don't know why it took me so long to finally make this book. The story is included as the first one in my Liberian collection, Once Upon West Africa. But now, I've finally completed its stand-alone version with The Paramount Chief and One Wise Woman. Some things are worth the wait.
I slipped a lot of personal things into this book. It's dedicated to Daniel and Theresa. Daniel was my best friend from Liberia. Daniel and Theresa have a great love story of their own. They fled Liberia during the civil war that ripped the country apart for fourteen years, just after my Peace Corps experience ended. It wasn't safe in the Ivory Coast either. Eventually, they had to flee a second time, back into Liberia, and they landed in the remote village where Daniel was born, Tugbaken. It's my favorite place in the country. I've previously blogged about finding Daniel when I returned to Liberia to paint murals with the U.S. Embassy in 2106. It's a three-part blog. If you want to read all of that story, and you should, it's as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Rural villages in Liberia usually have a chief. A paramount chief is one step up from that and rules over several villages. The paramount chief in my tale is wise -- and he knows it! He likes to settle problems that are brought before him. And, he doesn't want anybody else to interfere with this process. However, his life is turned upside-down when he crossed paths with one wise woman. Isn't that always the case?
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Daniel and Theresa, as well as Theresa's fashion statement
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In my book, you'll see the paramount chief wearing several traditional Liberian suits with matching cap, shirt, pants, and gown. They are colorful and wonderful. I had one made for me while I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Mine was a very traditional blue tie-dyed pattern. I used this fabric pattern for the background of each page border. It adds an authentic touch to the book. And, you won't know this unless you read my blog, but the first picture of the one wise woman has her wearing a yellow head scarf and golden earrings. That was inspired by a photo I took of Daniel's wife, Theresa, also one wise woman.
I slipped in other personal things into the book illustrations. The one wise woman has a scene that takes place in her home village. I modeled the buildings in my illustrations from scenes that I photographed when I visited Tugbaken. While in the village, there is a scene inside a bedroom with a goat and four chickens. Now, I never once saw a goat or chickens in anyone's bedroom. I drew the goat, just because I thought he was adorable. And, there were goats in the village. But, I had a different reason to include the chickens. If you are super welcomed in Liberia, you are formally given a chicken. That never happened to me in the six years that I lived in Africa. But, when I visited in Tugbaken, within twenty-four hours, I was officially welcomed at five ceremonies and given four chickens and a traditional African suit made from country cloth.
This book even has a recipe included. Now, when I lived in Liberia, my favorite dishes were cassava leaves and beans gravy. However, a very special dish was included in this story. And, if you were going to have something for an important occasion, it was usually jollof rice (which required three kinds of meat). So, you can learn how to make that dish if you get to the end of the book.
A view of downtown TugbakenI'm so very pleased with The Paramount Chief and One Wise Woman. It contains a wealth of warm feelings from my experience in Liberia. And, it has been well-received by the people who have seen it, so far. Perhaps the biggest surprise came from my local publisher in Columbus, Biblio Publishing, who makes my paperback books. They contacted me to say that they have recently joined The Graphic Media Alliance. As a part of this organization, they were asked to submit one of their published books for the Print Excellent Award competition. Out of all of the authors they print, and from all of my books that I've illustrated, they selectedThe Paramount Chief and One Wise Woman. It's obvious to me that one wise woman works at this publishing company! Thanks, Saint Frances!
I'm very hopeful that this competition will place this book before the eyes of a lot more readers. When I received my chickens back in Tugbaken, the end of each welcoming ceremony was always the same. They asked me what my mission was. I told them I had three missions. The first mission was to paint murals with Ebola survivors in a project sponsored by the U.S. Embassy. My second mission was to locate my long-lost friend Daniel. My first two missions were completed. But, the third mission is ongoing. My third mission is to tell the world about my experience in Tugbaken, because nobody can welcome you like the Grebo people.
The people in Tugbaken always liked that mission and now you can consider yourself informed.
