On "The Girl who Married a Lion": A Book Review

Title: The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Genre: Short stories, folklore

About the book… 
A collection of folklore retold from Zimbabwe and Botswana, this is an expanded version of an earlier McCall Smith book called Children of Wax. 

What I think… 
This was a thoroughly enjoyable book from start to finish. When I was in elementary school I used to love reading African folklore, but as I got older most of my folklore and fairy tale readings tended to shift more toward Europe, in part because my library had more of that than anything else, so I was delighted to come across this book!

As expected the tales are simply written, but are engaging and beautifully told. Many of the stories involve animals and all involve an ending with a moral or some sort of value to be gained. Some stories were stranger than than others in the best way possible, with my favorite of the collection being either "Children of Wax," about a group of children who could not go into the sun without melting, or "Milk Bird," about a magical bird who could produce milk.      

To sum it all up... 
A fantastic collection of tales from Africa that can be dipped into for a special treat or read all in one go! ♥️