THE FIRE CHILDREN

The first man and woman are lonely. What to do? They decide to fashion children out of clay. As they are baking the little figures in their fire, they're constantly interrupted by visits from the sky-god, Nyame. As a result, some of the children are pale and underdone, some are left in so long that they come out very dark, and the rest are every shade between. Frané Lessac's gorgeous gouache paintings, inspired by West African masks and pottery, and Eric Maddern's vivid text make this one of the most compelling of creation myths for young readers.